I don’t even have cable service and all I am exposed to all day is people and other media griping about the BLM movement, Police brutality, election mud flinging, and news about our constitutional rights being violated and/or taken away. I hear friends, family, and acquaintances alike yammering about it constantly. After a while it makes me sick. Don’t get me wrong, these are all important issues; every one of them. But it’s all just talk.
“But Anthony, do you not consider it crucial to be informed on the issues that effect our lives?”
Of course I consider it valuable to be informed, but being informed is a means to an end, not an end unto itself (like money). Despite what we were taught, knowledge is not power ……… applied knowledge is power. It doesn’t matter how well informed we are, or how well we understand our situation, if we are not using that knowledge to take action toward a greater good, then it was all wasted. For the most part, these people yammering endlessly about politics are not doing anything with this information. Might as well choose ignorance, at least there is a greater chance we will be happy.
“Political talk without action is just gossip.”
The Big Question: What power do we (the middle class) have to take action on all these issues that affect us?
The Answer: Collectively we have tremendous power. In fact we are really the only power. All the other parties that have power, only have the power granted to them my the majority, by us. We can exercise this power in four ways:
- For starters, I’ll mention the obvious power we all have. We have the power of the vote. last I checked we still live in a Democracy. It’s debatable exactly how much weight our vote carries, but that’s another topic for another time. But we still have the vote nonetheless.
- Next, we have the power of the almighty dollar. I believe that we have a responsibility in how we spend our money, and we exercise power in our spending habits. This is just as important as how we earn our money. Anybody that earns a living, has a small amount of power in the money that they earn.
- We can also get involved politically ourselves. That’s right. If you wanna change a system, change it from the inside. For those of us who have a passion for politics (not me), go for it! Work with the system and run for office.
- The only other way to exercise our power as a collective is one that is a last resort. And that is through protest/civil disobedience/revolution (change a system form the outside). This method is messy, and their will be casualties, that’s why it is a last resort. I say civil disobedience because the truth is, violent action has always cause more problems than it has solved.
Voting isn’t going to change anything because the selection we have to vote from is …. unfavorable, and untrustworthy.
One could work their way up in the game (good luck).
Those of us who see the truth realize that protest/CD/rev is not even necessary in the problems we face today, as the problems we have today are small beans compared to those we have dealt with throughout history (learn your history). The gain is not worth the potential loss (yet).
So how can the problems of today be handled? Consider power (2). The power of the dollar is even more important than the power of the vote. Why, because by now I believe that most of us are starting to realize the truth: The government doesn’t run our country, corporations do; big business. It is they that are buying all the big decisions that affect the way we live. BLM, CLM, and the 2016 Election are all the result of subterfuge created by America’s elite through all our media channels (TV, Social Media, Radio, etc) to keep us focused on each other, rather than the higher powers and their agenda. The media is also being used as a manipulative tool to gain permission from us to take away our constitutional rights. Sorry, I digress.
The solution: cut off their revenue. For those who are minimalists like me, you are already in the battle. If all people were minimalists like us, the corporations wouldn’t have the ….. power to buy the big decisions. It’s just that simple. Ah, but there is more we can do. When we do shop, shop local. Support our local small businesses. This stimulates our local economy and robs the corporations of the power they need to continue on their greedy way.
What I am saying is, that with today’s problems, the only way we are gonna get the attention of our oppressors, is by hurting them where it hurts the most, in their wallet. Then, only then, will we have the complete attention of corporate America, and they will bend to our demands. Example: If everyone collectively decided to stop buying/using iphones, you better believe that the price for an iphone will drop significantly almost overnight (Whatever happened to a good old fashioned boycott).
So in conclusion: In addition to continuing this wonderful minimalist lifestyle I enjoy, I will be making a serious effort to incorporate shopping local into my lifestyle. Farmers markets instead of grocery stores. “Mom and Pops” shopping instead of franchise shopping. I will be keeping my readers up to date on my progress as I go, in the Journal Entry section of this site. I strongly urge others to make this change as well. We need to scrutinize who we give your money to. Enough complaining about the issues the 10 o’clock news would have us all nervous about. Turn off the TV and take action. This will be a challenge for me, but I feel if I take baby steps at a time, I will pull through it. Stay tuned.