The Insurrection of Subjugated Knowledge
As the title suggests, there is a revolution taking place against the control of knowledge. Vandana Shiva was the activist who made famous the call for an insurrection of subjugated knowledge. Shiva believes this revolution against the knowledge barons is well under way and that millions of concerned people continue to seek alternative news and information over traditional mainstream sources.
The reduction of the knowledge of our complex world into the hands of information controlled empires has placed the people under the control of these profiteers and has diluted our knowledge of the real world. Only by breaking away from these controllers of knowledge can we ever hope to change this world which is driven by the corporate interests of a few. These elite are intent on maintaining their empire, no matter the costs. Millions of people are manipulated and sacrificed so this empire can continue to maintain it's hold on societies.
There is absolutely nothing economical, just, or sustainable about this empire which tells the people what to think, what to say, and what to do! The manufacturing of untruths and the sculpting of stories based on part-truths has been an effective tool in the hands of the empire's elitists. We have willingly marched to the beat of their war drums and we've eagerly stepped up to the counter and bought their marketing of consumerism over sustainability. Yep, that's right, it's the good 'ol American Dream utilized as a social control, and it's worked very well! But the control is unraveling as the knowledge well is opened to the people and they begin to quench their thirst for truth.
According to Lewis Mumford, "the endless stream of consumer goods produced by technological society is a ‘magnificent bribe’ which masks our understanding of the real human impact of technological change."
This revolution against the control of knowledge is phenomenally creating a growth in world citizenship. This growth seems to ironically be a mixture of internationalism and anti-internationalism. Through the sharing of knowledge, this growth of world citizenship contains an appreciation for the multitudes of cultures in our world and the importance of peace. These revolutionaries are expressing the need and the importance of world citizenship and community in the fight for global justice and a sustainable civilization.
If we are allowed access to information and are allowed to share it with all who seek the truth; a wonderful thing happens! Information brings with it the knowledge we need. Once we have access to this knowledge, and we have the freedom to utilize this knowledge, we are capable of visioning and actually actively designing a more sustainable egalitarian society. But...on the other hand...if we as a people are not allowed access to information and only hear and see what the mass media shares, we will be kept ignorant and easily controlled.
We are currently witnessing a great example of control. If we can be kept fearful of something or someone, we can be pushed into positions of war. Once pushed into a war based on this fear, we face a terror of unbridled proportion. This terror of which I speak is the loss of our freedoms. In my humble opinion, the hope of our planet and it's people lies in the availability and accessibility of information. But more importantly, our future depends on our willingness to openly share this information with each other.
If we allow fear to control our lives, there will be no freedom! Fear stiffles dissent and without dissent, there is no hope for a better place. Breaking the shackles which have restrained us for so long is difficult for sure. But it is necessary! Social controllers do not like dissent and they will attempt to define and describe it by using misinformation and instilling fear within the people. In the words of Edward. R. Murrow
Our stories, the people's stories, are what is shaping our new world. There is power in the sharing of our personal stories. I am certainly not a writer but merely a pecker of keys. I know absolutely nothing of the structure and composition of what is recognized as good writing skills. But yet I still keep pecking on these keys. It's hard to explain exactly why I increasingly spend larger blocks of time on this machine. I've thought on it many times and I still find it difficult to answer the why of it! I guess it's mainly because I feel a responsibility to myself and others; and possibly because I see the importance of sharing experiences, thoughts, and ideas. I never knew there were so many people who have shared so many of the same experiences as myself until this Internet window to the world was opened. Once I was able to stick my head into this window, it was as if there was this entirely new dimension. I could smell new smells; I could see new sights; I could hear new voices; and most importantly, I could feel and share these new senses with so many others who were finding themselves within this same new and uncharted world!
This new world has the promise of building a society, which according to David Korten, isn't dominated by hierarchies dominated by chauvinisms of race, gender, religion, nationality, language, or class. I constantly find people and entire communities who realize the possibilities this new world offers and of the responsibilities required of themselves. We are explorers in this world and our journeys through the window allows us to find other individuals and entire communities of people who also see the truth about the injustices and inequalities within our societies. These communities are many and they vary considerably, but they are all a part of a much larger community. These communities are all connected to, and inseparable from, what is being called Earth Community. We are all involved in one way or another in the transition from corporate dominance towards a civilization based on the creativeness of human beings rather than the dominance of them. A civil and sustainable world designed by the people who see the destructiveness of greed, violence, and lust for power!
