The Desperation for Change and the Desire to Happen 'NOW'

in #philosophy7 years ago (edited)

Desperation for change can lead us to act in ignorance. In desperation for change and the hope we place in political leaders, we continue to plead for them to fix things for us. We act in ignorance, still begging representatives to deal with our lives rather than us doing it with knowledge. Perhaps I can say: we know not what we do, but do it because that's all we know how to do?

There is also the desperation for change when our leaders fail us. The hope and dreams they were peddling turn out to be false promises. We don't get the change we were promised. After some time, this can break out in a revolt and even revolution. Is America divided? Is the leader to blame?

This has happened many times in the past. People revolt against their "leaders" or masters/rulers, like America did with Britain in the American Revolution, and the French did with their own political leaders in the French Revolution. Sometimes the choice of action for change results in something better as intended, sometimes not, and sometimes it takes a long time before an error is detected.

Being desperate for change can have consequences, as we act in desperate ignorance and foolishness, not thoughtful knowledge and understanding. The disempowering modality of ignorance can create problems for us that we don't see, because we don't have the knowledge or vision to look ahead and see our bad choices for what they are.

You can't do "anything" you want to do, because you are not a god of reality. Even if you knew what to do, truly, you can't stop all evil or fix everything on your own. You're not the king. And if you were, the results wouldn't be optimal anyways. Suffering under the delusion of "if only I were king..." is something to overcome once you understand the problem of the belief in authority over others and how it infringes on the freedom of innocent beings.

To change things, we can't do it on our own. People need to be involved and unite together. This inability to effect change ourselves immediately, can also result in desperation for change. We keep begging the hierarchy and authority levels to fix things for us since we feel disempowered and helpless to do anything directly ourselves.

Even for more minor things this can apply. Poloniex rejected STEEM for a while, so we're powerless to do anything about our missing transfers. We go to the next option Bitrrex. But maybe centralized exchanges having issues is a lesson for us to learn not to keep our coins there in the first place. Some will keep using poloniex despite issues, errors or warnings.

But what about in more important things in life? What about our way of life?

Think of politics.

If we vote and don't like one politician the most, we go for the other options even if we don't like them either. Sometimes we can even convince ourselves that we actually do like them :P

In the case of a crypto exchange it's just another place for us to use for our coins. But in politics, we're making a choice based on what we don't like in the other politician(s) or political party. Since we can't do what we really want ourselves, or get the person we actually want to have as a leader, so then we do what we can right now, often in ignorance, and it's also often not the best thing to do. We can be taking a wrong option in a broader understanding, but it might be the better choice given our limited perception or awareness, such as thinking in a false dichotomy.

What do many people do?

"I will keep voting, but this time I will rally for the liberals instead of the conservatives, or the 3rd party NDP!"


They Live

Those are the avenues that we continue to use because that's how we see our options. We don't see another way.

We act now, thinking we need to live in these levels of authority, rather than learn and know what the better option really is. We act "now" in what we can do now, because we don't know the things we don't know and don't want to take the time to figure out what really is the right thing to do. But truth takes time. We keep doing the same things and think we will get that change we want. I think that's been called insanity?

Here's an example of how we don't find out what's really going on and just support bad decisions because thats what the majority of us see. 9/11 happened, so let's go invade Afghanistan even though most of the alleged high-jackers were from Saudi Arabia. Right when opium production was being reduced by the Taliban to 10% of the former years level, in comes the US invasion and the opium industry in Afghanistan gets revamped.


Source

We don't see what is really going on and we make bad decisions in desperation. America was weakened by an attack, and some lost hope in a safe future. Not only safety and security, but the American symbol of freedom itself was under attack. Fear was in the air after the trauma of 9/11, and that desperation led many to support foolish action, in ignorance. To launch wars and call them "Operation Enduring Freedom" (Afghanistan) and "Operation Iraqi Freedom"/"Operation New Dawn" (Iraq), just shows how this was a desperate act to revive the lost hope and faith in American freedom and security and create a revamped America 2.0, more "bad ass" than before. Check out PNAC, Project for a New American Century.

So to come back to the original issue, is that we want action NOW. We feel powerless and seek to channel our energy into whatever avenue that can get something done NOW or ASAP. To change our way of life would be complex and that would mean it comes about in the future, not now. Long-term thinking is less preferable to short-term thinking and the immediacy of a benefit we can receive, even if the long term benefit is greater. Transition can require sacrifice, and this is also a reason for avoiding the best options we can think of and so most of us don't even bother to think of them...

We prefer to keep doing the same things, and rally for other people to fix our lives and the lives of others. "I'm going to support this political party because it's what I can do now to try to get things to change." And we keep doing this over and over, looking at the options we have in the present, now, thinking we're doing something but we're doing nothing except perpetuating more of the same.

