STU: But all he did is whine DT. He has the capacity to do anything he wishes to sustain his life independent of the machine he describes - but he won't. He doesn't have to light a campfire in the middle of his apartment. He can do it in the Montana Rockies. Turning the multi-nationals into the bogie man is his excuse for not actually living his own convictions.DADDIO: I think we all have the "capicity" to do anything we wish insofar as "capacity" is meant as a measure of potential - that’s the only reason for getting UP in the morning. But what is the likelihood that this potential will be realized and why? Perhaps, in this lifetime, my full potential will not be realized. If such were the case, would it be 100% my fault? Only in the most metaphysical sense could such be the case. Otherwise there are a myriad of environmental influences that have volumes to say about the probability that any given desire will be fulfilled, influences that are fundamentally at odds with my convictions.
Sure, I can light my campfire in Montana. But why the f___ should I have to? Don’t I have a right to live free from the oppression of the Power and Energy Monopoly and big Multinationals right here in my own hometown? When do we stop running into the hills and turn to fight? The U.S. government (AKA Multinationals) has shown us very plainly how it feels about people that successfully break off from mainstream society (Waco, Ruby ridge, etc). The media’s (AKA Multinationals) labeling of do-it-yourselfers as subversive criminals makes a move to the mountains more like a trade off than a fulfillment of ones convictions.
I already live in the middle of nowhere, and the Establishment is alive and well here. So, last summer I went to a "Rainbow Gathering" where the kindest, most peace loving citizens in the U.S. were temporarily attempting self-sufficiency on a remote mountain in eastern Arizona. The cops harassed them, the locals in the nearest town were rude to them, the newspapers trashed them, and state and local governments tried to stop them from going there at all. Naturally, Rainbow numbers are dwindling and eventually these wonderful people will go the way of native Americans. And that will be THEIR "excuse" for not "living out THEIR convictions".
At least they’ll HAVE an excuse. What’s the GOVERNMENT’S excuse for not representing the people it has sworn to serve, and instead, allowing itself to be controlled by greedy, destructive private interests? What are multinationals’ excuses for destroying our planet and making life miserable for most of its 6 billion inhabitants when they could use their resources to befriend humanity with sustainable agriculture and renewable energy?
What’s your excuse Stuart? Maybe you need to GET one. Try mass marketing an automobile that runs on something other than fossil fuels and let’s seewhat happens to your convictions. Then maybe I’ll let you join my little weakling excuse club.
What ARE your convictions anyway? Supporting a family, raising your kids, not killing anyone, not lusting after your neighbor’s wife? Hey, these are beautiful, righteous things, but, with millions of people fulfilling these convictions everyday, how difficult can they be? It’s easy to say you’re fulfilling your convictions when you set the bar low. Wanting to abolish Elite world power and help save humanity from the forces of evil is another matter. If you to want chide someone for not pulling it off with your impotent idea of running for the hills, you better raise your OWN bar first.
STU: Practice what you preach guys. It's not like their going to find you and throw you back to the clutches of the evil corporations.
DADDIO: Yes, Stu. It is QUITE like that.
