Left Right Left Right

If I were in Ottawa, I'd be talking politics. On the street, with the people. I'm not there, so I'm sending this from here. With love 💚

Have you read George Orwell’s famous dystopian novel, 1984? I read it in high school, back in the late 1970s. At the time my brain was pre-occupied with convincing my hair we’d be more popular if only it would agree to a Charlie’s Angels hair style. I liked reading, and I was good at writing, but 1984 seemed like a long time away and I didn’t want to focus on yucky things like dystopia.

At that time, where I lived, jobs were plentiful and freedom was just another word for nothing left to lose. Kids today, they don’t have that luxury. Dystopia is upon us. George sent an early warning, but I guess we were too busy living our own privileged lives to notice it creeping up on us.

Thanks to College and University, which I had the privilege of attending without having to take an experimental toxic mRna gene therapy drug into my body, my own personal political awakening began. It was patriarchy and hierarchy and centralized control that had, over eons, reduced nature and women to objects. They called it the land of the free, but Manifest Destiny, and the United Fruit Company’s imperialist takeover of Central America, were all about denying freedom to others. I began to form political opinions, and became an activist.

Wherever you are on the journey of political awakening (and isn’t now a fantastic time to be alive for that!), please know that your opinions matter. Don’t let anyone try to out-academia you, and scoff at your ideas just because they’re not completely formed, or you haven’t completely thought them through. Nothing political is written in stone, and our opinions and ideas often change as our life experience (and the science, and our willingness to learn) changes. It’s possible to be “right wing” on some things and “left wing” on others. An important part of this current global rEvolution, I think, is about refusing to be shoved into a pre-defined box. And, refusing to shove each other into one either.

If I was in Ottawa I’d be talking politics with anyone willing. Not party politics, that’s a whole other scene, just politics overall. How do we organize ourselves to create communities, and towns, and cities, and provinces, and countries, where everyone’s rights and interests are respected? It’s not a simple task, and I’m definitely not interested in becoming a politician, but I do enjoy thinking and talking about it.

Since I’m not able to be there, I’ve made a couple of diagrams and written a little summary of how my 60 year old brain categorizes the political landscape generally.

How I see, generally, Left and Right political thought

Basically, I see the Right being about protecting personal freedoms which includes the right to make as much money as you possibly can, at any expense, regardless of the implications to fellow citizens or the earth. And the Left is about trying to rein that in, to consider the importance of supporting things that are collectively important like educating kids and making sure there’s adequate healthcare and housing for everyone. At either extreme, there is an acceptance that violence will be necessary.

Somewhere in the middle there’s a place, I think, for limited government interference in our lives balanced with a sensible “from those who have to those who need” philosophy. Because, while we might all be created equal, we’re all born into different circumstances. Some are healthy and able, living in healthy environments, others less so or not at all. Some are born wealthy, with college funds and inheritances awaiting them. Others, not so much.

True democracy is about all of us talking and, more importantly, listening to each other so we can collectively reach decisions based on finding consensus (rather than enforcing majority rule which is often tyrannical). Admittedly, consensus is messy and challenging and time consuming, but it is possible. It’s how Quakers do their business, and it’s my understanding that most (if not all) Indigenous cultures establish their rules and laws through a consensus decision making process.

Some of the things we could talk about

There are so many aspects of society that need organizing, the right/left divide can become especially murky. I’ve listed some of the important stuff, along with 3 different positions commonly taken. All of it’s way over-simplified, I just want to share my thoughts.

First, the right’s perspective. Then, the left’s. And thirdly, something approaching the middle, which is much more pliable than the extreme left and right and is the place where the interesting discussions happen.

I’m interested to know how you see it! Please leave a comment if you feel so inclined.

Foreign Policy.

1. The Right: We must invest in Defence to invade other countries, alongside our allies, to prevent them from invading us. The enemy is out there. We define the enemy, then create allies, and develop a very profitable weapons trade, take out the enemy before they can get us. With censorship and a controlled narrative, to protect our national secrets.