I often recall my time spent in the late 60's and the changes I was going through as I was exposed to another opportunity to view our world through an alternative window. Dissent and activism were very much accepted. Social norms were questioned and torn apart. People were fighting for truth, justice, and equality. I truly believed in the possibilities back then and there were great strides made in correcting many injustices. But the momentum seemed to wane and I was left feeling betrayed, forgotten, and disillusioned. Where had the people I knew gone? What had happened to the revolutionaries who had forseen a better world? Perhaps part of the reason the momentum cooled was because of the drug culture woven into the activists lives at the time or maybe activism subsided because the Empire allowed the people just enough change and freedom to quell the rising tide of revolution? The people were allowed just enough freedom to lull them into complacency in my opinion.
But the tide once again is rising as the people continue to take a beating from the corporatist slave masters. We are quickly being pushed up against the wall with no way out but straight forward against the injustice and inequality this Empire forces upon us. Each of us makes a difference! This is so important! One by one, we individually begin on the path of reform, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or relearning. One by one, at our individual pace, we reach our point of "enough is enough", and our journey...our exploration in this new world begins. Every contribution by the people is instrumental! We are finding each other and building communities of power. Every part is equal to the whole!
A blogger friend of mine, who I have never met in person but communicate with regularly, once wrote me and said, "My readers, these people, are my true friends, even if I have never met them in person. Sites have enjoined people whose perceptions and truthful insights and rightful outrage would otherwise have languished in bleak isolation, including mine."
This enjoinment of people, and the sharing of which he speaks is our true power. This is what our communities are being built upon! Each of our perceptions and insights (our stories) are so important to our future and the future of the people.
Exploration of this new world has begun and we have sent the scouts ahead. What lies over the next ridge is unknown but as we continue to build our communal strength on this journey, we stand a much better chance of successfully confronting whatever lies over that next hill. It's our watch people!
The reduction of the knowledge of our complex world into the hands of information controlled empires has placed the people under the control of these profiteers and has diluted our knowledge of the real world. Only by breaking away from these controllers of knowledge can we ever hope to change this world which is driven by the corporate interests of a few. These elite are intent on maintaining their empire, no matter the costs. Millions of people are manipulated and sacrificed so this empire can continue to maintain it's hold on societies.
There is absolutely nothing economical, just, or sustainable about this empire which tells the people what to think, what to say, and what to do! The manufacturing of untruths and the sculpting of stories based on part-truths has been an effective tool in the hands of the empire's elitists. We have willingly marched to the beat of their war drums and we've eagerly stepped up to the counter and bought their marketing of consumerism over sustainability. Yep, that's right, it's the good 'ol American Dream utilized as a social control, and it's worked very well! But the control is unraveling as the knowledge well is opened to the people and they begin to quench their thirst for truth.
According to Lewis Mumford, "the endless stream of consumer goods produced by technological society is a ‘magnificent bribe’ which masks our understanding of the real human impact of technological change."
This revolution against the control of knowledge is phenomenally creating a growth in world citizenship. This growth seems to ironically be a mixture of internationalism and anti-internationalism. Through the sharing of knowledge, this growth of world citizenship contains an appreciation for the multitudes of cultures in our world and the importance of peace. These revolutionaries are expressing the need and the importance of world citizenship and community in the fight for global justice and a sustainable civilization.
If we are allowed access to information and are allowed to share it with all who seek the truth; a wonderful thing happens! Information brings with it the knowledge we need. Once we have access to this knowledge, and we have the freedom to utilize this knowledge, we are capable of visioning and actually actively designing a more sustainable egalitarian society. But...on the other hand...if we as a people are not allowed access to information and only hear and see what the mass media shares, we will be kept ignorant and easily controlled.
We are currently witnessing a great example of control. If we can be kept fearful of something or someone, we can be pushed into positions of war. Once pushed into a war based on this fear, we face a terror of unbridled proportion. This terror of which I speak is the loss of our freedoms. In my humble opinion, the hope of our planet and it's people lies in the availability and accessibility of information. But more importantly, our future depends on our willingness to openly share this information with each other.
If we allow fear to control our lives, there will be no freedom! Fear stiffles dissent and without dissent, there is no hope for a better place. Breaking the shackles which have restrained us for so long is difficult for sure. But it is necessary! Social controllers do not like dissent and they will attempt to define and describe it by using misinformation and instilling fear within the people. In the words of Edward. R. Murrow
"If we confuse dissent with disloyalty — if we deny the right of the individual to be wrong, unpopular, eccentric or unorthodox — if we deny the essence of racial equality then hundreds of millions in Asia and Africa who are shopping about for a new allegiance will conclude that we are concerned to defend a myth and our present privileged status. Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought."
