Walter Mosley by Twelve Steps Toward Political Revelation Page B
Tags: General, Political Science, Civics & Citizenship, Electronic Books, Political Process, Civil Rights, Political Participation - United States, Political Participation
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does a highfat, fast-food, antibiotic-treated, whole herd of cattle
in a single burger cost? Itâs probably cheaper than you can make at home; but what about the addictions that you and your children develop to fast foods? What about the clogged veins, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, colon problems, and a host of other maladies? What do they cost?
What does vengeance cost? The starving children in Afghanistan and the shell-shocked citizens of Iraq may not be on the radar of most Americans, but what about our own disabled and traumatized soldiers who went to War because they couldnât afford the Cost of living as young working-class citizens of this country. Who pays? Who profits? Who makes the decision, and who is told what they will pay regardless of what they want, what they earn, and what theyâre worth?
Using War as an example of Cost we can begin to see the crystal-like complexities of Cost connected to any action we take or exchange we make in the Modern World.
Buy an apple from the supermarket and drive Miss Rogers out of business.
Join the army because you canât get an education and kill innocents, all the while addling your own mind.
Buy a house and go bankrupt.
Cast a vote the way some people buy lottery tickets.
Almost every action we take has an effect that we did not intend, an effect that Costs us more than it provides for our comfort and ease, health and well-being.
Whatever something Costs in the Great Shadow Joeâs domainâit is worth less. This is the rub. This is the instant when we give up our value to the greater system. And this gift is not to an entity that cares about us or our well-being. Above our heads, in the ether of capitalism, there is a continual war being waged between virtual corporate godsâBest-Fruits-Imaginable versus Mantan Applesauce, Tolmec Investments versus Less Bank, General Hospital versus If Youâre Lucky Health Insurance. These warrior gods are animated and empowered by our labor, our dollars. As their battles intensify we are drained of more and more of our resources. As we get weaker they get stronger. Costs rise at the supermarket and in the taxes and even in our veins. We pay out of our pockets, we pay in secret charges, we pay in outrageous interest rates, and we pay just by working and being undervalued by the servants of the virtual war being fought in the heavens of our own imaginations.
Okay. Thatâs the uppermost surface of the problem. We work and then receive less than the value of our labor; we pay more than what we buy is worth. The systems that these exchanges are based on are decided by virtual entities (i.e., corporations) that are alien to our biologies and therefore have no ability to identify or empathize with our problems. It seems as if human beings govern these interchanges but, in truth, this is not so. Individuals can prosper from the systems of Cost only as long as they go along with the rules. No one who breaks the rules may stay in control.
How do we, Everyday Denizens, counteract this tautological economic trap?
To begin with, we have to come to some kind of understanding of worth versus Cost. What am I worth? What am I paid? What is the worth of the things I buy versus the price I buy them for? Once we begin to have a notion of the answers to these questions we can begin to organize ourselves against the Great Shadow Joe and his invisible machinations.
Â
I am about to embark on some very murky waters here because I am not an economist and so donât have the training to present arguments in those terms. But I do have some common sense and an appreciation
for what is necessary to enter a conflict between any two entities.
In order for someone to challenge me, my Opponent, if he has any hope of winning, must bring at least equal strength into the conflict. This strength may be defined in different ways: It might be skill versus brute power, reach versus close-to-the-ground weight, determination
in a single burger cost? Itâs probably cheaper than you can make at home; but what about the addictions that you and your children develop to fast foods? What about the clogged veins, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, colon problems, and a host of other maladies? What do they cost?
What does vengeance cost? The starving children in Afghanistan and the shell-shocked citizens of Iraq may not be on the radar of most Americans, but what about our own disabled and traumatized soldiers who went to War because they couldnât afford the Cost of living as young working-class citizens of this country. Who pays? Who profits? Who makes the decision, and who is told what they will pay regardless of what they want, what they earn, and what theyâre worth?
Using War as an example of Cost we can begin to see the crystal-like complexities of Cost connected to any action we take or exchange we make in the Modern World.
Buy an apple from the supermarket and drive Miss Rogers out of business.
Join the army because you canât get an education and kill innocents, all the while addling your own mind.
Buy a house and go bankrupt.
Cast a vote the way some people buy lottery tickets.
Almost every action we take has an effect that we did not intend, an effect that Costs us more than it provides for our comfort and ease, health and well-being.
Whatever something Costs in the Great Shadow Joeâs domainâit is worth less. This is the rub. This is the instant when we give up our value to the greater system. And this gift is not to an entity that cares about us or our well-being. Above our heads, in the ether of capitalism, there is a continual war being waged between virtual corporate godsâBest-Fruits-Imaginable versus Mantan Applesauce, Tolmec Investments versus Less Bank, General Hospital versus If Youâre Lucky Health Insurance. These warrior gods are animated and empowered by our labor, our dollars. As their battles intensify we are drained of more and more of our resources. As we get weaker they get stronger. Costs rise at the supermarket and in the taxes and even in our veins. We pay out of our pockets, we pay in secret charges, we pay in outrageous interest rates, and we pay just by working and being undervalued by the servants of the virtual war being fought in the heavens of our own imaginations.
Okay. Thatâs the uppermost surface of the problem. We work and then receive less than the value of our labor; we pay more than what we buy is worth. The systems that these exchanges are based on are decided by virtual entities (i.e., corporations) that are alien to our biologies and therefore have no ability to identify or empathize with our problems. It seems as if human beings govern these interchanges but, in truth, this is not so. Individuals can prosper from the systems of Cost only as long as they go along with the rules. No one who breaks the rules may stay in control.
How do we, Everyday Denizens, counteract this tautological economic trap?
To begin with, we have to come to some kind of understanding of worth versus Cost. What am I worth? What am I paid? What is the worth of the things I buy versus the price I buy them for? Once we begin to have a notion of the answers to these questions we can begin to organize ourselves against the Great Shadow Joe and his invisible machinations.
Â
I am about to embark on some very murky waters here because I am not an economist and so donât have the training to present arguments in those terms. But I do have some common sense and an appreciation
for what is necessary to enter a conflict between any two entities.
In order for someone to challenge me, my Opponent, if he has any hope of winning, must bring at least equal strength into the conflict. This strength may be defined in different ways: It might be skill versus brute power, reach versus close-to-the-ground weight, determination
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