Connection

Reality inheres in the connections between us. Let me say it again: reality inheres in the connections between us. What do you think of as “reality?” Those things we share with each other, our consensus. This is a chair. This is a bear. Dreams, our personal internal reality, are not real. The people we see muttering to themselves in the streets they don’t share our reality. But of course your reality depends on who you’re connected with. Think about this for a minute. Language, which dominates our consciousness (and even our dreams) is only a function of our connection. If you had no language, what would reality look like and how would you describe it?

Does it make you wonder that the parties in our current wars share the same origin myth? Adam and Eve. Cain and Abel. Conflict and violence and killing are inherent in our family dynamic, going back to the first family. Christians, Jews, and Muslims share this myth. Connected at the root.

Can we get a new myth please? Anthropologists have theirs, where the families as they roamed the savannah for scarce resources split up into clans as they grew. The clans became tribes and they lived at peace with each other when the pickings were plenty but fought each other when scarcity reared its ugly head.

So I think the revolution is about us connecting with each other. I don’t think we need all the theories. I think it’s just about connection. The more we connect the more powerful we become.

For one thing, let’s stop all the vilification of the supporters of other candidates. We need to prepare ourselves to govern, okay? We need to govern with generosity and compassion. Cornel West has it right. Climb aboard the Love Train.

I get the tactic of Bernie or Bust, scaring people into thinking that Hillary will lose a huge percentage of democrats come November, making a republican victory likely. I’m not there yet, but if you do feel this way, you don’t have to vilify Hillary or her supporters to do it. Let’s feel sorry for Hillary because she worked very hard to get nominated, and she’s losing. Our first task is to just get Bernie nominated and then elected. Which means connecting with people, in Iowa, in Nevada, in South Carolina, and everywhere else. 

We now have the technology to connect people world-wide on a scale never before imagined. Lenin used to say that the capitalists will sell you the rope to hang them with. The the internet is that rope. Have you noticed some of the other candidates threaten shut down the internet to stop ISIS? Yeah, right. It’s to stop us. In fact, this whole war on terrorism is about us. Strengthening the national security state to keep the ruling class – let’s call them that – in power. We should not underestimate how much of threat we are seen as, nor should we be surprised if, when Bernie wins Iowa and New Hampshire, the attacks become vicious. By maintaining a focus on connecting with each other and with our fellow citizens, we can overcome these attacks.