This is the most honest assessment of where we are currently at, how we got here, and how we might be able to get out of the mess of our own making. We have been here before and we have done great things afterwards, but, we must all be willing to fight for the greatness that we know in our hearts is this nation. We can not allow petty infighting over trivial issues to hold us back. Now is the time for action. I pray our collective apathy will not hold us back and continue to destroy us.
Thanks Corbin. I’m also sitting with the use of ‘we’ here. I understand why it’s landing hard for some people. Responsibility and power aren’t evenly distributed, and many are actively resisting what’s happening.
At the same time, I read ‘we’ less as equal blame and more as a reflection of how we’re all situated within systems that shape outcomes, whether we agree with them or not. That doesn’t erase differences in agency, but it does point to the scale of what needs to shift.
For me, the question becomes how we engage that reality in a way that moves us toward something more life-centered, not just who we assign responsibility to.
Absolutely brilliant Corbin. This is the reality disaster capitalism never visualized for itself. It believed its own lies - 'murkan exceptionalism - was enough, while the scoop shovels were brought out to filch all the capital the new middle class had acquired after WW2. Parasites have one goal in life - eat all in sight. It has been successful, so much that now the parasites have to eat themselves, or each other. I have seen this within the 'conservative pseudo-religious apostacy' since I was a kid. But there is another kid on the block now, one neglected and mutilated for so long no one even realizes it is there, we as an animal have abandoned it in favor of bytes and chips and mirrors turned inward so we only see our reflections. This planet is real. Gaia is our home, and we were invited here some time ago, perhaps due to the encouraging behaviors of gorillas and bonobos. Bad decision. Now, Earth has to perform a self-surgery to cut this cancer out of itself. Messy business, but Earth has the capacity, and all the time needed. As Neil deGrasse Tyson explained vivdly on 4/21, the atmosphere of Earth is the thickness of the peel of an orange or an apple. We can kill this planet, we are that stupid and deranged and vainglorious. As Tyson said, you want to live on the moon? Just keep screwing up.
Finally someone has said the unsayable in an analysis that is spot on, but for one part.
Trump has seen the future you outline and is quietly building Fortress America in the Western Hemisphere. He’s pushed out the Russian military presence in Venezuela and is focused on Cuba to maintain that status quo. He has forced the exclusion of Chinese control of the Panama Canal and is pressuring South America to exclude Chinese business interests. His Greenland gambit, when completed upon Greenland’s awakening that Europe and the EU will soon be in financial ruins, will provide further access to the Arctic with its natural resources and access to a pending Northwest Passage, the environment cooperating.
If successful will the financialization crowd that offshored America’s industries be held in check? The tech bro transhumanist lunatics quieted and controlled? The Intelligence Community brought on board? The quiescent Congress and those that vote for it energised to regain their Constitutional heritage (doubtful)?
Right. And they are literally banking on AI as a way to create circulation of exchange within our own separate sphere. Data centers fueled by fossils that destroy our half of the planet…and thus the whole…create an artificial secondary economy sending more wealth away from the primary production and consumption economy the rest of us have to live in.
America did not "decide to go to war." This is 100% on Trump. Congress, the people's representative, never voted on it. The reason for Trump's war? Epstein misdirection play?
To lay this at just Trump's feet is shutting your eyes and ears to the entire problem. As Corbin points out, Jeffries and the Democrats did nothing to stop this and yes they are in the minority but they could have done more to draw attention. But what you really have missed is this has been going on much longer than this joke of an administration. This has been going on for decades. Did you read the entire article? Corbin is 100% correct.
Epstein is not about salacious child abuse, which is an Epstein honey pot overlayed with Epstein’s private urges. Epstein positioned himself as a power broker while aiding the nation of Israel.
Will we ever acknowledge that this country has only one viable political party? Neither the Republican or the Democratic caucus of this Christian Capitalist Party represents the people they condescendingly refer to as "Hard Working Americans". We'll fix nothing and get nowhere until we fix that.
I’m usually a fan Corbin but not this time! “WE” are not doing any of this! We are protesting as much as possible within the rules of the system as it is right now! Our system must be radically changed from top to bottom , blown up I would suggest. I would like to consider breaking up into smaller countries myself. I resent the politicians who tell me that I am to blame for the state of our country and I am resentful of your use of “WE” as you have used it today! I will forgive you but not today!