Our stories, the people's stories, are what is shaping our new world. There is power in the sharing of our personal stories. I am certainly not a writer but merely a pecker of keys. I know absolutely nothing of the structure and composition of what is recognized as good writing skills. But yet I still keep pecking on these keys. It's hard to explain exactly why I increasingly spend larger blocks of time on this machine. I've thought on it many times and I still find it difficult to answer the why of it! I guess it's mainly because I feel a responsibility to myself and others; and possibly because I see the importance of sharing experiences, thoughts, and ideas. I never knew there were so many people who have shared so many of the same experiences as myself until this Internet window to the world was opened. Once I was able to stick my head into this window, it was as if there was this entirely new dimension. I could smell new smells; I could see new sights; I could hear new voices; and most importantly, I could feel and share these new senses with so many others who were finding themselves within this same new and uncharted world!
This new world has the promise of building a society, which according to David Korten, isn't dominated by hierarchies dominated by chauvinisms of race, gender, religion, nationality, language, or class. I constantly find people and entire communities who realize the possibilities this new world offers and of the responsibilities required of themselves. We are explorers in this world and our journeys through the window allows us to find other individuals and entire communities of people who also see the truth about the injustices and inequalities within our societies. These communities are many and they vary considerably, but they are all a part of a much larger community. These communities are all connected to, and inseparable from, what is being called Earth Community. We are all involved in one way or another in the transition from corporate dominance towards a civilization based on the creativeness of human beings rather than the dominance of them. A civil and sustainable world designed by the people who see the destructiveness of greed, violence, and lust for power!
Empire organizes by domination at all levels, from relations among nations to relations among family members. Empire brings fortune to the few, condemns the majority to misery and servitude, suppresses the creative potential of all, and appropriates much of the wealth of human societies to maintain the institutions of domination.
Earth Community, by contrast, organizes by partnership, unleashes the human potential for creative co-operation, and shares resources and surpluses for the good of all.
I often recall my time spent in the late 60's and the changes I was going through as I was exposed to another opportunity to view our world through an alternative window. Dissent and activism were very much accepted. Social norms were questioned and torn apart. People were fighting for truth, justice, and equality. I truly believed in the possibilities back then and there were great strides made in correcting many injustices. But the momentum seemed to wane and I was left feeling betrayed, forgotten, and disillusioned. Where had the people I knew gone? What had happened to the revolutionaries who had forseen a better world? Perhaps part of the reason the momentum cooled was because of the drug culture woven into the activists lives at the time or maybe activism subsided because the Empire allowed the people just enough change and freedom to quell the rising tide of revolution? The people were allowed just enough freedom to lull them into complacency in my opinion.
But the tide once again is rising as the people continue to take a beating from the corporatist slave masters. We are quickly being pushed up against the wall with no way out but straight forward against the injustice and inequality this Empire forces upon us. Each of us makes a difference! This is so important! One by one, we individually begin on the path of reform, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or relearning. One by one, at our individual pace, we reach our point of "enough is enough", and our journey...our exploration in this new world begins. Every contribution by the people is instrumental! We are finding each other and building communities of power. Every part is equal to the whole!
A blogger friend of mine, who I have never met in person but communicate with regularly, once wrote me and said, "My readers, these people, are my true friends, even if I have never met them in person. Sites have enjoined people whose perceptions and truthful insights and rightful outrage would otherwise have languished in bleak isolation, including mine."
This enjoinment of people, and the sharing of which he speaks is our true power. This is what our communities are being built upon! Each of our perceptions and insights (our stories) are so important to our future and the future of the people.
Exploration of this new world has begun and we have sent the scouts ahead. What lies over the next ridge is unknown but as we continue to build our communal strength on this journey, we stand a much better chance of successfully confronting whatever lies over that next hill. It's our watch people!
posted by atuuschaaw at 5:35 AM
2Comments:
Your words resonate within me.
One thing I fear is the ability of the powers to take away the internet, or to control its use so tightly that it may as well be gone.
If that were to happen, how would we find each other again....the only way I know to find most of these kindred souls is on line....I would not know how to start with out this window to the world.
Yes, I know the worries of which you speak. If the web were suddenly gone, even though our connections were severed, I'm sure the spark those connections created would continue to inspire. We would probably focus more intently on "local" endeavors. Hopefully we would carry that spark and use what we've learned from this window in order to start the fires burning. At least I hope that would be the case.
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