Oh, but many people were born to conform. Shall we celebrate conformity?
Being "born this way" justifies only the right to be who you are, but not to dictate terms to anyone else. After all, they were "born that way". In the end, it's not how you were born, it's if you are adult enough to respect everyone else's right to be different from you.
OK. Paid to subscribe so I could comment here. Because I think you're worth it.
Strong words at the end, but you're still "televising" the revolution here on Substack, and accepting dollars for it. How and where are you organizing? Or are these just more brilliant insights on a screen for $ubscriber$? I don't mean to troll but your strong words deserve a strong response. I subscribed to comment in the faith that you can handle it.
My sense is: we're too far gone for outright revolution. We need to eat. We need health care. We want safety and a future for our children. We need internet to talk to each other. And by my understanding of the playbook, our internet speech will soon be limited and policed, as the regime introduces and rewards its own "social credit" system. So what has happened time and again throughout the past, is that the revolution encodes itself, encrypts itself, embeds itself, encapsulates itself in all sorts of subtle, stubborn, and deep ways, to go dormant and weather the storms, to rise again as it can.
I'm not organizing a political movement. I am, as I always have, doing my own thing. I write these columns because culture is my game, and understanding how the world works and how art functions as part of culture are part of good cultural education--and also part of orienting one well in the world. I make art, and I work with friends and neighbors to keep my community, family, and loved ones safe.
I spent enough time in activist circles in the Open Source movement, among the Berkeley socialists, and the Religious Right (I grew up among them) that I know both how the sausage is made and how unimportant individuals are in that scene. So I live my life and do work in spaces where an individual is useful/valuable--that's what unites my film analyses, historic deep-dives, maker posts, political/judicial explainers, and manifestos (like this article) that I post on here.
The themes related to these issues--heroism, ethics, complex systems, solidarity, religion, mythology, and humanism--run all through my fiction.
My fundamental belief, underneath all my opinions and attitudes, is that we are at the front end of a civilizational transition as momentous as the Black Death.
As far as I see it, the value I can bring to the table is to help people understand the world that's shifting underneath them so that they can better figure out how to conduct their lives and bring value to the people/politics/elements they prize. This is why I work so hard to keep my personal opinion in a sandbox when I'm doing analytical posts. It's also why I get so exercised when I'm doing posts about personal meaning--cultures that have lost the ability to make meaning are cultures that die, and I like my culture (for all its flaws).
You said:
"My sense is: we're too far gone for outright revolution. We need to eat. We need health care. We want safety and a future for our children. We need internet to talk to each other."
I understand the sentiment, but I think it's incorrect. Successful revolutions (such as the American revolution) happen when people are fat, happy, and resentful that they're being squeezed. Disastrous revolutions--the kind that turn their countries into black holes--happen when people are starving and deprived and easier to whip into a mob frenzy and/or the geography is favorable to fast balkanization.
The post I'm working on right now will lay out the entirety of my thinking and its background on this topic, but to be very brief here: If there isn't a peaceful revolution of some sort here-and-now ("now" meaning "sometime between five years ago and twelve years from today"), the entire planet will suffer for at least a couple generations as a result. There's a LOT riding on the line at the moment--historical eras like this come along once every five-to-ten centuries. The way we (including we plebs, and especially we artists) manage things now can set the tone for the next several centuries. It's impossible to know which ones of us will be remembered as those voices, but that's a chance that comes along once or twice a millennium, so, to me, that makes it worth remarking upon.
You also said:
"And by my understanding of the playbook, our internet speech will soon be limited and policed, as the regime introduces and rewards its own "social credit" system. So what has happened time and again throughout the past, is that the revolution encodes itself, encrypts itself, embeds itself, encapsulates itself in all sorts of subtle, stubborn, and deep ways, to go dormant and weather the storms, to rise again as it can."
These are real dangers, and if they come to fruition the underground option is the best one, but we're not there quite yet.
The regime (which, in my view, is ultimately a financial system with its roots in the European wars of the 17th century) is powerful, and its roots run deep, but it is a creature of *this* era, and *this* era is coming to an end. It may survive into the next era, or it may die here, or it may continue in the next era in a limping half-form (similar to how Rome extended into the Middle Ages, or the Catholic Church extended itself into the modern era following the 15th century). But whatever comes next, its perpetual control is not a given.
Anyway, those are my thoughts.
And by my understanding of the playbook, our internet speech will soon be limited and policed, as the regime introduces and rewards its own "social credit" system. So what has happened time and again throughout the past, is that the revolution encodes itself, encrypts itself, embeds itself, encapsulates itself in all sorts of subtle, stubborn, and deep ways, to go dormant and weather the storms, to rise again as it can.
Oh, but many people were born to conform. Shall we celebrate conformity?
Being "born this way" justifies only the right to be who you are, but not to dictate terms to anyone else. After all, they were "born that way". In the end, it's not how you were born, it's if you are adult enough to respect everyone else's right to be different from you.
That was more or less my thinking as well
Love your descriptions of the radicals!
One point I'm taking away is that dissent is not reserved for the pure.