You're not alone in this sentiment. I changed the we part a few times before sticking with it. My thinking is that we need to believe in our agency. If it's beyond our reach, then hope is lost. I think we can impact the direction of our country and the ideas and ideals we represent.
Neither of us are aligned with the people causing the death and destruction, other than being thoughtful citizens of the US. So the "we" is limited.
I wonder, though, how hard do we have to try for something different to be absolved of the we label. For me, it is we. It feels uncomfortable, and I think that's part of what motivates me.
Thorough expose. Americans succumbed to inflated 'exceptionalism' (hubris), got lazy/soft, and followed polarizing politics from weaponized corporate media. Accelerating (Re-)Construction now is the industrial market muscle leverage needed to stomp trumpism to the boneyard. America is exceptional when it is a virtuous force for humanity against tyranny.
Your analysis is interesting and plausible. There is a prediction that the US loses the Reserve Currency and China is the possible next reigning owner, recently oil was being purchased in Yen rather than dollars. For years it was said that China would eat our lunch. Lunch time is getting closer.
"The larger segments of populations, however, remain mired in ancient premises and beliefs, trapped, controlled and manipulated by institutions, themselves based on primitive concepts that have remained essentially stagnant throughout human history. The institutions maintain belief in magic, uncertainty and encourage insecurity within populations, lending credence to a non-rational and arbitrary universe where energy and control is imposed from somewhere beyond nature, and where obedience to authority is a social imperative. The struggle that will determine the fate of humanity is between these two camps, those with an orientation to delusion and belief, as opposed to those with an orientation to factual reality, the real nature of existence and its related principles. Without populations becoming largely oriented to reality, populations will be unable to facilitate rational choices or press for fundamental system corrections necessary to limiting population growth and maintaining a viable Earth habitat" Everett E. Allie “The Origins of Social Dysfunction”
"Governments grow by usurping individual autonomy, relieving the individual of the ability and responsibility to act. As institutional controls increase, learning and reasoning diminishes. The individual becomes increasingly dependent upon authority. The amount of false or distorted information accepted, especially that received at an early age, proportionally blunts one's understanding and blocks the acceptance of reciprocal knowledge. The acceptance of low grade information increases as the individual becomes increasingly deluded and dependent. The world of the dependent individual shrinks, together with intellect and reasoning capabilities. Under authoritarian control, the individual is increasingly maintained as an unwanted child, mistreated and exploited by Big Brother" Everett E. Allie “The Origins of Social Dysfunction”
Education was never designed for awakening. Modern school systems were built for other purposes:
1 to produce reliable workers for industrial economies,
2 to create citizens loyal to the nation-state,
3 to transmit accepted knowledge efficiently,
4 to sort people into economic roles.
None of those aims require questioning the true nature of our existence. In fact, they require the opposite: predictable conformity. A student who deeply questioned economic myths, national narratives, or psychological conditioning would be “disruptive,” not exemplary. So the system isn’t failing its mission—it is succeeding at the mission it was quietly given. (AI)
"Most people sacrifice their personal strengths and subjugate themselves to other persons and ideologies in their search for security. They forsake reality for illusion, choose role-determined behavior and symbols in place of real experiences, sacrifice individuality for a fantasy of fusion, and reject their unique and separate identity for a life of conformity and submission. They hold on to religious beliefs that promise eternal life and, in so doing, increasingly turn their backs on their actual lives" The Self Under Siege Dr Robert Firestone
The Incredible Potency of Control Myths: Controlling Ourselves, Controlling Others
“We use the control myths, as the term itself suggests, to control our own behavior. Control myths soothe our anxiety and calm our fears. They tell us what to do and what not to do. They warn us of the consequences of ignoring their “wisdom.” They also help us go about our lives, pursuing our own interests and leaving the complex issues to the leader. The control myths immobilize not only our minds and our hearts. They also disable our mouths, our brains, our brawn, and sometimes even our computers. The control myths are particularly potent because they work not only for our needs, but for the leader’s as well. The control myths operate so effectively that the leader does not have to waste a moment’s time imposing constraints on our behavior. We do it to ourselves” Lipman-Blumen, Jean. The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why We Follow Destructive Bosses and Corrupt Politicians--and How We Can Survive Them
I get where you are coming from when you say “we”, but I bristled at being lumped into “we” as I read the first several paragraphs of this essay. I am not in any way part of this war-of-choice. Actually, I am an active and loud voice against it. The current administration is destructive on so many levels. However, I truly appreciate this point and the integrity with which you write about our collective ability as a country to choose construction over destruction. So, in the end, it is We The People, all of us, no matter one’s “stripes”, who must act collectively to turn toward what we have always done best - construct, build, create.
