If Voting Changed Anything, It Wouldn’t Be Allowed!
After the great success of Russell’s Revolution… Remember when Russell Brand was asked about his qualifications for editing a left wing magazine, he told us that he didn’t vote, because political parties were part of a corrupt system and it perpetuated inequality. The interviewer, unfortunately, didn’t ask him if he thought that there was corruption in Hollywood and, if so, did that mean that he wouldn’t be appearing in any more films.
Anyway, a number of Russell’s fans started groups on social media calling themselves things like “Russell’s Revolution” and expressing the view that voting was a waste of time and that we needed a bigger revolution.
Since then, we’ve had the re-election of David “the pig consented” Cameron, Brexit and the election of Donald Trump just to name a few events. As you can see, the idea that things will need to get worse before they get better may have something going for it. However, before the revolution comes, there may be one or two people who didn’t think that one party was much the same as the other, but probably for selfish reasons like they didn’t get funding for their wheelchair or they suicided because their income was cut off.
Whenever someone tells me that they’re not interested in politics, I have a simple strategy.
Imagine I’m trying to point out the terrible dangers of allowing the government to use terrorism as excuse to erode our rights. They say:
“I’m not interested in politics!”
“Are you interested in crime?” I ask.
“Not really,” they usually tell me.
“Fine!” I say. And then I grab their wallet or purse and take out all their money.
“Hey, what are you doing?” they invariably ask.
“Stealing your money,” I tell them.
“Stop it!” they say.
“Don’t worry about it. Look, you’re not interested in crime, so just look the other way.”
“But that’s my money.”
“Yes, but you’re not interested in crime.”
“I am when it’s my money.”
“Ok. I’ll stop. But tell me why you’re getting so upset about someone taking a few dollars, when not interested when politicians try to stuff up your entire life?”
Anyway, I just thought I’d share a couple of YouTube videos with you all. They take a bit of time, so don’t sit down to watch them if you’ve got an appointment in the next ten minutes.
The first is basically a radio interview where Russell Brand interviews Adam Curtis
The second is Curtis’ 2016 documentary “Hypernormalisation”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InbLmw_x6jQ
Enjoy!
7 comments
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George
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helvityni
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wam
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totaram
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Harquebus
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paul walter
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corvusboreus
Return to home pageAgree with the much of the sentiments in the video, we do have a bloated self-serving bureaucracy under writing a fallacy of free choice in the guise of democracy. The puppets may change in the Punch and Judy Show but whoever is on stage still has an unchanging puppet master up their arse.
We don’t have to have a formal revolution but we can make government largely irrelevant which should be the goal. We ignore them where we can (that includes not voting). We defund them where possible. We stop using their money and switch to crypto. Make our own electricity, collect our own water. Keep our own wealth within our own communities. Eventual we will force change. Change does have to start on the individual level and if enough individuals do their part the mission will be accomplished eventually. Make the government feel like it is herding cats.
PS Touch my wallet and I will knock you out, which is the forgotten tenant of voluntarism.
No voting needed; let’s just have Labor in power at all times. As the Coalition keeps saying: Labor is responsible for everything…so it follows the Coalition is superfluous…not needed….
With the basic card people ripping into the ‘wallet’ with impunity knowing white Australia approves of twiggy’s theft via federal politicians and the theftees are powerless to complain. Wonder how hervey bay will go. It is full of rich darwin retirees so not much chance of complaints?
ps
George touch my car my wallet or my wife in that order. If you are an afl footballer ake it my ex-wife.
George, I admire your sentiment, but I suspect your approach will not work, because there are too many advantages to staying within the “civil society” as it exists today. If that was not so, all these rent-seekers and crooks from overseas wouldn’t be here. We only need to make civil society better. for us, less beneficial for the crooks. It is also not easy, but easier than your approach.
(BTW how will you use any crypto currency if the internet in Australia shuts down? And don’t tell me you will have your own internet. There are domain names and addresses and so on, which are controlled by certain entities. If you don’t have a legitimate IP address, no one can contact you in cyberspace)
totaram
Blockchain can allow independent IP addressing. Just one of many applications being developed. Only now are authorities taking blockchain seriously and are using nefarious means to eliminate it.
You are correct about the internet off switch. It is the Achilles heel of this and a cashless society.
I am surprised that the internet in its current form still exists.
Search criteria: blockchain dns resolving
Neat headliner.
Increasing ones self-reliance in the necessities, as well as consciously reducing and localising any additional consumption, is an ethical and prudent course of action that benefits both our selves and our sustaining environment, even without adding any potential positive flow-on benefits for civil society.
One factor mentioned in the ‘HyperNormalisation’ video (cheers, Rossleigh, quite informative and occasionally revelatory, if somewhat depressing) was the increasingly obsequious governmental attitudes to multi-national banks and corporations, which has drastically undermined many of the traditional beneficent roles of civil governments (eg the increased outsourcing of essential utilities and services to profit-driven private companies).
Voluntarily withdrawing our own financial subsidies to rapacious corporate entities, especially ones that corrupt and pervert both the principles of civil society and the practice of its governance, will help reduce the buying power of their parliamentary ‘bargaining’, which can only help voice of the demos be heard in our ‘democracy’.