Mato's Blog: Links July 2020

Sitting on the computer and wondering: “What for heavens sake am I doing, I should work in the garden, plant, prune, weed, and harvest! There is so much work to do outside and I’m sitting here, typing and staring at the screen.”

A fellow blogger wrote:

That’s all we’re ever fighting to accomplish here: expanding awareness in individuals and in the collective beyond the barriers of propaganda and status quo normalization to reveal the true nature of essential issues.

In our private life we need to expand awareness and knowledge of our innate archaic impulses and urges. We further have to be aware of subconscious blockages, traumata, and nasty mental habits which were imprinted into us by bad education, propaganda, abuse, and other misfortunes. We have to overcome these harmful compulsions with mind-body interventions (meditation, mindfulness, tai chi, yoga, artistic activity).

As a collective humanity needs to expand knowledge and awareness beyond the distortions of ignorance and propaganda to the point where a critical mass of people understand what’s really happening in their world, using the power of their numbers to force an end to oppression, exploitation, violence, and ecocide by the powers which rule the planet.

On every level there are forces which have a vested interest in keeping people unaware and uninformed, whether it’s global power structures hiding their malfeasance with the help of obedient mass media, corporations hiding their crimes with PR spin and secrecy, religious and cult leaders hiding their depravity with doctrines, abusive parents and partners hiding their abusiveness with the help of psychological manipulation.

There is constantly more stuff produced and more poison emitted. Nature is dying, the threat of nuclear war still looms (and is even increased by the USA), social tensions and aggression are rising, and people get more and more miserable and hopeless.

Things should change fast and momentously, but as much as we desire change, we are creatures of habit and instinctively resist change. There is also this glitch in human cognition known as “status quo bias,” which causes us to tend toward holding to the familiar as a default preference and perceive the risk of losing what we have as far less favorable than the reward gaining something better.

Hence, being open minded and ready to try something new is another absolutely necessary mental condition.

Tim Hayward, professor of environmental political theory at the University of Edinburgh and director of the university’s Just World Institute, wrote a post with the title “Free Intelligence: notes for a manifesto.”
https://timhayward.wordpress.com/2020/07/08/free-intelligence-notes-for-a-manifesto/

And I commented:

The issues which this text addresses are a concern for many writers, educators, and thoughtful people in general. Blogger and “rogue journalist” Caitlin Johnstone writes about the “establishment narrative” and the need to expand collective and personal consciousness. I personally leave the term “consciousness” in the neurological realm and use instead “knowledge” and “awareness.”

Collecting information, sorting the correct and essential from the deceptive and trivial, and being aware of our cognitive and sensory limits is a crucial survival skill. In our ever changing world we have to take notice of newly emerging threats and understand where things are heading.

The word “curiosity” explains it clearly. I learned curiosity from my beloved cats, and it always has been a driving force in my life. We live in interesting times with sudden unexpected conversions and evolutions. Only a curious mind will be able to detect, discern, correctly interpret, and correlate the incoming sensory data.

We need to be open minded, be aware of our own “conformation bias” and deep rooted prejudices. Even more important, we need to be skeptical and aware that mainstream media, advertising, and internet bots relentlessly push the establishment storyline (or narrative, as Caitlin Johnstone calls it). We need to be aware that everything which could question the story (or narrative) is suppressed, that cheating, deceiving, lying is the norm.

Objectivity is a mirage, everyone has an agenda, every media report is tainted. This applies to all sides, including “alternative media” independent bloggers, and social media’s opinion makers.

Edward Bernays “Public Relations” are the basis of todays media world. Sophisticated psychological tricks enable journalists, authors, and pundits to drive their point home.

Why is this bad?

The establishment storyline (or narrative) aims to keep the population quiet and accept the status quo.

The status quo means: politics focused on corporate gain, exploitation of nature and people by the rentier and billionaire class, increasing inequality and social injustice, irresponsible destruction of nature, wars for resources and profits.

When the next pandemic hits, when the biosphere collapses, when some nuclear warheads explode, the billionaires will retreat to their private islands, their superyachts, or their luxury doomsday bunkers in New Zealand.

While the servants and minions of the rentier and billionaire class may either be injudicious or uncaring, the broad population naive, confused, and distracted by the relentless media bombardment.

Pacified by media brainwashing, superficial entertainment, and worthless electronic gadgets.

This (the status quo) we have to change by counter information, by the presentation of alternative views including alternative solutions, by solid analysis and fact checking, and most important: by our personal conduct.

Teachers, prophets, saints, and sages of the world, unite!

You may say: “I don’t want to be a saint, I want to be a sinner and carry on with my bad habits, routines, and rituals. I’m used to that and I don’t give a damn about brown people in faraway countries, about critters, and about nature.”

But are you ready to endure the pain that this attitude may entail one day?

Feline news:

Some studies have warned that cats are particularly susceptible to coronaviruses, so cats should be monitored for signs of the virus.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-cats-spread-covid-19/
https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/cat-with-two-toned-face-has-kittens/
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0235188
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/worlds-oldest-cat-rubble-dies-22295787