I worked at a Political Campaign Firm, Here's What I Saw

[chromerhino]

I just think there is a balance you can strike where you can pay attention and learn the signs of whats to come and living in the moment and having joy without living in fear. And I believe now is a good time to pay more attention and run some scenarios so you can be better prepared. I don't see the benefit of living in the moment and running only on defensive measures when you can take the opportunity to pay attention, try to notice signs that might lead to certain possibilities and use them to form a plan and prepare for them.

I'm not saying stock up on arms and ammo, build a bunker and order enough supplies that they have to truck them to your door with an 18 wheeler. I'm just suggesting that things are especially volatile right now and prime for some serious stuff to go down, so it would be a good idea to increase your preparedness supply and pay attention to what is happening.

 

[satyagraha]

Well, as far as all that goes, if Shitmageddon comes down, my physical situation is one that most prepper minded folks would love to be in. I have the Christian Right, armed to the teeth, a mile down the dead end road that the marauding masses will have to get past, and we can blow the big culvert below their place and stop even the four wheelers. I have my copy of <em>Peterson's Field Guide To Edible Wild Plants</em>! I am a jack of all trades and can patch stuff back together if needed.

Whatever comes, I have come to the place in my old age where I will surely take it as I am able, without the levels of concerns I had in my younger years, when I was more the political and environmental activist. I have seen quite a lot come and go in my time, and always gravitated to the counsel elders along the way to here and now. I took a lot away from what they had seen in their times. I know that no one gets out of here alive, not as the body at any rate.

For me, the peace is worth more than any possible attainment. I will try to not let... Forget that, nothing will take that peace, not even the worst possible scenario. I would bottle and give away this shit if I could. It's always there, but only for the discovery. What is this discovery? Seeing what is and is not real. It turns out that neither what I think I am, nor what I think is happening, is what is really the truth. But this is my seeing. Everyone else has their seeing. Seeing is way better than believing.

I hope this all doesn't come across in the wrong way, but that's always the gamble, eh?

I do love this life, whatever it brings.

Namasté,

Satya

 

[chromerhino]

Ok. I get that. I think we see and accept things differently. You seem like a very good, intelligent and peaceful person that I would enjoy being around but I accept we have slightly different viewpoints on this particular topic. Thank you for the conversation on this matter. )

 

[satyagraha]

Communications is always dodgy at best. It takes time and I'm in no hurry. Glad to be here with you and everyone.

 

[modblot]

@Satyagraha, I definitely get what you're saying. I have a bro-in-law that is head-over-heels into worrying about the future. I think there is a danger there; he's said "This is it, we're done," more times than I can remember over the last couple of years.

 

[satyagraha]

I just watched a DVD of <em>All the President's Men,</em>. This is a two disc set, released in 2006, 28 years after the movie was made. I would recommend it for a perspective that goes straight to message in the original post in this thread.

 

[shamangineer]

Here is a good in-depth documentary on the origins of the PR industry and it's use in both business and politics:
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBEclayBCdc&amp;index=1&amp;list=PLw4R9bzRbgYx901sYIGNM2VDG9J8K6bQD">The Invention of Public Relations</a>

 

[shamangineer]

Another excellent documentary about Edward Bernays, Walter Lippmann, and Gustav Le Bon and their contributions to the psychology of perceptual manipulation in modern society and the creation of the Council on Foriegn Relations:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8ERfxWouXs&amp;index=5&amp;list=PLw4R9bzRbgYx901sYIGNM2VDG9J8K6bQD">Rule from the Shadows - The Psychology of Power - Part 1</a>

 

[modblot]

Thanks for those documentaries Shamangineer, excellent stuff!