Practical Living Amidst Global Chaos and Dysfunction-
Making Sense of February, 2022
Back in 2019, I realized we were amidst information warfare within social media that was going to extend into the Future: Trumpism, rumors, downright lies and calls for rebellion -manifested in the attempt to obstruct the certification of the 2020 Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections inside the House of Representatives and Senate of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 thru a riot brought upon the lives of the elected leaders inspired on and fueled by a madman President and his billionaire thugs -which rocked the nation with reverberations still being felt today.
Our enemies have been playing the long game for a long time now-possibly as far back as the 1990s.
Let’s survey the wreckage on the morning of February 12, 2022 – Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday:
- Inflation is spiraling up.
- Angry Canadians have blocked 2 checkpoints on the United States-Canada International Border.
- Russian military troops may invade Ukraine to take the remainder of the nation. American troops are being dispatched to Poland-the crossroads of war.
- There has been a cynicism unleashed by the isolation and ramifications of the economy-The American Dream is in short supply and marked up. They can get it for you in a couple decades and be ready to pay up (if you can keep it- they jeer on social media).
- Delusions and Lies Spread at Lightning Speed and Influence Millions.
I once read a book that posited on the fall of The Soviet Union. One of the findings was that so many people were corrupt and had their hands in the till–nothing could progress or move forward to advance the economy-Thus- massive stagnation and strife as the policies of the nation froze under the incompetence of fossilized leaders.
Let’s face it-the people running Washington-are all in on “It”
Comedian George Carlin, use to talk about the “owners of the country” These people who write the laws and influence the government’s budget (big money lobbyists) who represent The Real Powers. Politicians are mainly tools. Anyone can read a history of New York City politics or the politics of places elsewhere in let’s say the 1930s or any other time and see the same corruption tempered by the pressures of “do gooders” “white hats” single issue organizations that spring up among the working class on occasion, and legacy foundations that can nurture ideas in high society.
Changes are forged by these forces-but it’s like watching geologic erosion. People who want change have to challenge the laws of time. People get sick, their cars break down, new people take power, new technologies burst out that change the rules of the game-It can take decades for sustained change to finally bloom – only to be brought down again…..
The anger we see comes from the fact that many people (in multiple countries) believe that their culture, way of life, financial future, etc, has been sold down the river to shadowy forces that are radically changing society at full speed.
Despite, all of what is happening-people are asked to work at full speed-
I pose a question to you: Let’s say You’re an Elite Power Broker -you wanted to have a World War to work out some global political differences that you intend to win on and still make a lot of money….
Who wants to go fight in the trenches? Mostly Nobody: That’s Who – Yes, there are the militaries for the usual land grabs that flare up (Ukraine) How would you-realizing global instability- a recognition that trade was failing even before 2020- how do you keep the gravy train going amidst the opening salvo: CoVid 19?
Look to September, 2019- March, 2020 for the answers. Also look at Brexit earlier in the decade-
World trade is broken badly. Yet the drive in America and elsewhere is Consumption. People want more, now, and at high quality and have expected and demanded it since the 1950s. The question is: Will the institutions that hold such power in our daily lives hold up and continue to serve-or will they be infested by evil- some already are.
There is a zeal that we see – in a top-down fashion to impose new ways that people have not bought into while they are thrown into tumult by the economic forces.
There are cycles in history-We could ride thru all of this and land in a spot where people seek “normalacy” We can hope it’s not like the early 1920s -which was hideous when it came to civil rights. Will enough people fed up-cry out for sustained action for reform?
Don’t Count It.
I fear that the navelgazing could drive us into ruin-literally. Vineyards need tending for the wine. If fewer people care, the fruit cannot and will not be harvested. “Dying on the vine-with the empire in decline”
The best thing people can do (I think) is to simply study, think, strategize and be ready for whatever comes. I still hold optimism, but when I got new glasses this year, I turned down the “rose colored” option.
I think the American People will be phased into demanding less and less- This will be forced down the line-how people respond – is an open question. You don’t know precisely where and when people will get set off on something. Right now- I look to our neighbor to the North- Canada – and shake my head in sadness to see such disarray and anger with such horrible economic and ultimately-health consequences for millions and millions of Americans.
George Farrar
El Cajon, California
February 12, 2022
*The title of my commentary is inspired from a piece I read years ago about a Palestinian businessman trying to do his work in the Middle East entitled: “A War You Can Commute To”.
