Month: March 2021

CHRIS HEDGES ~ UNSPEAKABLE ~ 2016

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~ TMYNAYF ~ The Moment You Need Adulation You’re Finished

~ T-V-I-SAS-M-INPA-FT-B-A-KUC ~ The – Vast – Internal – Security And Surveillance – Machine – Is Not Primarily About – Fighting Terrorism – But – About – Keeping Us Contained

~ M/P/S-WAAESBI ~ Money / Power / Status – We Are All Easily Seduced By Idols

~ IIA-E-ACTT-WABP-YWTGTSO-B-NOEI-OVF ~ It Is About – Empathy – A Commitment To Those – Who Are Being Persecuted – You Want To Get Their Story Out – Because – No One Else Is – Or – Very Few

~ VAGAW-SATS ~ Violence Against Girls And Women – Still A Taboo Subject

~ HB-ETWCAOEE-HANTSTAG-TEIEFOS-DTMTFP ~ Human Beings – Even Those Who Commit Acts Of Extraordinary Evil – Have A Need To See Themselves As Good – They Engage In Extraordinary Forms Of Self-Deception To Make This Fiction Possible

~ LA-CCTC-WHBHT-CS-A-EMIS-T-EDR-TRU-TAI-I-ES-SM-STS-C-CIOCI ~ Like All – Civilizations Careening Toward Collapse – We Have Become Hostage To – Complex Structures – And – Ever More Intricate Specialization – To – Exploit Diminishing Resources – Technocrats Rule Us – Trained And Indoctrinated – In – Elite Schools – Systems Managers – Serve The System – Cannot – Critique It Or Challenge It

~ WCS-JAT-O-PAP-TMW-MC-W-TWS-PAP-TMW-DOCF-JAT ~ We Can Serve – Justice And Truth – Or – Privilege And Power – The More We – Make Compromises – With – Those Who Serve – Privilege And Power – The More We – Diminish Our Capacity For – Justice And Truth

~ TH-WYRU-T-ST-N-ATTP-B-PKWID-B-A-TAP-YAAC-T-AFOH ~ Throughout History – When You Rise Up – To – Speak Truth – Not – A Truth To Power – Because – Power Knows What It Does – But – A – Truth About Power – You’re Almost Always Crushed – That’s – A Fact Of History

CHRIS HEDGES ~ WAGES OF REBELLION ~ 2015

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~ T-D-E-E-TATQHBATDOTGM-HF-TPPTWTHRTLSOWT-T-DEHBEAAL ~ The – Disastrous – Economic – Experiment – That Attempted To Organize Human Behavior Around The Dictates Of The Global Marketplace – Has Failed – The Promised Prosperity That Was To Have Raised The Living Standards Of Workers Through Trickle-Down Economics Has Been Exposed As A Lie

~ A-T-GO-HAOW-A-P-C-G-TAT-CG-TS-CP ~ A Tiny – Global Oligarchy – Has Amassed Obscene Wealth – And – Pliable – Corrupt – Governments – That Abandon The – Common Good – To Serve – Corporate Profit

~ GTCETANIG-A-RTMOSTFTIOTIG-ANLCORRITOC ~ Governments That Cater Exclusively To A Narrow Interest Group – And – Redirect The Machinery Of State To Furthering The Interests Of That Interest Group – Are No Longer Capable Of Responding Rationally In Times Of Crisis

~ LOST-T-BO-C-FHAB-WI-CU/U/SODW/CDP/CI/TMLDAOHBDMAF ~ Looting Of State Treasuries – To – Bail Out – Corrupt – Financial Houses And Banks – While Ignoring – Chronic Unemployment / Underemployment / Stagnant Or Declining Wages / Crippling Debt Peonage / Collapsing Infrastructure / The Millions Left Destitute And Often Homeless By Deceptive Mortgages And Foreclosures

~ RTT-TO-BBOGACBTN ~ Revolutions Take Time – They’re Often – Begun By One Generation And Completed By The Next

~ EAEC-WCTT-SBAC ~ Economic And Environmental Catastrophes – Will Converge To Trigger – Systems Breakdown And Collapse

~ O-O-W-MB-ULOCFTGNOTD ~ Obscenity – Of – Wealth – Matched By – Utter Lack Of Concern For The Growing Numbers Of The Destitute

~ GITHOS-APRFCAASGOO ~ Government In The Hands Of Speculators – A Protection Racket For Corporations And A Small Group Of Oligarchs

