247) Day 15 -- Reason #15 to revolt against Predatory Capitalism
I remember reading articles about the coming insurance-catastrophe, THIRTY YEARS AGO, circulated amongst the re-insurer companies — which are ginormous pots of money that insure the insurance companies.
The re-insurers knew, decades ago, that climate change costs for insurance companies were going to rise to uncontrollable levels in the near-to-medium future. Which is happening…now. Literally now, in 2025.
244) Day 12 -- Reason #12 to revolt against predatory capitalism
I am reminded of Pascal's wager with regards to hell. If you include the possibility of "infinite suffering" as the outcome to a choice, then that choice is insane, even if the chances are pretty low.
But the chances of mass destruction and infinite suffering due to predatory capitalism are not low. They are ONE HUNDRED PERCENT.
Humans have created a system that ONE HUNDRED PERCENT GUARANTEES unimaginable suffering.
241) Day 9 -- Reason #9 to revolt against Predatory Capitalism
The environment is our air. Water. Heart. Lungs. Mind. Community. Family. Peace. War. Starvation. Abundance. Genocide. Ballet. Sports. Music. Grandmas and Grandpas. Laughter. Love. Hate. Acceptance. Intolerance. Greed. Ethics. Sex. Beauty. Joy. Freedom.
237) Day 5 -- Reason #5 to revolt against Predatory Capitalism
You know how there’s all this talk about Canada’s “terrible carbon tax”? You know how Pierre Poilievre and his ilk are telling Canadians that the oh-so-hated Carbon Tax, evil machination of Trudeau, is driving inflation and making us all struggle to afford food?
Well, it’s just not true. It is a bald-faced lie. But it sure gets voters to hate the Liberals, eh?
107) War, Part 3: The 21st Century
Can you imagine how you’d react if, in each of those stories, just as the Enemy is at the gate and the Heroes are gathering for their courageous final battle, the whole thing just….stops? The heroes decide at the last moment to just say fuck it and go do something else? Like, instead of battling for the Earth, let’s take our IronMan suit and Captain America shield and let’s go fuck something up, take over a country maybe, and make ourselves rich! MWAAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!
80) Magic, Motorcycles, and Mandelbrot: Part 4 - A Call for Global Revolution
I believe that we need the majority of society to shift, and quickly, into an ecological way of perceiving ourselves in relation to each other and the rest of the world. The knowledge of how to “be” in a different way is already out there. It’s held in indigenous cultures. Eco-farming communities. And a thousand other places. We have the knowledge and wisdom to behave better as a species. But we need to apply it, large scale, and immediately.
This is unprecedented. Nothing of this scale has ever been undertaken. This is bigger than WWII. The space race. The pyramids. The fall of Rome. The colonization of the New World. This is a global revolution in how we conduct ourselves towards each other and towards the planet.
71) Purpose -- Part 3 -- I hate you.
If I met you on the street, or at a party, or in a class, or at a job, there is a very, very, very good chance that we would get along just fine. Or at least would be able to refrain from cannibalizing whichever of us was unlucky enough to get knocked unconscious first.
70) Purpose -- Part 2 -- Why the Environmental Movement has Failed (so far) -- Act III: Full Circle
My message is, I love you. I believe in your good hearts. I honour the sacrifices of your visionaries. I weep with you as ecosystems fall apart. The Amazon burns. The Arctic melts. The Great Barrier reef disintegrates. The oceans become a graveyard. Forests turn into grasslands, and grasslands into deserts. Bird song turns into the white noise of traffic. The buzzing and clicking and colourful vibrancy of insect life turns into the empty whisper of barren spaces.
69) Purpose -- Part 2 -- Why the Environmental Movement has Failed (so far) -- Act II: Change or Die
“Change or die” does not work. It convinces basically nobody. Changes almost no behaviours. It’s like being attacked by an enemy. You don’t open your doors to them and welcome them into your home. You barricade your door, dig trenches, lock and load.
This is one of the biggest reasons the “environmental movement” has largely failed. And it’s why it will likely continue to fail. Unless it changes its strategies.
68) Purpose -- Part 2 -- Why the Environmental Movement has Failed (so far) -- Act I: Me & You
I love you.
You might be thinking….”Really? That’s creepy.”
Or you might be thinking….”Really? We’ve never even met!”
Or you might be thinking…..”Why, what’d you have in mind?”
Or you might be thinking…..”Huh? I thought this was about why the environmental movement has failed.”
65) Protesting: What’s the point? It’s just a bunch of activists getting arrested and stopping traffic or some shit, amiright?
I didn’t talk to a single person who wasn’t uncomfortable with, or unaware of the fact that we were inconveniencing people who were “just trying to get to work”. But, The System IS killing us. We’ve spent literally DECADES trying to – do good science — raise awareness — establish dialogue — pass laws — change lifestyles — inspire people — work with governments — etc. etc. etc. etc. And it has not worked. Things are worse in the ecology of our Collective Life Support System than ever before in the history of Homo Sapiens. Everything “normal” has been tried. A thousand times over.
It’s time to misbehave. So these are some of the people I met today who, reluctantly, joyfully, were misbehaving.
57) The bleeding hearts and the artists: 'Requiem' for a species
Rational discussion is important. But woefully insufficient. And people’s impatience at others’ ideological closedness, when they themselves have stared into the abyss and wept over the bottomless pit of human atrocity, is perfectly, perfectly understandable.
55) The Wind of Change
Healing happens. Hearts open. Society evolves.
It’s messy. But keep at it. It pays off eventually.
35) Thoughts on Three TEDx Talks
I was trying to take people, right there, in that moment, on a journey, to engage minds and connect with hearts, directly, from me to you, unimpeded by theory and intellectualization. Rather than aiming for a rational appeal that could be communicated discursively, I wanted to engage people in a form of honest, authentic dialogue that transcended mere spoken language but could be conveyed through music, symbolism, story and nonverbal behaviour. So I tossed theory completely out the window and went straight for the heart through poetry, song, story, and drumming.
And it worked
#Infinity) September 29, 2017 - TurnAround
So…what now?
Well, this marks the end of normal life. The beginning of a rapid global awakening that is unprecedented in history. The people will reinvent the world. And we won’t wait for the politicians and corporations. We will force them.