2. The Left: We must invest in Defence to protect ourselves from invasion by air, land, and sea. The enemy is out there. We create allies, and develop a very profitable weapons trade so we’re always prepared to fight if we have to. With censorship and a controlled narrative, to protect our national secrets.

Is there a middle on this? I’m a pacifist, maybe that’s the middle. I don’t think much about war and invasion except to protest it any chance I get. It seems so childish to be constantly looking for a battleground.

At this point I’m not even sure there is a right/left divide on foreign policy issues, they all seem happy giving lots of money to military contractors while the corporate/state media (receiving ad revenue from those same contractors) constantly reminds us why we need to be afraid of people who are mostly just like us but happen to live somewhere else and are probably being oppressed in some way by their own governments.

Economics.

1. The Right: Absolute Laissez-Faire with no interference, no limits, no regulations. The free market will take care of itself. Those who work hard, and make wise investments, they will flourish. There’s no reason why everyone can’t take care of themselves, by themselves. If you work hard you’ll be rewarded. If you fall into poverty it’s your own fault. Pull yourself up by your boot straps. Censorship and controlled narrative, to encourage commercial transactions, to keep the economy going. Private ownership of everything.

2. The Middle: Localized commerce with independent merchants. Limits on corporate size, profits, power, and activity. A cap on individual income (is $1 million a year enough?). Some centralized accounting to collect taxes on a sliding scale from those who have, and distribute to those who need (schools, clinics, community centres, libraries, fire departments, ambulance services, hospitals, seniors’ services, care for people with disabilities, mental health services, EI, Worker’s Comp, UBI, etc). A healthy, safe, educated populace is good for all. Nobody falls through the cracks, because there are no cracks, but there is a completely transparent taxation process where everyone has a chance to review and vote on budgets and review year end financials. No censorship. Essential services are publicly funded, guaranteed access to everyone. (Then we just have to figure out which services we consider to be “essential”). People can establish privately owned homes and businesses. (Personally, I’m opposed to private land ownership. I like how the Cubans do it … you can rent to own and eventually own a housing structure, but the actual land can not be owned).

3. The Left: Completely planned economy controlled by a centralized authority. All money flows through government, everyone receives the same amount regardless of their career choice, everyone is nurtured to develop their natural talents and abilities rather than competing in an increasingly cut-throat job market. Censorship and controlled narrative, to encourage commercial transactions, to keep the economy going. Public ownership of everything, government controlled.

Aside: Richard Wolff has a brilliant economic mind. He went to ivy league universities, where they were never ever encouraged to criticize capitalism, as if there is only one way to do economics (like there’s only one way to do health). Richard speaks encouragingly about worker’s cooperatives, he says if we can’t vote at work, where we spend most of our time, then we’re not really living in a democracy. Check out his channel here.

Immigrants.

1. The Right: They’re taking our jobs and draining our social services, they are the enemy.

2. The Middle: Immigrants are often refugees escaping persecution caused by imperialism or governments backed by imperialist governments (ie, the USA with Canada at its side). People with money can move anywhere, buy up land and politicians, destroy our democracies and enslave us, they don’t need any more support. But poor immigrants often arrive here with next to nothing, they’re seeking a better life for their children, we ought to establish social structures and communities that will support everyone regardless of where they were born or their economic circumstances. And we need to stop interfering in other governments, and creating weapons used to invade the shit out of everywhere.

3. The Left: We are all inhabitants of planet earth which, seen from space, has no geo-political borders. Everyone is free to live anywhere they want.

Democracy.

I’m not sure how to categorize this discussion, something along these lines?

1. The right: People fought and died for our right to vote so you absolutely must do that, every few years, and then just trust whoever you voted for and don’t think about it until the next election.

2. The Middle: Vote locally, and attend council meetings. Keep in contact with your elected representatives so they know what’s important to you. We have much more power and accountability on a local level.

   Anarchist philosophy, way oversimplified, says the system was build on theft and murder and genocide. It is patriarchal and rooted in hierarchy, therefore it is inherently undemocratic. When we vote we just endorse the system, it’s impossible to “work inside the system” to change the system. (Don’t let them reduce the definition “anarchist” to rock throwing hooligans, it has a long intellectual history). We can build community organically, outside the system.

