what is to be done?

What is to be done? This is a large question that looms above all people, of every generation. Maybe THE question everyone must ask themselves at some point in their life. What is to be done?

Some feel the question to be too great and out of their hands, so their answer is nothing. Just let things continue as they are, compelled on by whatever omnipresent forces are at play, because 'I'm just a nobody and can't possibly steer the ship of history as well as the rich and powerful who must have some sort of god-given right to be rich and powerful and in control.' 'It is what is' is their motto. Still others actively work to keep things the same because they're the ones benefiting right now and want to stay happy and content, whether they're at the top or in the good graces of those who are. 'Business as usual' is their motto. Some see things as they are and say, 'Things aren't terribly fair and a lot of people are suffering and maybe this could be slightly better. If we adjust things here and there, possibly to the displeasure of the people at the very top, maybe we can prevent things from radically changing too much in order to keep people more or less where they are and the ship sailing in the relatively the same direction while doing some good to improve the conditions on board.' Their motto is 'Yes we can.' And then there are those who see things and say, 'This won't do. A great injustice is taking place. The majority of people toil for little and suffer much, while the few at the top stand upon the backs of the many, who don't realize that they weren't born to be on their hands and knees for others to stand upon, but were born to stand side by side together.' And so they seek to radically change things. To open people's eyes to the lies and myths they have been led to believe as children and really see for the first time that they are more like prisoners on this ship than helpless nobodies. They urge those people to stand up and to take control of the ship and sail it towards a completely different destination, embarking towards a new world that we build together. And their motto is 'Not me, us.'

In this ship metaphor, the ship represents any kind of exploitative socioeconomic system, such as capitalism. The ship owner(s) represents the capitalist, who, because they funded the building of the ship and have ownership rights, have full control over it. The workers who actually build the ship and the crew who sails it represent the majority of working people. The ship captain, who takes general orders and directions from the owner, represents the ruling class, while their first mate represents CEOs and managers. And that's how I see today, and much of human history. The majority of people are put to work and made to toil by those at the top, the ones steering the proverbial ship. Much of the wealth that they accumulate is created by our collective labour. And much of their power is derived from that wealth, and from our unconscious subservience. They metaphorically stand on the backs of the majority of workers, enjoying a life of wealth and privilege that we can only dream about and hope to one day achieve, but which most of us rarely ever do. But we're fed myths and tales and morals that tease of such possibilities and which reinforce beliefs in the moral and intellectual superiority of those who exploit our lives and our labour. And many people simply live their lives as best they can, doing what they have to do to survive, not daring to hope or dream of anything more because they feel alone and powerless and have long since resigned themselves to their fate. Some obviously want things to stay the same because they're the main ones benefiting from it. They have power and privilege and feel entitled to it. Why should they give all of that up? And many others in power enable that, working to tweak things here and there to mitigate the worst of the negative consequences and suffering, just enough to keep things going as they are without falling apart from the weight of its own greedy ambition or torn apart by the desperate mobs who are provoked by sheer privation. And then there are those who want to radically change things. Those who want to open people's eyes and look past all the myths and propaganda and see how things really work and how they're being exploited. They want the majority of people who are put to work and made to toil to join their collective voices and labor together, throw off their yokes, and remake society in a way that provides everyone with a good life. Because not only are the people at the top preventing this, their greed and exploitation of people and resources are doing serious damage to our health and the health of this planet.

This is of course a simplistic depiction of complex historical processes and social relations, but I think it accurately reflects what's going on. And to properly answer the question of what is to be done, we have to see this setup for what it is. They want to divide us. They want us to remain separated into different groups fighting for our own relative privileges and liberations rather than as one united group working concertedly, in cooperation rather than competition, towards liberating every single one of us from subservience to the rich and powerful, from the superficial divisions that we've let ourselves be divided into, and from a world in which we have little-to-no control. Because even if the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice, it doesn't bend that way on its own—it bends with the might of all the hands of the exploited, oppressed, marginalized, and neglected masses and their allies, past, present, and future, pushing it. And it's my goal to help, in whatever small way I can, to add my strength. I am anti-capitalist and anti-establishment not out of hate or naivety, but because these are the systems keeping us from achieving a better world. A few at the very top profit from keeping things as they are. But we'll all ultimately profit by radically changing them.

