"They could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficently interested in public events to notice what was happening. By lack of understanding they remained sane" (George Orwell)
Times of crises reveal true colours. When under genuine pressure, people's actions and decisions tell us who they really are.
Unfortunately, the UK media functions in a truly Orwellian manner, where reality is reversed and the most basic awareness of what is happening before our eyes is distorted and concealed. There is true horror in our country right now. Thousands of avoidable deaths are occurring from Covid-19. Even many NHS staff are dying from the virus. These NHS staff are not being provided with basic PPE and there aren't enough ventilators for sick patients. But most people don't seem too bothered, because most people are not really aware of what is going on, because our media is unspeakably corrupt and incompetent. Most British lives are going on fairly normally, even though we're in lockdown. Spring weather has been glorious the past week. Life isn't too bad for many of us.
We saw what happened in Italy. In Spain. We had time to learn. We even saw countries who were dealing with this pandemic expertly and resourcefully, with great results. Such countries include China, South Korea and Vietnam. These countries managed the virus early on with great effect. We are fed caricature images of China by Western media, because China is deemed a threat to our way of life. But at least in the handling of this virus, they have put the US and UK to absolute shame.
It should be remembered that this pandemic is just a warm-up, a drill, for climate and ecological breakdown. We live in undoubtedly momentous times. Powerful countries are led by monsters. Beasts that even Edgar Allen Poe would have trouble describing. Donald Trump. Jair Bolsonaro. Boris Johnson. Scott Morrison. Most of the world's climate scientists, even the conservative ones, are telling us we have very little time to avert irreversible climate breakdown. Climate and ecological breakdown means death and suffering on a scale most of us can't comprehend. We clearly need radical, structural changes to avert such catastrophe. But these structural changes don't seem to be an option for our monstrous leaders. "It is easier to imagine an end to the world than an end to capitalism" (Žižek/Jameson). Of course, mainstream media isn't going to convey to you the real truth of the environmental crisis and they certainly aren't going to convey the real truth of how to alleviate it. Thus most people will not act accordingly. For how can you act upon what you don't know is happening?
Sadly, I don't know how much good this post I'm writing will do. I don't know what effect this will have. I despair a lot. At least it is a kind of release for me. Even if I had a large audience, the UK population swims in an Orwellian media-ocean of lies, deceit and vital omissions. All the main news outlets are part of this ocean, to varying degrees. The Guardian, The BBC, The Daily Mail, The Torygraph, The Sun. It can be pretty frustrating to speak to people sometimes. When I speak truthfully, or with evidence, I am either met with a kind of blank expression or sometimes with agitation and anger. "Either you repeat the same conventional doctrines everybody is saying, or else you say something true, and it will sound like it's from Neptune" (Noam Chomsky).
In the UK, we don't live in a society of truth and clarity. Our society is constituted of immoral power structures. Even those oppressed by such structures are conditioned to support them. For example, working class people are conditioned to admire and even revere Boris Johnson. They are conditioned to see him as a good laugh who isn't afraid to say it like it is, even though his interests are diametrically opposed to theirs. Boris does not respect the working class. He has attempted to oppress them his whole life, by encouraging privatisation of services like the NHS and supporting crippling austerity measures. His interests lie with the rich elite.
An important element to the Orwellian drama unfolding before our eyes is the way many people get aggressive or agitated when you challenge their world view. Such aggression is consciously cultivated by mainstream media and the corporate class, because this makes people easy to control and manipulate. When people are emotional and angry, they do not see with clarity. This is when the corporate class starts telling them that society's problems stem from immigrants, "benefits scroungers" or activists. Also, when peoples world views are challenged, it makes them feel very insecure, for it is like ripping the carpet from under them. People feel safe and comfortable in their bubbles of misinformation. Truth is often very hard to bear.
All one can do in this seemingly hopeless situation is keep telling the truth and get involved in civil disobedience. In this sense, Extinction Rebellion really gets it. Extinction Rebellion understands that change can't come from within our unimaginably corrupt, globalised system. They also understand that telling the unfiltered truth about the climate and ecological crisis is essential. Rebellion truly is the only option left.
Interestingly, in the face of staggering, insurmountable odds, non-violent direct action is the only place where you will feel content, purposeful and whole. This is what makes life worth living. For life is not about doing what you think will succeed, but doing what you know is right.
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