3. The Left: People fought and died for our right to vote so you absolutely must do that, every few years, and then just trust whoever you voted for and don’t think about it until the next election.

About political parties

I’m not a fan. They seem more like cults than anything else. They spend most of their time trying to raise money and strategize for the next election, meeting with corporate lobbyists who ensure corporate subsidizes and tax breaks continue. When regular people donate to a political party they often become possessive and defensive of everything their politicians do, as if their own identity is defined by which political party they support.

Why can’t we elect people we trust, as independents? Why can’t we vote on important issues, rather than just voting on a single person to represent us on absolutely everything even though we don’t agree on absolutely everything? Why don’t we have regular community gatherings with elected representatives, not so they can talk to us but so they can listen to us? How can they possibly know what’s important to us if they never meet with us? Do you know how much time they spend meeting with representatives from various lobby groups? Lobbyists are paid professionals, they spend all their working hours making friends with, and cajoling, politicians into doing their bidding. It’s no wonder we are waking up to find our democracy in tatters.

Other political stuff that’s interesting to discuss

If we agree to call the extreme left Communism, and the extreme right Corporatism, can we agree to call the middle (where we somehow figure out how to have collective things like libraries and community centres and public utilities) Socialism?

Can we agree that Fascism is when the government is completely overtaken by for-profit corporations?

When we talk about violence, and efforts to reduce and eliminate violence, it’s easy to agree that war is violence whether it’s defensive or offensive. Can we also agree that poverty is violence? Homelessness is violence? Eating and wearing and using animals is violence? None of those things are necessary.

If you don’t already know about the World Economic Forum, take a dive into #WEFgate on Twitter. Understanding the motives of the WEF is the key to understanding why we can’t get any good answers to things that concern us, like Indigenous rights and climate change and environmental destruction and the clearcutting of ancient forests and forced medication and medical apartheid and the privatization of medical services, etc.

Do you know that China already has a Social Credit system, controlled by digital passport, that rewards citizens for “good behaviour” and instantly punishes others? This, many believe, is what is planned for the rest of us (see #WEFgate) and the vax pass rollout is simply their way of implementing it on a global scale. A year ago that would have seemed like a tin foil hat conspiracy theory. Check it out … it’s real in China, and there are plans for digitizing all Australians.

To conclude

I love that Canadians are getting together peacefully, with a clear message and a clearly defined goal, in Ottawa. Of course the amount of diesel being burned by those big trucks bothers me, and I wish they weren’t serving and wearing so many animals, but I realize that no political movement is ever perfect. The collective insistence on peaceful non-violence and co-operation, the family atmosphere, is amazing and uplifting and inspiring. The young folk and children will be forever changed by having the chance to participate in this, and the adults too are experiencing something life altering.

It seems many of my leftist friends are hypnotized by the dominant narrative, which surprises and shocks me. After all these years of seeing the corruption in governments, knowing how corporations control them, and the lies from the media, it’s a complete mystery why they’ve suddenly decided those are the trustworthy sources.

There’s still talk of white supremacist racism. I watch a lot of live streams from Ottawa, and I just don’t see it. I’ve seen some white supremacists get called out and, as I’ve said many times, I’m sure I don’t agree with everyone there on everything. But it’s clear we all agree that medical apartheid is not appropriate. A digital passport system is not appropriate. We all have the right to medical freedom. My body my choice. Thank you to everyone who is working for our collective right to medical privacy, and choice. Please have patience with my lefty friends … I remain confident that when they awaken, they will roar.

Meanwhile, if anyone’s looking for a white supremacist to blame for everything that’s going wrong, check out the guy.

Do you think he could be defined as a communist? Or, since the philosophy of communism was derived a long time prior to the rise of the global corporation, maybe we need a new word for what’s happening now. How about Corporatism? And this guy’s the head Corporatist, working alongside Big Pharma, with what was formerly Big Media, to implement total control.

Klaus Schwab has admitted that he controls the Canadian government. Click here for that.