~ AAOHETCB-MOQ-B/T/L/G/TSFM/TSWOOM-A-IAR ~ All Aspects Of Human Existence That Cannot Be – Measured Or Quantified – Beauty / Truth / Love / Grief / The Search For Meaning / The Struggle With Our Own Mortality – Are – Ignored And Ridiculed

~ NO-LU-CS-STDAAAT-W-C/P/H-A-R/S/A-CBDA-F ~ No One Who – Lives Under – Constant Surveillance – Subject To Detention Anywhere At Any Time Whose – Conversations / Proclivities / Habits – Are – Recorded / Stored / Analyzed – Can Be Described As – Free

~ TS-ALAR-W-CTUADT ~ Totalitarian Systems – Abolishes Liberty And Rights – While – Claiming To Uphold And Defend Them

~ AT-NLAL-WCB-TOAOLUIBDDP-A-BSUWW ~ According To – New Laws And Legislation – We Can Be – Tortured Or Assassinated Or Locked Up Indefinitely – Be Denied Due Process – And – Be Spied Upon Without Warrants

~ A-FSOD-A-ATC ~ A – Fictitious Shell Of Democracy – And – A Totalitarian Core

~ L-HB-AGFOP ~ Lies – Have Become – A Grotesque Form Of Patriotism

~ T-COR-ITHO-T-HBA-AI ~ The – Cult Of Rationality – In The Hands Of – Technocrats – Has Become An – Absolutist Ideology

~ TUPAAIC-TCABRFTROU ~ The Urban Poor Are Already In Chains – These Chains Are Being Readied For The Rest Of Us

~ EITMIA ~ Empathy Is The Most Important Asset

~ TWF-WAN ~ They Were First – We Are Next

~ NOBOIWTJFCT-2008FM-TDOJMTDIIATDIP ~ Not One Banker Or Investor Went To Jail For Causing The – 2008 Financial Meltdown – The Disparity Of Justice Mirrored The Disparity In Incomes And The Disparity In Power

~ TLOVAPV ~ The Language Of Violence Always Presages Violence

~ IWDNSR-TUATP-BITE-GT-JARFCD-T-T-RAV-WBA-FBC ~ If We Do Not Swiftly Reincorporate – The Unemployed And The Poor – Back Into The Economy – Giving Them – Jobs And Relief From Crippling Debt – Then – The – Racism And Violence – Will Become A – Full-Blown Conflagration

~ TD-WIASWALICE-FNIOOM ~ The Desperate – Whose Identities And Self-Worth Are Lost In Collapsing Economies – Fashion New Identities Out Of Myth

~ WHLCICWWIM-HLMBD ~ When Human Law Comes Into Conflict With What Is Moral – Human Law Must Be Defied

~ TDNIATOREITBC ~ To Do Nothing In A Time Of Radical Evil Is To Be Complicit

CHRIS HEDGES ~ DAYS OF DESTRUCTION, DAYS OF REVOLT ~ 2012

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~ TBT-HBAHS-SBRB-TDOTM-I-UF ~ The Belief That – Human Beings And Human Societies – Should Be Ruled By – The Demands Of The Marketplace – Is – Utopian Folly

~ TINI-HHOHN-TSTIT-SEBTFMLTASG-AY-WHPT-UBS-TDHWSO-E/L/E/C-AWA-HWT-TEOWWDFL ~ There Is Nothing In – Human History Or Human Nature – That Supports The Idea That – Sacrificing Everything Before The Free Market Leads To A Social Good – And Yet – We Have Permitted This – Utopian Belief System – To Determine How We Structure Our – Economy / Labor / Education / Culture – As Well As – How We Treat – The Ecosystem On Which We Depend For Life

~ EO-CO-NLBTWTU-TRIO-TSASS-F-C ~ Even Our – Corporate Overlords – No Longer Believe The Words They Utter – They Rely Instead On – The Security And Surveillance State – For – Control

~ TROD ~ The Rumble Of Dissent

CHRIS HEDGES ~ THE WORLD AS IT IS ~ 2010

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~ TWDNUWIHAT-A-WAOBABRTDNEOF-SDFS-TBDTCTTR ~ Those Who Do Not Understand What Is Happening Around Them – And – Who Are Overwhelmed By A Brutal Reality They Did Not Expect Or Foresee – Search Desperately For Saviours – They Beg Demagogues To Come To Their Rescue

