Define & Destroy
« on: August 14, 2017, 03:15:36 AM »
I think the USA itself could be said to have an ideology, and gradually, perhaps inevitably, it's becoming the ideology of the world, for better, but mostly for worse.
There's few individuals, nations and countries that aren't fully or partly on board.

Is it humanism, science and technology?
Politically is it representative, liberal democracy?
Economically is it capitalism?
Socially is it progressivism, or multiculturalism and feminism?
It's probably all of the above.
Perhaps more than anything thou, it's consumerism, the notion society is improving if people are taking more from the earth, turning more of it into things people think they need and/or like, and giving it to them at whatever price they'll pay.

Now there're many casualties and consequences of this ideology, to the environment and to ourselves, and society is slowly awakening to them, but it's probably too little too late.
endless growth is not an option for the USA and its cronies, it's compulsory.
There may be a few bumps, and if absolutely necessary, we might have to occasionally slow down a little on our road to a consumer's paradise, where everything we could ever possibly imagine or wish for is a mere click, or thought away, but only temporarily, until we can find a way to resume or increase the pace of change without annihilating ourselves and everything on ball earth in the process, but we should never, ever have to come to a halt, or, dare I even say, reverse course in any way, perish the thought.

I believe that you could do away with everything, democracy, capitalism, freedom of speech, perhaps even feminism and it'd still be the USA so long as there's Coca Cola, McDick's, Walgreens and the Gap, so long as there's haves and have nots, so long as people, or at least some people have loads more than they need, know what do with or use, and the promise of everlasting shit to come if we all just work hard enough, or at least work hard enough at cheating or better yet rigging the system.
We may have to sell some of our rights and freedoms along the way to get there, we may even have to sell our souls to Satan, it doesn't matter, by God, Satan or Mohammed we'll get there.
It's what we consume now that defines us, makes us Americans, or Amerophiles: coke or pepsi, Chrysler, GM, Ford, Bentley or BMW?

But of course, it won't last, every civilization that has ever existed has come to an end, and the bigger they are...and never have we been more big for our britches, figuratively and literally.
While I think civilization, at the very least as we know it is doomed, perhaps some individuals and small groups can survive, and do their part, however futile, in changing course, if not for civilization/culture as a whole, than at least for themselves and their friends.

I am an anti-consumerist needless to say, not only should growth slow down and stop, but it should recede decades or even centuries in many regards.
We need to localize, not globalize, and work on being greener, not just, or even primarily for the sake of the environment and unborn generations, but for our own health and well being.
Rampant, reckless, unbridled and unchecked consumption is making us all a hell of a lot sicker.
I think asceticism is the answer, and minimalism-moderation, reducing what we produce/consume down to what is essential, and little else, being more appreciative and content with less.
If you're already off the grid, that's great, I'm still fully connected, but I may not be someday.

Anyway we live in interesting times, and with resource shortages and wars looming, times are sure to get a whole lot more interesting before the end of the century, but where there is disaster there is usually also opportunity, at least for some with the resourcefulness to look for and seize it.
I really don't believe life as we know it will survive this century, I mean after two world wars and the cold war, we should be counting our lucky stars we're here at all, right now.