And we see this is two ways:
Those with something to say but with a marked upon slate keeping their mouths shut
Those who either silence others outright or can't hear others because they have presented themselves as unblemished and won't be quiet for 5 seconds.
Yup
OK. Paid to subscribe so I could comment here. Because I think you're worth it.
Strong words at the end, but you're still "televising" the revolution here on Substack, and accepting dollars for it. How and where are you organizing? Or are these just more brilliant insights on a screen for $ubscriber$? I don't mean to troll but your strong words deserve a strong response. I subscribed to comment in the faith that you can handle it.
My sense is: we're too far gone for outright revolution. We need to eat. We need health care. We want safety and a future for our children. We need internet to talk to each other. And by my understanding of the playbook, our internet speech will soon be limited and policed, as the regime introduces and rewards its own "social credit" system. So what has happened time and again throughout the past, is that the revolution encodes itself, encrypts itself, embeds itself, encapsulates itself in all sorts of subtle, stubborn, and deep ways, to go dormant and weather the storms, to rise again as it can.
But I'm curious to hear your thoughts.
Thank you for the support!
I'm not organizing a political movement. I am, as I always have, doing my own thing. I write these columns because culture is my game, and understanding how the world works and how art functions as part of culture are part of good cultural education--and also part of orienting one well in the world. I make art, and I work with friends and neighbors to keep my community, family, and loved ones safe.
I spent enough time in activist circles in the Open Source movement, among the Berkeley socialists, and the Religious Right (I grew up among them) that I know both how the sausage is made and how unimportant individuals are in that scene. So I live my life and do work in spaces where an individual is useful/valuable--that's what unites my film analyses, historic deep-dives, maker posts, political/judicial explainers, and manifestos (like this article) that I post on here.
The themes related to these issues--heroism, ethics, complex systems, solidarity, religion, mythology, and humanism--run all through my fiction.
My fundamental belief, underneath all my opinions and attitudes, is that we are at the front end of a civilizational transition as momentous as the Black Death.
As far as I see it, the value I can bring to the table is to help people understand the world that's shifting underneath them so that they can better figure out how to conduct their lives and bring value to the people/politics/elements they prize. This is why I work so hard to keep my personal opinion in a sandbox when I'm doing analytical posts. It's also why I get so exercised when I'm doing posts about personal meaning--cultures that have lost the ability to make meaning are cultures that die, and I like my culture (for all its flaws).
You said:
"My sense is: we're too far gone for outright revolution. We need to eat. We need health care. We want safety and a future for our children. We need internet to talk to each other."
I understand the sentiment, but I think it's incorrect. Successful revolutions (such as the American revolution) happen when people are fat, happy, and resentful that they're being squeezed. Disastrous revolutions--the kind that turn their countries into black holes--happen when people are starving and deprived and easier to whip into a mob frenzy and/or the geography is favorable to fast balkanization.
The post I'm working on right now will lay out the entirety of my thinking and its background on this topic, but to be very brief here: If there isn't a peaceful revolution of some sort here-and-now ("now" meaning "sometime between five years ago and twelve years from today"), the entire planet will suffer for at least a couple generations as a result. There's a LOT riding on the line at the moment--historical eras like this come along once every five-to-ten centuries. The way we (including we plebs, and especially we artists) manage things now can set the tone for the next several centuries. It's impossible to know which ones of us will be remembered as those voices, but that's a chance that comes along once or twice a millennium, so, to me, that makes it worth remarking upon.
You also said:
"And by my understanding of the playbook, our internet speech will soon be limited and policed, as the regime introduces and rewards its own "social credit" system. So what has happened time and again throughout the past, is that the revolution encodes itself, encrypts itself, embeds itself, encapsulates itself in all sorts of subtle, stubborn, and deep ways, to go dormant and weather the storms, to rise again as it can."
These are real dangers, and if they come to fruition the underground option is the best one, but we're not there quite yet.
The regime (which, in my view, is ultimately a financial system with its roots in the European wars of the 17th century) is powerful, and its roots run deep, but it is a creature of *this* era, and *this* era is coming to an end. It may survive into the next era, or it may die here, or it may continue in the next era in a limping half-form (similar to how Rome extended into the Middle Ages, or the Catholic Church extended itself into the modern era following the 15th century). But whatever comes next, its perpetual control is not a given.
Anyway, those are my thoughts.
And by my understanding of the playbook, our internet speech will soon be limited and policed, as the regime introduces and rewards its own "social credit" system. So what has happened time and again throughout the past, is that the revolution encodes itself, encrypts itself, embeds itself, encapsulates itself in all sorts of subtle, stubborn, and deep ways, to go dormant and weather the storms, to rise again as it can.
Thanks so much for your thoughts 🙏🙏🙏
"We’re not crazy.
We *preform* this way."
If this is or isn't a typo, I love it.
LOL it was a typo, and I fixed it. But I'm glad you loved it :-)
At some point, you'll have to write about the apparent correlation between artistic genius and personal perversion.
I did it here:
https://jdanielsawyer.substack.com/p/unleashing-mystery-and-madness
But if there's an aspect of that you'd like me to delve into more deeply, I'm totally game. Just say what!
I'd forgotten that. Good to have the link attached to this post.