~ TLETCTEDAL ~ The Lies Employed To Camouflage The Economic Decline Are Legion

~ II-C-TGOL-EIPAG-AHS-IIFTCTFUFTDOOI-ITPUFTS-G ~ It Is – Community – That Gives Our Lives – Even In Pain And Grief – A Healing Solidarity – It Is Fealty To Community That Frees Us From The Dictates Of Our Idols – Idols That Promise Us Fulfilment Through Self-Gratification

~ W-CWI-PS-B-UC-WIASV-WI-B-P-A-P-HDATAC ~ War – Comes Wrapped In – Patriotic Slogans– But – Up Close – War Is A Soulless Void – War Is – Barbarity – Perversion – And – Pain – Human Decency And Tenderness Are Crushed

~ W-FAIH-H-TPTSA-TTATB-TECAFOTFOD-ILUS-ATCIT ~ War – For All Its Horror – Has – The Power To Strip Away – The Trivial And The Banal – The Empty Chatter And Foolish Obsessions That Fill Our Days – It Lets Us See – Although The Cost Is Tremendous

CHRIS HEDGES ~ EMPIRE OF ILLUSION ~ 2009

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~ TEO-TCS-AMTEO-TSS ~ The Emergence Of – The Corporate State – Always Means The Emergence Of – The Security State

~ O-FS-W-THAL-B-B-B-A-S-WTUTTOMOMCB-PAM-WO-TAUMCBMOOM ~ Our – Financial System – Was – Taken Hostage And Looted – By – Bankers – Brokers – And – Speculators – Who Told Us That The Old Means Of Making Capital By – Producing And Manufacturing – Were Outdated – They Assured Us Money Could Be Made Out Of Money

~ TIT-FM-CB-S-R-LAFMTHTH-TO-OAR-OC ~ They Insisted That – Financial Markets – Could Be – Self-Regulating – Like All Financial Markets Throughout History That Have – Thrown Off – Oversight And Regulation – Ours – Collapsed

~ SITSCWH-TTRBITDAHB ~ Speculators In The Seventeenth Century Were Hanged – Today They Receive Billions In Taxpayer Dollars And Huge Bonuses

~ O-PE-CSO-P-IHBTOT-F-S-SA-POTODOTMTBOBAFF-T-SADS ~ Our – Power Elite – Cannot Solve Our – Problems – It Has Been Trained Only To – Find – Solutions – Such As – Paying Out Trillions Of Dollars Of Taxpayer Money To Bail Out Banks And Financial Firms – To – Sustain A Dead System

~ TE-A-TWWFT-WNTHT-QTAOTA-TSIKACI-EIH/L/P/R-WAATC-SATTA-HB-BFPD ~ The Elite – And – Those Who Work For Them – Were Never Taught How To – Question The Assumptions Of Their Age – The Socially Important Knowledge And Cultural Ideas – Embodied In – History / Literature / Philosophy / Religion – Which Are At Their Core – Subversive And Threatening To Authority – Have Been – Banished From Public Discourse

~ O-PS-TW-STCS ~ Only – Piecemeal Solutions – That Will – Satisfy The Corporate Structure

~ T-HC-NFIT-BS ~ The – Human Consequences – Never Figure Into Their – Balance Sheets

~ T-CTI-CBBOHCMTF-TVF-AS-AS-PS-A-A-AWT-CCPNOTC ~ Those – Captive To Images – Cast Ballots Based On How Candidates Make Them Feel – They Vote For – A Slogan – A Smile – Perceived Sincerity – And – Attractiveness – Along With The – Carefully Crafted Personal Narrative Of The Candidate

~ II-SAS-N-CAF-TI-MP ~ It Is – Style And Story – Not – Content And Fact – That Inform – Mass Politics

CHRIS HEDGES ~ LOSING MOSES ON THE FREEWAY ~ 2005

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~ WCSTIOW-IIHTSOO ~ We Can See The Idols Others Worship – It Is Hard To See Our Own

~ IAA-SW ~ Idols – Are Always About – Self-Worship

~ TP-STD-RACAAOP-B-TITRPAC-TMO-TP-O-WAO-IS-THADSB-TO-TA-FAD ~ The Prophets – Spent Their Days – Raging Against Corruption And Abuse Of Power – By – Those In The Royal Palaces And Courts – The Mistreatment Of – The Poor – Of – Widows And Orphans – In Short – The Hard And Difficult Struggle By – The Oppressed – To Achieve – Freedom And Dignity

