I don’t believe in a utopia. A world that is perfect and without problems is against the very nature of conflict and resolution. Without something to aspire to overcome, we would be lost as a people. Regardless, I do believe in something better than what we have today. When I speak about us as a people, I am implicitly stating us as members of a human race on a planet called Earth, and not any single country.
What I believe in, though, is that we as a people have a bigger problem to overcome than that of local politics and what will happen when the money runs out. In retrospect, what is money other than a piece of paper that implies worth based on assumptions?
Where did that money come from? The bank? But where did the bank get the money? They may have gotten it from a Federal Reserve – but then where did they get the money? Well, they printed it out of thin air based entirely on assumptions. That’s pretty much how the process goes for any country. The problem is, that these Federal Reserves print money out of thin air and assumptions, and instead of giving the governments the money they only loan it to them, with interest.
Far be it for me to say that I am against the ability to make profit to sustain a business, because that’s essentially what banks are, even at the highest levels. However, there is a big problem with this loan and interest rate system that few seem to be noticing.
When something like the Federal Reserve loans money to a government, say the United States, it says that the United States must pay back the loan (which is acceptable) but then adds interest to that repayment, which is not alright. I know I already said that making profit isn’t necessarily bad, but when we stop to think about it, if the only place to get the money to begin with is from the Federal Reserves printing the money, where does the money come to pay back the interest on top of what they loaned?
Nobody can pay back money that physically does not exist, so it is no wonder that entering into this game of loans and interest is a no-win situation. It is actually designed as a no-win situation for any entity that accepts the loans, because when a person defaults on a loan, what does the bank do? They repossess your belongings. What happens when a country defaults on its loans? The bank repossesses the public resources and sells them to private ownership.
This could be public parks, national buildings, and even extends into things like public services themselves. Healthcare, education, public entitlements… those are always the first to go.
So let’s take a look at these tell-tale signs from the point of say, Greece. Austerity measures being voted on in order to extend credit at the expense of the public, as Greece is looking to sell off public assets to private ownership and extended payment for the loans, while tacking on the austerity measures against the people themselves to pay back loans which are, by definition, impossible to repay. No wonder there are riots… The government is no longer serving the wishes of the people that it is supposed to represent.
In the United States, all hell is breaking loose in government as they rush to come up with some sort of deal to evade defaulting on the loans which are taken by the government. In doing this, cuts to spending are being made to “non-essential” things, which most often translates to things that the actual public needs, but the wealthiest do not. This brings us to the other point, in that one of the biggest battles in Congress is that of increasing taxes on the wealthy in our country, but it is little surprise that the Republicans are mostly not in favor of this and will not budge unless taxes are instead increased on the lower public, while cutting the middle-class and poor benefits and entitlements.
I’m sure there will be some sort of deal passed before the August deadline for the United States, but the aftermath of those measures will be felt by the working class, who are already poised on the edge of rioting as conditions continue to get worse. Increasing the debt ceiling does not solve any of the problems, because there is simply no way to pay back interest with money that doesn’t exist. The only way is to sell assets and rights to private companies, and while the paper money they used to loan us artificial worth was just imaginary, the assets we are trading in return when it is not feasible to pay back interest with money that doesn’t exist, is very real.
Something is definitely wrong with society as a whole, but as with anything, it will correct itself over time. This idea of imaginary worth and paying back money that doesn’t exist, raiding other countries to gain more resources to promise to our debtors, and this game of global musical chairs will collapse on itself if given enough time. The banking system, from the local branches all the way up to the IMF and World Bank, are part of a Ponzi Scheme. The only reason nobody goes to jail for it is because it’s on a global scale, and involves nearly every government on Earth.
But there is a worse thing than jail.
It’s when the very population of the planet unite and refuse to bow to their whims.
Push will come to shove, and enough people will get angry to say enough is enough. We see these movements now with things like Anonymous, and while they can be chaotic, and are most definitely breaking a lot of laws on a global scale, they represent something bigger. When the laws which are meant to serve the public are instead used to control or deny that public, it no longer serves the best interest of the people to obey. You can usually tell when we, as a people of this planet, are on the verge of fighting back, because you’ll see increasingly more numbers of people in civil disobedience and breaking those laws – regardless how many of those laws come to pass to forbid it. We see it in public riots breaking out around the world… the people are saying they’ve had enough, and eventually you will too. It’s just a matter of time before something happens when you decide you’ve reached a breaking point.
That is the true litmus test of the planet. When what the laws say versus what the majority of the population does instead becomes very different, you may want to take a closer look at what is about to transpire. I always put my bets on the people as a whole, because there are simply far more of them than those found in the highest echelons of government or power. Power is simply a word we use to denote that by consensus we have allowed an individual or group of individuals to prevail more than others – but that is a right given by the majority, and can (and will) be revoked when power is abused.
We live in a society where the global population is awakening, and we really don’t like what we are seeing. This can be seen from Bradley Manning and WikiLeaks, to Anonymous, to LuzSec, to the rise of #AntiSec around the world. The population of Earth is slowly rising from the slumber, woken only because those that were there to serve the public became greedy and forgot what their mandate was. Americans went to war in a country that had absolutely nothing to do with the catalyst, and the public was lied to on numerous occasions, but moreover, it is highly likely that the catalyst itself was simply to scare people into submission.
We can talk about conspiracy theories all day, but the solid truth of the matter is this: Regardless of what you or I believe, the world as we know it is about to change dramatically. How can an entire planet be in debt, and more importantly, to whom is everyone in debt to? More important than that is – does the imaginary money even matter to begin with?
No, it doesn’t. It’s simply fact, immutable, that there are a finite amount of resources on this planet, and we cannot continue to waste them as if they are infinite. Take a trip to the local landfill before you tell me how conservative we are with the environment. You cannot print more trees, you cannot legislate into existence animals that are extinct, and you cannot restore a planet with politics.
This isn’t about just treating the planet better, this is about treating each other better as well. In order to do that, we have to change what makes this whole planet broken to begin with. We have to change ourselves, and what makes us act the way we currently do.
I provide below, a thought experiment. It is not your typical type of movie, and it definitely gives some interesting views that are in stark contrast to what we are brought up to believe. I ask that you take the time to watch it, pass it along, and take something from it that can help you understand the planet and the people on it in a better way. So when you watch the International News, and you see what is transpiring, you can look on in more than curiosity or shallow lack of empathy.
No, I would like everyone to be able to see the far reaching implications of all that is happening today, yesterday, and into the future.
I want for you to learn, but moreover, I want for you to know me and others as a common friend. I am a citizen of Terra, and so are you.
Thank you.
Will Burns
Aeonix Aeon
Your global thought experiment. Please take notes.
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