Grace, thank you for reading it with generosity even when the "we" rubbed you wrong. I get it. I wrestled with that word myself. I landed on we because I think we have to believe we've got the agency to change this. If we don't, hope's gone. You nailed the ending though. It's We The People, all of us, who've got to turn toward what we do best. Build. Construct. Create.
But , how? Not through a Congress owned by special interests. ( Remember the MIC has business interests in every Congressional district). Short of a country wide work stoppage how do the people control the future? Demonstrations have become wonderful political performative expression of ennui and angst, but little else.
The last time political demonstrations appeared to have effectiveness was in the anti-war ‘70s. Nixon stopped the draft, we declared victory and all became lawyers and insurance salesman. Nixon’s ploy allowed him the room to end the Viet Nam conflict on his own terms and pivot to China and the petro-dollar. And after the ineffective Church Committee Hearings we got Reagan and the slide toward our current situation gained momentum.
A few carefully chosen assassinations in the ‘60s began the end of the The Grand Experiment.
We (as individuals) need to mimimize our dependence on the matrix. Collectively it may result in the formation of "something" that works for us that may grow. I surely agree that even with Corbins articulate (may I say brilliant) perspective and words, the system is actually not us (dare I say we). It is run by psychopaths who will stop at nothing to retain control of it (i.e "a few chosen assassinations"). We're perceived as commodities and disposable. Corbins's correct in that we can't just hope things will just work out. "We" all need to do what it takes to control and improve our own lives, impact others positively when possible...not comply with the dictates, and not give up "our" vision.
This is the most honest assessment of where we are currently at, how we got here, and how we might be able to get out of the mess of our own making. We have been here before and we have done great things afterwards, but, we must all be willing to fight for the greatness that we know in our hearts is this nation. We can not allow petty infighting over trivial issues to hold us back. Now is the time for action. I pray our collective apathy will not hold us back and continue to destroy us.
Linda, thank you so much for the kind words. You're right, we've been here before and come out the other side. We can do it again if we're willing.
Thanks Corbin. I’m also sitting with the use of ‘we’ here. I understand why it’s landing hard for some people. Responsibility and power aren’t evenly distributed, and many are actively resisting what’s happening.
At the same time, I read ‘we’ less as equal blame and more as a reflection of how we’re all situated within systems that shape outcomes, whether we agree with them or not. That doesn’t erase differences in agency, but it does point to the scale of what needs to shift.
For me, the question becomes how we engage that reality in a way that moves us toward something more life-centered, not just who we assign responsibility to.
Absolutely brilliant Corbin. This is the reality disaster capitalism never visualized for itself. It believed its own lies - 'murkan exceptionalism - was enough, while the scoop shovels were brought out to filch all the capital the new middle class had acquired after WW2. Parasites have one goal in life - eat all in sight. It has been successful, so much that now the parasites have to eat themselves, or each other. I have seen this within the 'conservative pseudo-religious apostacy' since I was a kid. But there is another kid on the block now, one neglected and mutilated for so long no one even realizes it is there, we as an animal have abandoned it in favor of bytes and chips and mirrors turned inward so we only see our reflections. This planet is real. Gaia is our home, and we were invited here some time ago, perhaps due to the encouraging behaviors of gorillas and bonobos. Bad decision. Now, Earth has to perform a self-surgery to cut this cancer out of itself. Messy business, but Earth has the capacity, and all the time needed. As Neil deGrasse Tyson explained vivdly on 4/21, the atmosphere of Earth is the thickness of the peel of an orange or an apple. We can kill this planet, we are that stupid and deranged and vainglorious. As Tyson said, you want to live on the moon? Just keep screwing up.
Finally someone has said the unsayable in an analysis that is spot on, but for one part.
Trump has seen the future you outline and is quietly building Fortress America in the Western Hemisphere. He’s pushed out the Russian military presence in Venezuela and is focused on Cuba to maintain that status quo. He has forced the exclusion of Chinese control of the Panama Canal and is pressuring South America to exclude Chinese business interests. His Greenland gambit, when completed upon Greenland’s awakening that Europe and the EU will soon be in financial ruins, will provide further access to the Arctic with its natural resources and access to a pending Northwest Passage, the environment cooperating.
If successful will the financialization crowd that offshored America’s industries be held in check? The tech bro transhumanist lunatics quieted and controlled? The Intelligence Community brought on board? The quiescent Congress and those that vote for it energised to regain their Constitutional heritage (doubtful)?
Hang on kids, it is going to be quite a ride.
Right. And they are literally banking on AI as a way to create circulation of exchange within our own separate sphere. Data centers fueled by fossils that destroy our half of the planet…and thus the whole…create an artificial secondary economy sending more wealth away from the primary production and consumption economy the rest of us have to live in.
America did not "decide to go to war." This is 100% on Trump. Congress, the people's representative, never voted on it. The reason for Trump's war? Epstein misdirection play?
Richard, I addressed this in the piece. It didn't start with Trump and it won't end with him. Shelley's got it right.
To lay this at just Trump's feet is shutting your eyes and ears to the entire problem. As Corbin points out, Jeffries and the Democrats did nothing to stop this and yes they are in the minority but they could have done more to draw attention. But what you really have missed is this has been going on much longer than this joke of an administration. This has been going on for decades. Did you read the entire article? Corbin is 100% correct.
Shelley, thank you. You read it exactly as it was written.
Epstein is not about salacious child abuse, which is an Epstein honey pot overlayed with Epstein’s private urges. Epstein positioned himself as a power broker while aiding the nation of Israel.
Will we ever acknowledge that this country has only one viable political party? Neither the Republican or the Democratic caucus of this Christian Capitalist Party represents the people they condescendingly refer to as "Hard Working Americans". We'll fix nothing and get nowhere until we fix that.
I’m usually a fan Corbin but not this time! “WE” are not doing any of this! We are protesting as much as possible within the rules of the system as it is right now! Our system must be radically changed from top to bottom , blown up I would suggest. I would like to consider breaking up into smaller countries myself. I resent the politicians who tell me that I am to blame for the state of our country and I am resentful of your use of “WE” as you have used it today! I will forgive you but not today!
You're not alone in this sentiment. I changed the we part a few times before sticking with it. My thinking is that we need to believe in our agency. If it's beyond our reach, then hope is lost. I think we can impact the direction of our country and the ideas and ideals we represent.
Neither of us are aligned with the people causing the death and destruction, other than being thoughtful citizens of the US. So the "we" is limited.
I wonder, though, how hard do we have to try for something different to be absolved of the we label. For me, it is we. It feels uncomfortable, and I think that's part of what motivates me.
Thorough expose. Americans succumbed to inflated 'exceptionalism' (hubris), got lazy/soft, and followed polarizing politics from weaponized corporate media. Accelerating (Re-)Construction now is the industrial market muscle leverage needed to stomp trumpism to the boneyard. America is exceptional when it is a virtuous force for humanity against tyranny.
Your analysis is interesting and plausible. There is a prediction that the US loses the Reserve Currency and China is the possible next reigning owner, recently oil was being purchased in Yen rather than dollars. For years it was said that China would eat our lunch. Lunch time is getting closer.
"The larger segments of populations, however, remain mired in ancient premises and beliefs, trapped, controlled and manipulated by institutions, themselves based on primitive concepts that have remained essentially stagnant throughout human history. The institutions maintain belief in magic, uncertainty and encourage insecurity within populations, lending credence to a non-rational and arbitrary universe where energy and control is imposed from somewhere beyond nature, and where obedience to authority is a social imperative. The struggle that will determine the fate of humanity is between these two camps, those with an orientation to delusion and belief, as opposed to those with an orientation to factual reality, the real nature of existence and its related principles. Without populations becoming largely oriented to reality, populations will be unable to facilitate rational choices or press for fundamental system corrections necessary to limiting population growth and maintaining a viable Earth habitat" Everett E. Allie “The Origins of Social Dysfunction”
"Governments grow by usurping individual autonomy, relieving the individual of the ability and responsibility to act. As institutional controls increase, learning and reasoning diminishes. The individual becomes increasingly dependent upon authority. The amount of false or distorted information accepted, especially that received at an early age, proportionally blunts one's understanding and blocks the acceptance of reciprocal knowledge. The acceptance of low grade information increases as the individual becomes increasingly deluded and dependent. The world of the dependent individual shrinks, together with intellect and reasoning capabilities. Under authoritarian control, the individual is increasingly maintained as an unwanted child, mistreated and exploited by Big Brother" Everett E. Allie “The Origins of Social Dysfunction”
Education was never designed for awakening. Modern school systems were built for other purposes:
1 to produce reliable workers for industrial economies,
2 to create citizens loyal to the nation-state,
3 to transmit accepted knowledge efficiently,
4 to sort people into economic roles.
None of those aims require questioning the true nature of our existence. In fact, they require the opposite: predictable conformity. A student who deeply questioned economic myths, national narratives, or psychological conditioning would be “disruptive,” not exemplary. So the system isn’t failing its mission—it is succeeding at the mission it was quietly given. (AI)
"Most people sacrifice their personal strengths and subjugate themselves to other persons and ideologies in their search for security. They forsake reality for illusion, choose role-determined behavior and symbols in place of real experiences, sacrifice individuality for a fantasy of fusion, and reject their unique and separate identity for a life of conformity and submission. They hold on to religious beliefs that promise eternal life and, in so doing, increasingly turn their backs on their actual lives" The Self Under Siege Dr Robert Firestone
The Incredible Potency of Control Myths: Controlling Ourselves, Controlling Others
“We use the control myths, as the term itself suggests, to control our own behavior. Control myths soothe our anxiety and calm our fears. They tell us what to do and what not to do. They warn us of the consequences of ignoring their “wisdom.” They also help us go about our lives, pursuing our own interests and leaving the complex issues to the leader. The control myths immobilize not only our minds and our hearts. They also disable our mouths, our brains, our brawn, and sometimes even our computers. The control myths are particularly potent because they work not only for our needs, but for the leader’s as well. The control myths operate so effectively that the leader does not have to waste a moment’s time imposing constraints on our behavior. We do it to ourselves” Lipman-Blumen, Jean. The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why We Follow Destructive Bosses and Corrupt Politicians--and How We Can Survive Them
I get where you are coming from when you say “we”, but I bristled at being lumped into “we” as I read the first several paragraphs of this essay. I am not in any way part of this war-of-choice. Actually, I am an active and loud voice against it. The current administration is destructive on so many levels. However, I truly appreciate this point and the integrity with which you write about our collective ability as a country to choose construction over destruction. So, in the end, it is We The People, all of us, no matter one’s “stripes”, who must act collectively to turn toward what we have always done best - construct, build, create.
Grace, thank you for reading it with generosity even when the "we" rubbed you wrong. I get it. I wrestled with that word myself. I landed on we because I think we have to believe we've got the agency to change this. If we don't, hope's gone. You nailed the ending though. It's We The People, all of us, who've got to turn toward what we do best. Build. Construct. Create.
But , how? Not through a Congress owned by special interests. ( Remember the MIC has business interests in every Congressional district). Short of a country wide work stoppage how do the people control the future? Demonstrations have become wonderful political performative expression of ennui and angst, but little else.
The last time political demonstrations appeared to have effectiveness was in the anti-war ‘70s. Nixon stopped the draft, we declared victory and all became lawyers and insurance salesman. Nixon’s ploy allowed him the room to end the Viet Nam conflict on his own terms and pivot to China and the petro-dollar. And after the ineffective Church Committee Hearings we got Reagan and the slide toward our current situation gained momentum.
A few carefully chosen assassinations in the ‘60s began the end of the The Grand Experiment.
We (as individuals) need to mimimize our dependence on the matrix. Collectively it may result in the formation of "something" that works for us that may grow. I surely agree that even with Corbins articulate (may I say brilliant) perspective and words, the system is actually not us (dare I say we). It is run by psychopaths who will stop at nothing to retain control of it (i.e "a few chosen assassinations"). We're perceived as commodities and disposable. Corbins's correct in that we can't just hope things will just work out. "We" all need to do what it takes to control and improve our own lives, impact others positively when possible...not comply with the dictates, and not give up "our" vision.