So what is to be done? What is to be done is to keep fighting. Keep organizing. Keep connecting with other people. Keep questioning and learning and listening and working for a better tomorrow and revolutionize this system.

socialize the economy

Best part of the debate for me from Bernie: "You know what Mr. Bloomberg, it wasn't you who made all that money; maybe your workers played some role in that as well." That's the crux of my own views on political economy—i.e., the role workers play in the creation of wealth vs. the control owners have over it and those workers' lives.

I'm all for an economy where workers own and control their labour and the products of that labour. I'm all for an economy where everyone has access to food, clothing, shelter, and medical care and opportunities for education regardless of who they are or where they come from. I'm all for the righting of the ship of inequality that is capitalism, for an economy where everyone's heads are above water, not just the rich and the lucky. Rationalize and humanize the economy.

I'm personally in favour of a radical transformation of society, one in which wage labour and our limited and regressive understanding of property rights is replaced by a more rational, humane, and equitable socioeconomic system. At the very least, I think we should begin by nationalizing industries and mandating worker shares in ownership (half or more).

We should nationalize banks and allow state and community owned banks while eliminating predatory penalties and interest rates. We should nationalize the energy sector, creating nationwide public utilities so that everyone has access to clean water and power, eliminating fossil fuels and moving towards wind, solar, hydro, and other, less harmful power sources. We should nationalize healthcare and eliminate an industry that profits off of illnesses, giving everyone access to good health. And we should start to push for a new understanding of the contributions of labour to society, imbuing all labour with dignity and worthy of a living wage, or better, a right to the collective wealth of society.

We can and should do better as a society, seeing one another as members of an extended global family and utilizing our collective labour to make sure every person has a happy, healthy life.

thanksgiving

Thanksgiving. It can be hard for many to appreciate the mindset of gratitude or thanksgiving when they're confronted by the history of the holiday itself. The mythologized celebration at Plymouth in 1621, for instance, belies the tragic fate of the indigenous peoples of the Americas that unfolded under colonialism, Manifest Destiny, the 19th century policy of native population removal, and countless broken treaties. And Lincoln's creation of a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens" in 1863 was set within the bloody context of what many consider to be the deadliest war in American history, containing within it the hope of some future peace and harmony.

Today, it seems like it's more about food, football, and a prelude to the consumeristic orgy of Black Friday than a recollection of all the things that we're grateful for, mythologized or not. At least that's how it seems to me. But the idea of gratitude itself is something I've grown to appreciate. My life hasn't always been the best, and I haven't always been the best person; but there are numerous people and things I find myself grateful for if I reflect on it, yet I find that I rarely seem to have the time or mindfulness to cultivate that sense of gratitude and appreciation. It's not really a priority in our culture, and it's an easy thing for us to overlook. I'm reminded of the Buddha's words in AN 2.118: "These two people are hard to find in the world. Which two? The one who is first to do a kindness, and the one who is grateful and thankful for a kindness done."

The world can be a harsh and lonely place sometimes, and there are so many people I'm thankful for, too many to list. I just feel terribly grateful at this moment for the many acts and words of kindness given to me over the years. I'm especially grateful for the people who have helped me expand my knowledge over the years, so that I'm not only aware of the somber history that my high school textbooks completely glossed over but my own agency in fighting to change things and right past wrongs. And I'm also grateful for the many people who have entered my life and made it one worth living, including those who sent me such kind messages today.

king diamond!!!

I imagine everyone has their favourite artist or band and their own stories for why they mean so much to them. I'm certainly no different. When I was younger, between the ages of 13 to 18, music was extremely important to me. It was how I expressed myself and dealt with all the emotions I was feeling, some of them dark and painful. But just as in real life, I had trouble finding where I fit in musically. There were things I liked, but there wasn't anything I truly loved until I found King Diamond​.

