Ch-ch-changes ...
Something that keeps pestering my brain is this:
No one really seems to be willing to change much about their own lives in order to help effect the changes they themselves say they so desperately want.
There are always excuses:
"I need to buy bottled water because ..."
"I need to be invested in the stock markets because ..."
"I need to buy a brand new computer/cell phone/television because ..."
"I need to pay for cable or satellite TV because ..."
(That last one always amuses me. Do you really need 500 channels that are mostly showing reruns or scripted "reality" shows? Is it really true that you "can't" get out of a bundling contract for your internet/TV/house phone even though you don't need 500 channels and you never use the house phone?)
There are hundreds of excuses like the ones above. Pick anything that desperately needs to be stopped or changed and someone who agrees that a real problem exists will give you an excuse for why they can't make the pertinent change in their personal life.
(More below the "Continue Reading" finger or the orange squiggly thing, whichever is showing.)
People rant about how terrible things are, about how corporations are controlling everything, but they won't make any significant changes in their own lives that collectively and mathematically would force the necessary changes. They just won't. It really boils down to "convenience" but I don't know how much more "convenience" we can stand as species or a planet.
There are other living organisms that don't have a voice and can't make any changes to the way they live. Bees are going to be bees. Fish are going to be fish. Trees are going to be trees. Et cetera. Human beings are able to make informed choices that can save the other organisms that we all depend upon for a healthy ecosystem and a sustainable, vibrant planet. But humans, collectively, don't make informed choices -- and Americans more than any other people are really the worst. (Someone will say, "But China!" and yes China is a mess but China is at least taking some steps to reverse the damage it's been doing to itself.)
Americans in particular think that if they just cast a "conscience" vote all will be well. The "conscience" voters think they'll be able to sleep better at night, be more satisfied when they look into the mirror. Of course that's really about them and their personal "convenience" too. Those voters will say that their vote is going to send a "message" to the powers-that-be. Third party candidates rarely get even 1% of the votes so I don't know what "message" voting for a third party candidate is sending. No one is paying attention, or haven't you realized that by now?
The Bernie Sanders supporters seem to believe that if Bernie is miraculously elected President (and it would take a miracle for that to happen), Bernie will just sweep into office and implement his many great ideas. That a President has to work with (and often against) 535 members of Congress and all the lobbyists who are convincing Senators and Representatives to do what's best for the financial bottom line of various industries doesn't seem to occur to the "conscience" voters, or maybe they really just don't care as much as they profess to care. After all, how many American voters are really living so much differently from one another?
If Hillary Clinton or a Republican is elected, the truly necessary changes aren't likely to happen. We all know that. The changes that can happen are progress or regress on things like civil rights. However, changes to stop what is becoming an oligarchy aren't likely to happen unless we all force those changes to happen with actions far beyond a vote.
If you really want significant changes to occur in the nation then you have to start with significant changes at home. Boycotts work. Refusing to spend money to support states, cities, companies, and industries that offend us works. In the USA, money is the only thing that really "talks." If you have more than a dollar to your name than you have more than one vote.
I don't have to outline all the ways you can effect changes starting at home. You're all smart people. The only real questions are: How committed are you to real change? Enough to do what's not "convenient"? Only you know the answers to those questions.
I've changed a lot about my life in order to influence the changes I want to effect. That doesn't make me "better" than anyone else, and I can do more. What I'm doing isn't always convenient although I still enjoy my life. I still travel, which is my greatest joy (although I'm avoiding at least a third of the states in the USA these days). I've learned to downsize though, and I've learned that I don't need much that's brand new. I get a lot of pleasure from reusing and repairing things, from buying used stuff, from knowing that I'm doing very little to fund the bottom line of people who have no regard for anyone but themselves.
So back to the pertinent questions: How committed are you to real change? Enough to do what's not "convenient"?
I know that some of you are living your commitments to making real change. How about the rest of you?