Still waters

i believe that there will ultimately be a clash, between the oppressed and those doing the opressing. i believe there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice, and equality for everyone. and those who want to continue the system of exploitation. i believe that there will be that kind of clash, but i don't think it will be based on the color of skin malcom X On this issue of human freedom, if you assume that there's no hope, you guarantee there will be no hope. If you assume that there is an instinct for freedom, that there are opportunities to change things, then hope may be justified, and a better world may be built. That's your choice. -noam chomsky. Silence, they say, is the voice of complicity. But silence is impossible Silence screams. Silence is a message, just as doing nothing is an act.Let who you are ring out & resonate in every word & every deed. Yes, become who you are. There's no sidestepping your own being or your own responsibility. What you do is who you are. You are your own comeuppance. You become your own message. You are the message. In the Spirit of Crazy Horse -Leonard Peltier .."Think of no one as "them" Don't confuse your comfort with your safety Talk to strangers Imagine other cultures through their poetry and novels Listen to music you don't understand Dance to it Act locally Notice the workings of power & privilege in your culture Question consumption Know how your lettuce and coffee are grown: wake up and smell the exploitation Look for fair trade and union labels Help build economies from the bottom up Acquire few needs Learn a second (or third) language Visit people, places, and cultures - not tourist attractions Learn people’s history Re-define progress Know physical and political geography Play games from other cultures Watch films with subtitles Know your heritage Honor everyone’s holidays Look at the moon and imagine someone else, somewhere else, looking at it too Read the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights Understand the global economy in terms of people, land and water Know where your bank banks Never believe you have a right to anyone else's resources Question military/corporate connections Don't confuse money with wealth, or time with money Have a pen/email pal Honor indigenous cultures Judge governance by how well it meets all people’s needs Be skeptical about what you read Eat adventurously Enjoy vegetables, beans and grains in your diet Choose curiosity over certainty Know where your water comes from and where your wastes go Pledge allegiance to the earth: question nationalism Think South, Central and North – there are many Americans Assume that many others share your dreams Know that no one is silent though many are not heard Work to change this"
Consciousness
i see pictures of starving people, predominantly those from africa, or south america and i think to myself, are these the people that the capitalists, or the republicans say are starving because they do not work, or because they didn't pay attention in school. But what if there are no schools to pay attention in? or no work to be done? or if the only work to be done is to be a janitor or a worker in a shell oil or united fruit or nike shoe company, and they're paying you 50 cents a day, maybe fifty cents a week to support your five children. There are two seperate worlds of capitalism, that of america and western european countries where you can work, and pay attention to school and strive for something and you can be succesful, you can be a millionaire or a business man. i used to ask myself how can places like south africa, or other latin american countries be in the sad condition that their in, with such abundances of natural resources? they have oil and diamonds and lumber to be farmed. i understand that it's due partially because they are underdevoloped but i understand also that companies like shell oil and united fruit and other foreign owned businesses come to a nation and suck the life and wealth out of every corner of it. Taking the money that should be going to feeding the starving children in that nation, and using it instead to line the pockets of already rich americans. And naturally the only way to dig yourself, and your countrymen, and even your children out of that shit hole is to rebel, and to nationalize the foreign owned interests in your country, which in doing so would put you in direct conflict with the economic interests of the world super power, and in doing that you should be ready to be killed, because if you don't think the united states wouldn't be willing to do anything about that your wrong, we've had assination attempts on 35 democratically elected world leaders. Thirty five individuals put into power by the people, for the people, and with the interests of the people at heart. so if you were willing to save even your children you should be ready to be shot, and shot for what? for being tired of walking down the street every single day and seeing starving children on the side of the road. god help us to have the consciousness, and love in our hearts to let other people eat.
depressing

I am certain that i live here, in the hills, and beneath these waters. it's not so cold.