This may sound corny,
but the secret to saving the world
is for folks to get together
in small groups who trust each other,
and somehow find a way
to have trust between all groups,
as much trust as needed.
We must not allow
any individual or group
to have so much power
that the rest of the world
is forced
to interact with them
without trusting them.
Join us every Tuesday afternoon at the Daily Kos community political poetry club.
Your own poetry is always welcome in the comments.
Bongos, berets & turtle neck sweaters optional.
The keyboard is mightier than the sword.
Hey,
if you feel you can write some kind of poetry,
consider writing a host diary
for this group.
If you don't,
someone will get tired of my rants,
and send out that big hook,
to get me off the stage.
Volunteer for a Tuesday,
pick any Tuesday,
and let me off the hook,
or outside the hook.
More below the squiggly.
Capitalism causes the creation of monsters,
monsters with so much power
that millions and millions
find themselves with no realistic options
other than serving those capitalist monsters.
Most folks working in the belly of the beast,
such as myself, working at a Walmart store,
do not feel we are part of any monster,
(I'm writing it here;
I simply don't feel it as I do my work)
especially since most of us alive today
have never known
any other way of life.
And the capitalist companies
seem reasonable enough:
work fairly hard,
for about 35 or so hours per week,
and get some money,
maybe not quite enough to live on,
but most folks pool their money
with another worker,
spouse,
friend,
roommate,
and it seems okay,
most of the time.
But the thing that's very different
than it was a long time ago,
is that we use laws and money
to fight each other,
trying to steal from each other,
trusting money
instead of each other.
My parents were not like that.
My parents were both born in 1924,
my mother on the 29th of October,
my father on the 9th of December.
They were both raised on farms,
both farms were in Hickory County,
Missouri.
I spent a few summers,
and a few Christmas holidays,
on one of those farms.
It was clear to me,
that my parents grew up in a time
when most folks simply lived
like this:
Everyone on the farm
did what they could
to make certain
that everyone had enough to eat,
and there was enough firewood cut up
for heating and cooking.
Everyone made certain
that the cows were milked,
the eggs were gathered,
the cows and chickens were fed and watered,
the vegetable garden was tended,
the meals were cooked,
the dishes were washed,
the laundry was done,
on an old wringer washer,
with home made lye soap.
My parents never made speeches,
telling us they had a hard life,
and we had an easy life,
with no need to gather eggs
or milk cows.
I suppose they loved us,
and felt they were giving us a better life.
On the surface,
it seems like an easier life.
But,
the current generations,
younger than me,
hoard money,
and steal from others,
living in another person's home,
while paying them little to no money,
eating their food,
getting rides from them,
all while holding on tight to money.
Then,
they spend the money
that should have gone to those helping them,
they spend that stolen money
on tobacco,
alcohol,
pot,
or other drugs.
The problem is,
trusting that money,
and trusting those drugs,
instead of trusting any fellow humans,
to provide food,
a place to stay,
and transportation.
The true gods of my parents
were their families,
gods they could trust,
to feed them,
and give them what they needed.
The true gods of most folks nowadays
are money and drugs.
I could go on and on,
about other groups,
government entities,
even at the level of county and city government,
even just the police force of one city,
each of these groups
has way too much power,
so that our interactions
are based on fear,
not trust,
and on the basis of that fear,
the capitalists can do what they want,
and what they want,
is armed robbery.
It's robbery,
since we're not paid
what we should be paid;
it's armed robbery,
since the police are armed,
and the police
come to the rescue
of capitalists,
not the regular folks,
who are being robbed.
This civilization,
based on money and fear,
will eventually collapse,
with neighbors killing each other,
and eating the bodies.
Because the capitalist farmers and ranchers
are ruining the soil
with irrigation,
that causes the build up
of mineral salts,
and nitrogen fertilizer,
that poisons those downstream,
and excessive pesticides,
and the aquifers are drying up,
and the rivers are drying up,
and there may be a fight,
soon,
over the water in the Great Lakes.
Read some of these other diaries on this topic:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
After that collapse,
if our descendants rebuild something resembling
civilization,
it will need to be
based on trust.
And families,
or groups working together as families should,
need to trust each other,
and do what it takes
to feed each other,
and heat their homes,
and provide transportation.
And those families,
many of them,
might build chicken coops,
and raise ducks in their chicken coops.
They can rely on each other,
to help with the tomato and potato and bean plants,
and to feed and water the ducks,
and gather the eggs.
Trusting family
to help feed them,
instead of trusting money.
But our descendants can only do this
if we have very few descendants,
by way of contraception,
so each small group
has plenty of land,
and they all learn how to improve the soil,
and make darn sure
that everyone gets fed,
and fed plenty.
Thanks for reading.