I'd like to believe that I generated some interest, but I think I'd be kidding myself. A few of us have had some good discussion and that's always worthwhile. There is an irony in knowing that you are probably close to understanding where we are in our intellectual evolution at this point in time and having that knowledge convince you that you can't really "change the system". In a much much larger sphere, President Obama must have had a similar feeling more than once. I think that, for me, this is a good time to take a break and take a good look at what these diaries might have accomplished. That is what I intend to do. Read on below and I will tell you where I think we are.
The system is alive and well. The coming election will be a surprise to almost everyone in its lack of impact on the real world out there. I am not predicting the results but the meaning of those unknown results. After the election the climate will continue to respond to our assault on the planet. We will say "oh my that's awful!" and go about doing all the things we did to bring it about. The government will continue to be a smoke screen for the plutocracy that really runs things. The identity of some of the plutocrats will possibly change but that too will have little impact on the system. Money will continue to flow their way and people will complain about it. As the money flows their way they will continue to try to enslave the masses to help increase that flow. They will also continue to use up the resources that we need to sustain future generations. The energy, the soil, the water, and so on is really theirs to do with what they wish. The only complaint they seem to have is that they can't do it fast enough!
The framing of reality will continue. Words like "freedom", "choice", "moral", "responsibility", and so many others will gradually take on the intended warped meanings that prop up the system. "Education" will continue its accelerating march toward plain old indoctrination. "Religion" will move further in the direction of science denial and the Cartesian reductionists will stamp their feet and shout as they help that happen. The word "truth" has already changed its meaning to "whatever you can sell".
Unfortunately, I see these things pretty clearly and have no answers. Oh I have dreams. I have dreams born in those little signs that there are people all over the world who recognize the lack of importance of governments and the waste of resources that the elections that choose those governments represent. They have rather begun to invest themselves in creating the world they want to live in. They do this in small ways as best they can. I won't be here to see how it all comes out. The meaning of Nations has long been a vestige of times when distances were bigger, time was slower, and economies were not so tightly linked together. They have nothing to contribute to the future well being of the "Global Village" we now all live in. Already the signs of the feedback and accelerated change are multiplying faster than I expected. So I have come to understand the world as I set out to do so many years ago as a child. I may not like what I have learned, but I do feel like I understand. So this seems like a good time to stop talking and watch for a while. I'll be writing diaries, but this series is essentially an exercise in tilting windmills more than anything else. I need to get to work on our book, for that may reach more folk willing to listen. Certainly the ones who have read the versions we gave them seemed to react favorably to our ideas. We shall see.