Asking, begging or expecting some representative or leader in the levels of authority and hierarchy to change things for the better without us knowing which way is better isn't really going to work in the long term. Sometimes we can see their choices aren't the better option. Think about it, even if you can't imagine or envision and better way yet. The state or government acts like a nanny-mommy-daddy with political flavors that are the nurturing mother of left welfare or the strong protecting father like right isolationism and protectionism. Things won't really change if we don't change ourselves and our ways of thinking. We need to look at the long-term consequences of what we're doing, from all the industry and continued consummation of planetary resources, to the pollution, toxins, chemicals and waste that results from our activity.

We can often be blinded by our desires to do something now, anything, as long as we feel like we're doing something to change things. Is it really the right thing? Do we really understand how to have freedom for each individual and truly empower ourselves to direct our way of life? Seeking representatives can never represent everyone accurately and have their voices heard. We individuals are always more disempowered the more a society grows.

It's more that people are going through the motions of what they are conditioned to believe will work, what they believe is the only way to create change, the only way to fix things. We're going through the motions of preselected channels of directing our energy, and not using our imagination to figure out better ways of doing things that really empower us.

This can also be called learned helplessness, where we get conditioned into a certain way of living and keep the chains on ourselves rather than to free ourselves from them.

If we can't see the chains, then we need to correct our vision, to have the real eyes to realize the real lies.


They Live

In large part, we're being conditioned and living as "zombies", unaware, no thought and essentially non-thinking with low quality thinking, ignorant of what's going on.


They Live

But just because we see more, doesn't mean the desperation is gone. With knowing more and seeing the need for change yet being unable to make it happen, that can create a loss of hope, despair. Change takes time when we are powerless to change it ourselves. Our own personal lives have much about them that we are empowered to change; such as our jobs, our friends, where we eat, where we buy food, etc. But much of the larger parts of life -- the inertia of society, the flowing current of our current condition -- pulls us in a direction we don't want to go. Trying to create change is hard indeed.


Speak your mind, let me know what you like or dislike about the post :) I know it's a touchy subject for many.

Do you feel desperate for change at times?
Does it feel like you are powerless to effect change?
Are you aware of how you may have fallen into learned helplessness?


Thank you for your time and attention! I appreciate the knowledge reaching more people. Take care. Peace.

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My country had been under spanish rule for 333 years. After that, the Japanese came. And then, even when it's not a "formal" occupation, the US had a say on what went on in my country. And now, from all the centuries of suppression, the people developed a colonial mentality. No one wanted to question because rising up led to death and if you're (un)lucky, years-worth of suffering for you and your family. Now, whatever foreign is worshipped and all hopes of a better future lies in prayers that never seem to be heard. We dont love our country is what other foreigners say. And I do agree. Otherwise, our culture wouldnt be so hardpressed to emulate other cultures. We wouldnt be falling all over ourselves to serve new masters. But it's done to survive in the now because if you dont get through today, then you dont have a next day. It'll take many more decades or centuries to change this but hopefully, change for the better do happen. As always, great post.

No one wanted to question because rising up led to death and if you're (un)lucky, years-worth of suffering for you and your family.

Welcome to Steemit. Where rising up against the powerful rich who abuse their power can get your account killed to negative Rep.

But it's done to survive in the now because if you dont get through today, then you dont have a next day.

Yeah. And as long as people don't communicate and organize to stop it, it will never be ended by your people. SO like you say...

falling all over ourselves to serve new masters.

for survival..

Thanks for the feedback, as usual ;)

Welcome to Steemit. Where rising up against the powerful rich who abuse their power can get your account killed to negative Rep.

That made me shudder. I recently saw a flag war for the first time (a friend was the recipient) and it's not reassuring. It gives the vibe that you can be targeted anytime and all your hard work would go down the drain just because someone doesn't like you.

Yeah. And as long as people don't communicate and organize to stop it, it will never be ended by your people.

There are groups who rise up. Spanish rule wasn't always absolute and it didn't happen automatically. Same goes with the rest of the conquerors. But the number of people with balls dwindled down with every change in master. People got tired of fighting and figured if they keep their heads low, the master would move on to kick another slave. But then again, guerilla warfare is still happening here so I suppose not everyone is rolling over and showing their bellies.

Thanks for the feedback

You make awesome articles. How can one NOT give a feedback?

I think anyone who is paying attention is despondent. However one needs to recognize that to turn the folly of generations around will take generations to do so. As I am desperate for change, I see that it will take deliberate care and assertive influence to retrain ourselves and the next generations. For example: don't go to BWW, go to your local co-op, buy a steak and learn to cook.

I have felt powerless to effect any sort of change, which is why I have adopted the concept of creating a pocket or "index" of liberty in my local community. I have started a seed garden and plan to save from my current job to buy a plot of land to begin a small market farm. I think the country will fall into despair. I have refused to allow my community to fall like the Shire at the end of Lord of the Rings.

In the beginning after "being red pilled" in late '07, I saw that my family was being foolish with money. My mother and grandmother decided to build a duplex at the height of the housing market. Then in 2008 the housing market crashed. My college fund (thank god for not being able to go to college) and my inheritance (damn) was lost in a very short time. My family had learned nothing from marketing, loan ratings, and how money works. They simply doubled down.