~ W-GAPI-A-NLT-WTB-ESFPPAW-ATEOTIAWOTP-ISTMTHDNP-TIALOFITSDTHCT-TE-PBT-BN-OR-TBWTWTB ~ When – Government And Public Institutions – Are – No Longer Trusted – When They Become – Engines Solely For Personal Power And Wealth – At The Expense Of The Interests And Welfare Of The Public – It Sends The Message That Honesty Does Not Pay – There Is A Loss Of Faith In The Structures Designed To Hold Community Together – Trust Evaporates – People Begin To – Believe Nothing – Or Rather – They Believe What They Want To Believe

~ EMO-RTLOTP-WLONS-STFOTT ~ Established Media Organs – Relay The Lies Of The Powerful – With Little Or No Scrutiny – Serving To Further Obscure The Truth

~ ASWTMTDLAT-S-S-I-LAF ~ A Society Without The Means To Detect Lies And Theft – Soon – Squanders – Its – Liberty And Freedom

CARLO CIPOLLA ~ THE BASIC LAWS OF HUMAN STUPIDITY ~ 2021

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~ EUTNOSIAU ~ Everyone Underestimates The Number Of Stupid Individuals Among Us

~ TPTACPISIIOAOCOTP ~ The Probability That A Certain Person Is Stupid Is Independent Of Any Other Characteristic Of That Person

~ ASPIAPWCLTAPWDNGAEPILT ~ A Stupid Person Is A Person Who Causes Losses To Another Person While Deriving No Gain And Even Possibly Incurring Losses Themselves

~ N-SPAUTDPOSI ~ Non-Stupid People Always Underestimate The Damaging Power Of Stupid Individuals

~ A-SP-I-TMDTOP ~ A – Stupid Person – Is – The Most Dangerous Type Of Person

JAY SHETTY ~ THINK LIKE A MONK ~ 2020

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~ OIIWUIWOTOF-O-MA-WWTOTOU ~ Our Identity Is Wrapped Up In What Others Think Of Us – Or – More Accurately – What We Think Others Think Of Us

~ WWABIN-WLTOWITS ~ When We Are Buried In Nonessentials – We Lose Track Of What Is Truly Significant

~ WWTO-T-O/E/O-OTWAU-WBTHO ~ When We Tune Out – The – Opinions / Expectations / Obligations – Of The World Around Us – We Begin To Hear Ourselves

~ AYL-NMWY-T-YVA-YATTRS-TVTHCIYL-TNSIT-DWYVAAWYCAIAWT ~ Audit Your Life – No Matter What You – Think – Your Values Are – Your Actions Tell The Real Story – The Values That Have Crept Into Your Life – The Next Step Is To – Decide What Your Values Are And Whether Your Choices Are In Alignment With Them

~ WYSYWHYSTYV ~ Who You Surround Yourself With Helps You Stick To Your Values

~ IYV-A-LTGY-WHYFEI ~ Identifying Your Values – And – Letting Them Guide You – Will Help You Filter External Influences

~ NIC ~ Negativity Is Contagious

~ S-S-S ~ Spot – Stop – Swap

~ CSWEWEDMYWH ~ Criticizing Someone Else’s Work Ethic Doesn’t Make You Work Harder

~ CWC-A-UTWP ~ Choose Words Carefully – And – Use Them With Purpose

~ TF-TSAC-TF-WEAAOAEIR ~ Transformational Forgiveness – The Strength And Calmness – To Forgive – Without Expecting An Apology Or Anything Else In Return

~ AFARF ~ Ask For And Receive Forgiveness

~ TLTYFOEETMTYHTFOY ~ The Less Time You Fixate On Everyone Else – The More Time You Have To Focus On Yourself

~ O-WN-FW-B-IIG ~ Often – We Notice – Fear’s Warning – But – Ignore Its Guidance

~ WWTOFBTTS-MOUFTTCRT-A-ONTWACT-WWATTNOEIOL-WCFGFTGFOGTBTFAT ~ When We Track Our Fears Back To Their Source – Most Of Us Find That They’re Closely Related To – Attachment – Our Need To Own And Control Things – When We Accept The Temporary Nature Of Everything In Our Lives – We Can Feel Gratitude For The Good Fortune Of Getting To Borrow Them For A Time

~ A-UF-AUTASWCC ~ A – Useful Fear – Alerts Us To A Situation We Can Change

~ CTTT-GTPOU-A-TBSOPAF ~ Clinging To Temporary Things – Gives Them Power Over Us – And – They Become – Sources Of Pain And Fear

~ D-ITUPI-MF ~ Detachment – Is The Ultimate Practice In – Minimizing Fear

~ STWS ~ See The Whole Story

~ WAEF-P-DMU-PA ~ When All Else Fails – Pain – Does Make Us – Pay Attention

~ DIYF ~ Dive Into Your Fears

~ SDGH-A-HDRS ~ Success Doesn’t Doesn’t Guarantee Happiness – And – Happiness Doesn’t Require Success

