Does the (ugly) reality and the news get you down? This post is for you. [View all]

[BelgianMadCow]

I think I get how you feel. If you take in the entirety of the reality we're in now, it can be too much to bear. I've been "watching" for ten years, and it can be a heavy burden. I did, however, finish the Shock Doctrine. I think it's required reading - but maybe not for you, since you're "awake" anyway.

Reality is ugly, and watching too much of it will get you down. I think we do need to face the music, but at the same time we need to have positive alternatives, and also focus on those positive things that are happening. They exist, but they're just harder to find. For me, the cooperative movement has been that alternative, where I find likeminded people and where I can put my energy to a good and positive use. I think we need a LOT of positive energy, and focusing too much on the negative will impede that.

I have a friend whose analysis of the world is very similar to mine, but who is usually very upbeat and positive, to the point of me asking "hey, do you take some kind of pills?". His answer: "I've stopped watching the news for a long time." I think those of us that are awake and sensitive can suffer from a "palantir"-effect - you become glued to the negativity.

My view of the world is very similar to Chris Hedges' - but, like him, I think there is hope, and resistance is never futile. We aren't made to be automatons serving "the economy", disregarding human suffering. There are counter movements and they are growing stronger and coalescing. What shape they take, is another matter. But reality is what we make it.

Sorry for presuming things about how you feel - maybe this doesn't fit you. Just saying - if this post appeals to you - you're not alone, and people like you are why I haven't given up hope for the US.

In my darkest moments, I've found courage and hope in the below, who knows maybe so do you:

All that is gold does not glitter
Not all those who wander are lost
The old that is strong does not wither
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring