Legal and Membership

A number of things have changed, evolved since I last spent time on this blog. The hyper-conservative historical (at least in America) aberration that was Donald Trump's first administration, which was only partly cleaned up by the career politicians in Biden's administration, and aided by the successful packing of the federal courts, has devolved into a second Trump presidency.

Polarization in social structures, and in economic disparity has blossomed, creating a plethora of needs politically and economically. When the need for charity rises, yet people's willingness to help others crashes, the burden rests ever more firmly on the shoulders of the few who are willing to help.

And I have continued to age with all that this implies.

I find myself deeply divided over engaging others, who are currently involved in the attempt to make things better for us all, in my project, as this feels a little selfish. Half a decade ago I saw this project as a test case, a proof of concept, that others might learn from, and emulate and alter to fit their own needs. I have certainly gleaned much from the projects others have built.

That said, the need for successful projects like this is greater than ever. People are struggling with a set of myths that are fostered to keep them in place, as little more than livestock for the wealthy, the rentier class. Alternative visions may find fertile ground in which to grow and blossom. People understand that they are under threat, but like lemmings they crawl all over each other in a blind panic. The rentier class offers answers, but these are fashioned to divide and conquer. Fox is a classic example, fostering blatantly self-serving lies, but even more left leaning outlets like NPR take editorial tones that do more to prop up the oligarchy than to empower the rest of us. Capitalism has most of the hallmarks of a religion, and religions are by definition beyond questioning. Money trumps everything, partly because of the dogma, and partly because it gives the illusion of escape. This is illusory however. In my long life I've seen a number of individuals get the money they thought would solve their problems. To a person, it has ruined them as human beings. Money does corrupt, if only because possession of it requires the defense of it. Having money pits you against the world. Interestingly, so does the threat of losing it, a facet that Trump exploits well, telling us that "those guys" want our stuff, while it is his hand that is digging into our pockets.

So I feel that this project is more important than ever. And probably more difficult than ever, in recent history at least.