My first exposure to King Diamond was the music video for "Egypt." I'd never heard nor seen anything quite like it. I was immediately drawn towards the overt mythological and occult overtones; but I was completely captivated by King Diamond himself. His theatrical and almost operatic vocal range, which could go from hauntingly low and demonic to piercingly high shrieks and screams. His makeup, black and white and completely over-the-top, upside down cross and all, yet somehow still sinister. His lyrics, invoking Osiris, Anubis, and Ammit, and centred around one’s fate in the afterlife. The moment I saw that video, I knew I'd found my musical soulmate. It was love at first sight.

I was already familiar with the flamboyant and controversial philosophy of Anton LeVey by then (I mean, what rebellious preteen could resist picking up The Satanic Bible at their local bookstore?), and King Diamond personified it to a T. His music and its occult subject matter, combined with his distinctive look and its liberal use of black leather and satanic symbolism, further stoked my rebelliousness against the conservative, Judeo-Christian culture that dominated Michigan suburbia, inspiring me to foster my own individuality rather than suppress it in order to conform with what was expected of me, and to explore the possibilities of what might lie on 'the other side.'

While I'd later move away from LeVey's philosophy, finding a better spiritual fit first in the likes of Aleister Crowley and later in Buddhism and Christian mysticism, it nevertheless helped me survive high school without losing myself or my mind. It helped me to find pride in myself, and to find strength in the things that set me apart from everyone else. As King Diamond often made clear in interviews, it’s ultimately about questioning authority and doing what thou wilt as long as it’s not hurting anyone else. Our individual lived realities and beliefs can be different, and that’s ok; just don’t be an asshole.

My first actual King Diamond album was Abigail. It was also my first concept album. I can't even begin to explain the impact this album had on me. It's more akin to a revelation than anything rational, but it definitely changed my life for the reasons mentioned above re: In the Shadows and much, much more. A horror story set to music, I'd often listen to it, along with Them and The Eye, at night. It was like the King himself was singing me nightmarish bedtime stories as I drifted off to sleep, transporting me into supernatural worlds where I could temporarily escape from the pressures of being an awkward teen who never quite fit in. Later, I'd go on to realize that women play a prominent role in many (if not most) of his concept albums; and that regardless of whether they're the hero, villain, or victim, they're always powerful in their own right.

I was known throughout my high school years for my obsession with King Diamond. His music and persona became a part of my identity. From there, I'd later go on to fall in love with black metal, which bands like Mercyful Fate helped to inspire. Seeing him live and getting the chance to meet him was an amazing experience, an experience my younger self would have sold his soul for. Today, I met one of my heroes, and arguably one of the greatest musicians, artists, and storytellers of my generation.

impeachment 2019

I just can't get into these impeachment hearings. Like, as 'historic' as they may be, I find myself completely uninterested in them because we already know that Trump is guilty of a number of impeachable offenses since his administration has basically admitted half of them on live TV, we already know that the Republicans are going to try to obstruct the proceedings as much as possible and just flap their biscuits with their fingers in their ears, and we already know that the Democrats are going to proceed as if we're not living in a time when one side is still trying to play by the old rules and norms while the other side is entirely ambivalent, even hostile, to those rules and norms and routinely violates them with impunity.

