Jumpoff,(posted 9654 days ago)Hey some of us like you up there on your soapbox! Well, on this forum anyway...ahem!
Your comments were well taken. I am not so naive as to think that there are not international potentates and power brokers behind a lot of what passes for commerce these days. I think most half- way awake people know that corporadoes and banksters are the handlers behind most of the politcal players.
But I ask you whether or not it makes any difference who they are...if it's localized bumbling or international strategy, I personallly think that becoming as self reliant as I can (and advocate the same for others) is the right thing to do. My experiences and observances with organized protests leaves me somewhat jaded. (WTO protests, for example...what legacy? Seattle gets a big bill and a black eye. That's about it!) Maybe I am getting more cynical than I think!
At any rate, not paying taxes, and going after Washington DC in some kind of armed insurrection isn't anything remotely connected to my psyche. And I suspect that the international corporate powers that be aren't any more capable of grandiose strategies to enslave us than our federal overlords. After all, they have more layers of stuff to deal with. But hey, I could be wrong.
I think the real problem is us as idiot consumers of all the crap that gets marketed to us. If we continue to chose to support all this stuff by not becoming self reliant (be it fuel, sweatshop clothing, artificial food and animals, etc) then we shall reap what we sow. The power to fend off these perils is within us as individuals. Just say no to dependence on those you don't know, and don't trust! Make it and use it yourself!
Now I'll get off this soap box before it breaks from the weight of all this heavy discussion!
p.s. I am also being extremely careful about my car trips these days. This reminds me of the last 2 gas crises in my lifetime...