Have We Entered a Dystopian Rabbit Hole

How can we differentiate the truth from the false when we are being bombarded daily by verbal messages and contrary actions? What’s up is down – down is up!

We are being told to be more civil while angry hacks kill elderly members in a Jewish synagogue. Pipe bombs are sent to democratic officials while our President accuses said, recipients of the bombs, of sending the bombs to themselves for self-promotion during the campaign season. Is this the price of being more connected?

We seem to be plunging deeper and deeper into the dystopian world portrayed by George Orwell’s classic book, 1984. After this past week, I’d like to toss in another classic:   

“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”

Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

I could provide numerous examples of this absolute nut-show we are witnessing in this country, but collectively, we all understand how bad it is getting with no end in sight. 

If I consider a victory for the blue wave in a few weeks, I expect the rhetoric will only increase and the division will widen and deepen. There are reports in both Georgia and Texas that ballots cast are being changed and/or disposed of intentionally. Whoever loses those contests will have valid legal arguments to challenge the outcome which will drag out for months. Could it ultimately be decided by a conservative Kavanaugh installed SCOTUS? This would be even more fuel for the fire. 

So, where does it end? Where are we heading?

Many thought leaders of the day expect a long protracted period of escalating tensions within this country and abroad as we witness the end of market-driven global capitalism where money equals power/influence and power means access to more money. Greed and the power to oppress have been dance partners for decades so how long will it take for the concert to end?

Plato philosophized that ideal leaders would be “philosopher kings” but I certainly don’t see a plethora of philosophy-centered leaders in the United States.

One sure sign that Bernie Sanders’ endorsed leaders who’ve risen across the country are creating fear in the hearts of Oligarchs is the condemnation and outright propaganda campaigns against “socialism.” One of the fearmongering campaigns is how universal health care would bankrupt the USA. They ignore the fact that universal healthcare would actually cost less money than our current for-profit market-driven system where we pay more than any other country while experiencing mediocre outcomes. 

Why doesn’t our Media Conglomerates focus on these facts? If they start down that “rabbit hole” they will find that a focus on the prevention of disease in this country would eliminate our dependence on the pharmaceutical and medical device-making industry. If we focused on prevention and keeping people out of the hospital, how many other industries would experience a serious shake-up?

How about industry? 

What happens when the medical/health industry is actually accountable for our health or the prevention of diseases? Will they start holding other industries accountable? How about the meat industry who is polluting our ground and water? What about the energy industry for polluting our air and making us sick–especially the young and elderly?

How will this completely change the media industry that has profited off disinformation?

You don’t need a crystal ball to see how a few changes within our profit-driven systems would create a people-centered system and the disruption it would cause for many industries. However, this disruption should have occurred decades ago but we chose another path and the Oligarchs resisted the changes necessary because they’d lose control of the people (democracy would rise over oligarchy).

Albert Einstein was correct…our predatory system of capitalism must end and be replaced by a people-centered (socialism) planned economy.  When you hear buzzwords like sustainability, you know smart people are on the right track. I know they are hard to find within our crazy world right now but they do exist just below our consciousness of chaos. How long before they become mainstream conversations will depend on time and the energy of the people. 

The Demise of Capitalism

We all must accept that capitalism is ending…a system that demands infinite growth on a finite planet was destined to fail. Everywhere we look, evidence abounds. Leveling entire mountain ranges with dynamite to access coal, melting ice caps, extreme storms, the extinction of animal species, to the islands of plastic floating in our oceans. It was all very predictable and that’s what Einstein was telling us. The two emerging markets (China and India) are literally choking from extreme air pollution. Einstein saw in the 1940s that our socio-economic systems were leading us toward inevitable disaster.

Our division must be followed by a true ‘WE’ environment with systems placing people and the planet above profits. Growth and profits constantly touted in the US media as signs of prosperity must be replaced by social factors like happiness and social progress. There are indices measuring both but the United States doesn’t do well in either of them. It’s why our corporate-owned economists and media talk GDP incessantly. Once again, we are emphasizing the wrong values.

Our economic growth has nothing to do with social progress; they run contrary to each other.