Serfs.

       It's a cruel illusion that is woven around us, as we are continually told, by the mainstream media and political propaganda, that we live in a free democracy. Yet a simple look around, and you see gross inequality, where the majority strive with sweat and blood producing an abundance of wealth, but live a life of constant struggle in an attempt to gain a half decent life. We know we produce a mountain of wealth, we see it all around us, in the shape of large mansions, super sports cars, private jets, luxury yachts, etc. and that small coterie of individuals living the high life in luxury and opulence.
      Are we still living away back in he middle ages of serfs, with a few trimmings of "modernity" but all the power and wealth still in the hands of our lords and masters? Has the structure really changed, we are as free as the cattle in the field or the sheep in the pen, there to be used as our masters see fit. They'll feed us, just enough as long as we are of value to them, when we are surplus to their requirements, they will dispose of us in various ways, or simple leave us to rot. We are the 21st century serfs, we struggle just to survive, placated by trinkets, mere popcorn and bubble gum in the form of mobile phones, laptops, etc. the usual bread and circuses, from world cups, to Olympic Games, all just paracetamol to make us feel better however remedying none of our problems, but all money making exercises for our lords and masters, for which we pay,

       The following food for thought from Acorn, Winter Oak.

 

 

         Inspired by Gerrard Winstanley who was born 411 years ago in Wigan.
         Most are happy to say they belong to a ‘nation’ or ‘country’ and feel a strong sense of pride in their connection to its land and shared ancestry. We think the times when monarchs and lords made claims on everything and everyone living on the land have long since gone and that these ‘nobles’ now ‘serve’ us and there are laws and safeguards to stop this kind of wicked exploitation happening again.
      What if on the surface it only looks like this but, in reality, these old ruling elites have found more covert ways to exploit us, keeping us in a similar state to how we were back in the dark and middle ages only with a veneer of modern state crafted respectability?
     Are modern day ‘nations’ no more than ‘mega brands’ that can be owned and managed for personal gain? Does state propaganda, and a corrupted mainstream media convince us that we have more freedoms than we in fact do, and that by voting once every 5 years, we have a say in who governs us when really we don’t? 

       You only have to look at current leaders like Boris Johnson and Donald Trump to wonder how they got to these important positions on which so many lives depend. Do these wily old families continue to benefit unfairly from the most constant and lucrative revenue stream available to a people? That is, its collective creative energy; namely the taxes we all pay on everything we earn, spend and own… For which we receive very little in return.
     Where does all this money go? How is our country still in debt after all this time, and the hard work we all put in? To give recent and obvious examples of everyday corruption, we know that £12 billion has just been spent on a phone app and £103 million was spent on a ferry company with zero ferries and so on… This list is in fact endless! Is something still ‘Rotten in the State of Denmark?’ as Shakespeare said? It appears it most definitely is.
     If it is the case, it means countries are more like fiefdoms and our common status that of chattels rather than a modern citizenry. In other words, 21st century slaveism.
      Perhaps it’s time to ask ourselves some pertinent questions. Are we falling for a very clever marketing con trick that makes us feel free and empowered when the reality is that a few power-obsessed and stupidly rich groups are still running everything behind the scenes, while life for the rest remains a constant struggle on an increasingly damaged Earth? How far have we come as a society when the weak are still made to carry the strong? You have to ask – and keep asking.

 

 

C.D.

      “England is a prison; the subtleties in the Laws are the bolts, bars and doors of the prison; the Lawyers are the Jailers; and Poor Men are the prisoners”. Gerrard Winstanley. (19 October 1609 – 10 September 1676)

         Of course for "England", substitute the patch of land on which you live.

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Misery.

   

      I found the article ‘The Rebellions of Misery’ by Gustavo Rodriguez extremely interesting and very informative. Taking history and portraying it like a long string with lots of knots along its length, which we have to untie. Though quite long, I consider it well worth a read in full. After all trying to understand what and why people will finally rebel, what is the trigger, what is the spark that will ignite the fire, and what direction will it burn, is always the enigma we have to solve.

 

 
The following is a short extract from Act For Freedom Now:

‘The Rebellions of Misery’ by Gustavo Rodriguez

The rebellions of misery.
      “All control systems are based on the punishment/award binomial. When punishments are disproportionate to rewards and when employers no longer have any rewards left, uprisings occur.”
Burroughs(1)
      In the second decade of this century, urban revolts are becoming more frequent throughout the global geography, with subtle variations in duration and intensity. Hong Kong, France, Algeria, Iraq, Haiti, Lebanon, Catalonia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Sudan, Chile, Belarus, and now the United States of America, have been the sites of massive protests widely reported in the means of mass domestication. As I have pointed out on other occasions, these demonstrations have very particular motivations that explain them; however, it is indisputable that they all possess an intangible link that serves as a common denominator of most of these mobilizations: the weariness and rage of despair.
        Far from the leftist rhetoric that insists against all evidence that “as long as there is misery there will be rebellion”, what has really motivated the recent rebellions has not been “misery” but the conjunction of weariness and despair. These two factors – which drive the nostalgia for the “devil you know” and yearn for the return to the welfare state, to industrial capitalism and to the society of labour – are the causes of the widespread unrest that has led to the global revolt of our days.
        It is increasingly axiomatic that “misery” only produces “misery”. That is to say, servitude, begging and even the loss of all dignity. As the proverb goes, “hunger is a bad counsellor”. She is the mother of all those specimens that hang a sign around their neck that says “I will do any work” (even for the SS, as George Steiner reminds us). Therefore, instead of creating rebels and refusers, misery breeds disease, malnutrition, mortality, fear, sexual exploitation, corruption, soldiers, police, informants and voters: human misery.
         This is why misery is exalted by the left, knowing that the future is fattened in its jaws, as that is where future votes are counted. All we have to do is to consign some “prizes” and, to state abracadabra: the corpse-like clientele will remain guaranteed for a relatively long period of time, until “there are no more prizes” (Burroughs dixit) and the uprisings return.

 Read the full article HERE:

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