The only hope of Dems succeeding is for them to get enough of the American people angry enough to force the hand of senate Republicans to vote to impeach, because the latter doesn't care about optics and won't give up their power willingly. Instead of great prosecutors, they need great orators to speak to the people. Because the people are the true power, and they're sure as hell not going to sway Republicans with logic or an airtight case against the present administration's corruption, incompetency, and abuse of power. On the plus side, if impeachment fails, there's an opportunity (however slim) for people to see just how corrupt and toxic our political system is and for all the built up anger and frustration people feel to be directed towards mass protests and a nationwide general strike pushing for a new socio-economic order—a fairer, more democratic socio-economic system that addresses things like racial and gender inequality as much as broader economic inequality. I mean, it's happening in Chile as we speak.

happy birthday, dostoyevsky

Today marks the birthday of Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Despite his failings as a person, Dostoyevsky was one of the most influential writers of the last 200 years, as well as my personal favourite. His works speak to me like no others do. More than that, his works were the first to help me to see the way literature often strives and succeeds to express the inexpressible realities of life, the existential joys and agonies we all act out in our minds and in day-to-day lives, and how our imaginations can bring these worlds to life within us.

I realized while reading his works, especially things like The Brothers Karamazov, Demons, and The Idiot, that literature isn't just art or entertainment, it's also a means of self-discovery and a doorway to insights about being human that science and rationality alone are unable to unlock. Literature immerses us amongst these places and people in a way that allows us to live them from all sides and experience them in their fullness, seeing equally into the ecstatic and tormented hearts and minds of each and every character, and what I think ultimately amounts to a collective reflection of ourselves and the many contradictions that embody our humanity.

We are a multitude, with each character reflecting aspects of our own psyches and potentialities, each giving voice to our shared desires and fears, joys and sorrows, victories and defeats, and everything else in between. Some dominating over others and standing out as being more relatable to our own experience. Some making us laugh or cry. Some serving to inspire us in who we wish to become. Still others sobering us to the evils we're all capable of 'if but for the grace of God.' We live through them; but more than that, they live in us, are us, and we can begin to see ourselves more clearly through them.

And that's what truly amazes me—the paradoxical way these fictional accounts of fictional people can somehow express reality better than reality itself often can. How they can enlighten us about ourselves and the world, about the experience of life itself, and make us feel so much so deeply. These stories communicate things indescribable in objective ways. In essence, I increasingly find myself marvelling at great authors less for their artistry and more for the way their art reveals truth. And I have Dostoevsky to thank for that.

cooperation > competition

An interesting excerpt on Medium from Douglas Rushkoff's upcoming book, Team Human:

Evolution Made Us Cooperative, Not Competitive

This is something Peter Kropotkin and Stephen J. Gould both argued—something I personally agree with myself. Life is a struggle. It continually fights against decay, entropy, and catastrophe in the tiny space it occupies within the incomprehensible vastness that is the universe. But somehow, we've learned over time to thrive despite the harshness of it all. And the main way we've done this, I believe, is through increasingly-greater levels of cooperation and an ever-expansive sense of community.

Our history is ultimately one of an intricate and interconnected web of ideas, events, and social relations that have given rise, over numerous generations, to civilization as we know it today, with its beauty and its horrors, its triumphs and its tragedies, its heroes and its monsters. So many mistakes have kept us in a state of nature that's often savage, distrustful, and broken. But the stronger our bonds, the greater our achievements and the higher we ascend. And our biggest mistake is that we've grown accustomed to seeing ourselves as isolated, individual atoms that simply swerve here and there and bump into one another in a chaotic dance of self-interest.

Yet, nature isn't limited to this kind of dance. Individual atoms also cooperate, bond together to create molecules that themselves combined with other molecules again and again to eventually form the myriad of things we can see and hear and taste and touch and contemplate. The stronger their bonds and the more complex (and cooperative) their structures, the more amazing the things they create, even the mystery of life itself. And looking at the state of the world around me, from the threat of catastrophic climate change to the destructive power of war, the only hope for the future I see is a higher degree of cooperation and a more expansive sense of community than we currently have now, as individuals and as nations, overcoming barriers and borders in the struggle to create something altogether new.

Despite whatever fears we may have about the world and one another, and about the harshness of life we're sometimes confronted with, we must abandon our atomistic and overly competitive ways of living and begin to more fully embrace all the positive forces that bind us together. If not, everything that we see and love and hold close to our hearts, our whole world based on interconnectedness, will fall apart in the chaotic dance of self-interest.