~ B-WCS-TWT-BLF-M-ITL ~ But – We Can Survive – The Worst Tragedies – By Looking For – Meaning – In The Loss

~ Purpose And Meaning – Not – Success – Lead To True Contentment

~ WWP-W-WTCTWWDM-WCLI ~ When We Perform – Work – With The Conviction That What We Do Matters – We Can Live Intensely

~ TWL-W!W?W?!W?-DTTD-W-BT-W ~ The Why Ladder – Why! Why? Why?! Why? – Dig To The Deepest – Why – Behind The – Want

~ WTWIBYASOF-EIYD-SQ-O-E-?~ Will The Work Itself Bring You A Sense Of Fulfillment – Even If You Don’t – Succeed Quickly – Or – Ever – ?

~ P+E+U=D ~ Passion + Expertise + Usefulness = Dharma

~ LFOTDWYLITLYAH-YNKWIML ~ Look For Opportunities To Do What You Love In The Life You Already Have – You Never Know Where It Might Lead

~ YPBAPWYUITSO ~ Your Passion Becomes A Purpose When You Use It To Serve Others

~ LHE;THM ~ Location Has Energy; Time Has Memory

~ TTM ~ Transform The Mundane

~ TGRUTM ~ True Growth Requires Understanding The Mind

~ OTALCPB-WANOM ~ Our Thoughts Are Like Clouds Passing By – We Are Not Our Minds

~ TYWTSLARYWTSTO ~ Treat Yourself With The Same Love And Respect You Want To Show To Others

~ SP ~ Stay Present

~ NOY-OB-D-CWT-GCOTM ~ Nothing Owns You – Only By – Detaching – Can We Truly – Gain Control Of The Mind

~ ROT-Y-WEWNEIA-NOTI-NOWSTOY ~ Reflect On The – You – Who Emerges When Nobody Else Is Around – No One To Impress – No One With Something To Offer You

~ AI-FF-IOTD-MOO-F-MOI?-AIPMOW-? ~ Am I – Finding Fault – In Order To Distract – Myself Or Others – From – My Own Insecurities? – Am I Projecting My Own Weakness – ?

~ TEIAOTG ~ The Ego Is An Obstacle To Growth

~ B-C-N-E ~ Build – Confidence – Not – Ego

~ SW ~ Small Wins

~ TEWTBIKB-S-IIQTWOFAC ~ The Ego Wants To Believe It Knows Best – So – It Is Quick To Write Off Feedback As Criticism

~ RIOJ ~ Reflect Instead Of Judging

~ ACQ ~ Ask Clarifying Questions

~ DBIYOH ~ Don’t Buy Into Your Own Hype

~ YANSOYF ~ You Are Not Your Success Or Your Failure

~ OYE-IA-P-N-A-A ~ Overcoming Your Ego – Is A – Practice – Not – An – Accomplishment

~ IOTCS-WHTII-WWBICBBE ~ In Order To Create Something – We Have To Imagine It – Whatever We Build Internally Can Be Built Externally

~ G-HBLT-B-MH/S-A/R-A-ASOF ~ Gratitude – Has Been Linked To – Better – Mental Health / Self-Awareness / Relationships – And – A Sense Of Fulfillment

~ WYPIG-YCBAE ~ When You’re Present In Gratitude – You Can’t Be Anywhere Else

~ EG ~ Everyday Gratitude

~ TPOG-TI-N-IW-S-OT ~ The Practice Of Gratitude – Train It – Now – It Will – Strengthen – Over Time

~ EG ~ Expressing Gratitude

~ GTS-HUTNE-B-GUP ~ Gratitude Through Service – Helps Us Transform Negative Emotions – By – Giving Us Perspective

~ FC-ASL-TAOH-CB-PT ~ Feeling Connected – At Some Level – To All Of Humanity – Can Be – Positively Therapeutic

~ LIOOTMTGWCG ~ Listening Is One Of The Most Thoughtful Gifts We Can Give

~ AFWYW ~ Ask For What You Want

~ Y-NTBS-W-MYH ~ You – Need To Be Someone – Who – Makes You Happy

~ SHTS ~ Selflessness Heals The Self

~ TTLAM-UM-TS ~ To Think Like A Monk – Ultimately Means – To Serve

~ S-ITDPT-AML ~ Service – Is The Direct Path To – A Meaningful Life