So yes, I have felt years of helplessness. However I'm not the type to lay down and die. I studied, I practiced, I saved, and now am becoming a flourishing Renaissance Man. There are times where I feel guilty about being in that learned helplessness state, as I had wasted years of my life in a needless depression. Having come out of that, I have learned that all my life could burn down around me, as long as I have my mind I will have the knowledge to rebuild.

Yeah the future looks dire as we trample on towards the edge of the cliff... Thanks for the feedback, you look like you're doing well in planning ahead ;) Good luck in your efforts to educate your family and community.

Having come out of that, I have learned that all my life could burn down around me, as long as I have my mind I will have the knowledge to rebuild.

Indeed ;)

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Culture is the past, that generates a political climate - the present- and people and their leadership are the future.
The problem is that if the actual political authoritarian and pseudo-liberal leadership point to a bad future for people, generating the present political climate of a more conservative conformist cultural mindset of the masses that generate a more fascistic culture (influence of the past ) creating the acceptance of the trade of a false security for surveailance.
This negative cycle will never end while we keep on electing fascistic benevolent businessmen like Trump, Berlusconi, and Erdogan.
It takes generations to change the culture and with today's leaders culture is turning against Humanity and Planet Earth for the benefit of a few leaders and their entourage working throught the "Revolving Door" of business, military and politicians dancing in a "House of Cards".

Sure, but Hilary was not a solution. Obama wasn't either. Neither was Bush, Clinton or Bush, Regan, etc. No matter the leader, we still have the same system the keeps us in learned helplessness, unable to act ourselves. Thanks for the feedback.

They are not the solution, we are , hehe.

Yes we are.

One of the biggest problems is that people live with the illusion the there are political solutions for social and economic problems. Politicians are only as good as the people that pay to get them elected... they rarely if ever represent the interests of their constituents. They represent their owners, the ones that pay the enormous sums it takes to get elected (For a senator, for example, it takes $7500 per day for the 6 years in office to mount a successful re-election campaign)... it's to huge multinational corporations they owe their allegiance.

When the people see their needs (or wants) go unrewarded, they act out, either with violence, or at the very least, electing someone else. The role of the MSM is to present a false narrative to control the sheep and preserve the corporatist govt. (You know, the Nazi model)

Yeah it's all we know, trapped in the memory of before and the present that we keep creating into the future. We're not looking to understand how things can be different from the flawed foundation we accept without question. Thanks for the feedback.

Quality my friend, thank you.

If people could start to realize and except that everyone and everything is a contradiction or compromise is some way they would be far more happier. Cognitive dissonance is strong in a lot of people.

If we vote and don't like one politicians the most, so we go for the other options even if we don't like them either.

^ This had always seemed crazy for me.

Shared etc

Yeah, we're stuck and just deal with what we have lol. Sounds like a great way to live.. :\

This is why things like Bitcoin, Steemit and Wikileaks are good. They give people the tools to break away from they system that forces us into these contradictions.

I really enjoyed this post you know why ? Because it speaks a lot of truth about our government and life in general, sometimes we wish that we can change something when we are mad , but then tend to forget about it . People need to unite to make something happen and that doesn't just mean just try and that's it , anything worth gaining takes time

you are right @journeyoflife and that is what I commented here. and yes positive changes takes time with big impact. The we should come forward when we find something good. Specially, being a part of good is always honor for me.

Positivity is key ! Thanks for sharing

you are welcome :)

Well said :) Thanks for the feedback.

I like your comment. Let be my frind mom :)

I wish to see some positive changes like you @krnel and hope this philosophy will work at every corner of the world and make peace.

Thanks, it can happen ;)

sure, I am always optimistic. :D

very good message. The NWO capitalizes on this very reaction... the process of problem, reaction solution leads to things like the patriot act, etc. Terrible bills that destroy rights, that was manipulated into existence. 911 was far more than a false flag.

Yeah we are being hoodwinked left and right and down the middle.

Love is in the air, things are changing fast brother! :) by the way I feel desperate kind of every day, its really sad looking at how 'normal life' goes on in the streets, while our children's future is uncertain.. Really enjoyable read, although I was expecting some kind of solution from you at the end of the post :D maybe this platform is one of them who knows

Ah yes the solution, well that is be without this method of level of authority we subsume our own authority to. No more masters or rulers that control our way of life. Voluntary interaction and agreements. People unite based on how they want to live in common. After the limits of interactivity of knowing people, the ability for people to have their voice hear diminishes, maybe 100-200 people. But we can know people from elsewhere. But empowering ourselves to do this requires that we develop self-control, self-governance and self-knowledge to be able to demonstrate a way of living whereby government would no longer be required. Government and all that crap will be here to stay so long as we don't evolve beyond it, individually in consciousness, and then we manifest that way of life we want in our behavior together in existence. Start small and grow bigger, from one individual to another and unite based on common moral alignment.