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Perhaps a Crumble Rather Than a Collapse – Chapter One Of Three

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Perhaps a Crumble Rather Than a Collapse – Chapter One of Three

By

Cognitive Dissonance

 

Chapter Two may be found here

Chapter Three may be found here.

 

Why even question the obvious?

When contemplating a complex subject, especially one in which I hold a strong emotional investment, I find it extremely valuable to seriously and consistently challenge my own thinking, to play devil’s advocate with my oftentimes emotional mind. A ‘truth’ untested, particularly one I’m emotionally bound to, is little more than a belief, a comforting factoid that confirms my biases rather than enlightening and informing my mind. If I am to progress in my personal development I must test the mettle of my beliefs up to, and if need be well past, their destruction. For only then can I truly be free to exercise, and honor, my personal sovereignty on an everyday basis.

So it is that I’ve been considering the concept of ‘collapse’ with regard to society and its socioeconomic system(s), both on a personal and collective emotional and psychological basis. While it is always dangerous to paint detailed pictures with broad brushes, to some degree or another we are all emotional human beings. So while the cognitive details may vary (greatly) from person to person, our tendencies and triggers are very similar (partly because of a shared and distorted worldview) and relatively easy to discern if we have the courage to first look deeply within and then apply what we have found to the world around us. A word of warning here because this article is not a technical or fundamental economic analysis, at least not based upon the traditional financial definition of those terms.

Among the contrary crowd, of which I proudly count myself a member in good standing, it is widely accepted that an economic collapse that quickly leads to violent social upheaval is not only very possible, but inevitable, a ‘given’ fact so to speak. For the most part we accept that a collapse is not a question of if, but of when and in what form and of what severity. The consensus is that this rapid socioeconomic decline, when it comes, will be sudden and complete, thus the popular use of the term ‘collapse’. This ‘a priori’ position, which truth be told is simply a strongly held belief, is in serious need of examination if we are to follow our inner Golden Rule, that of questioning everything beginning with ourselves and our most cherished and firmly held beliefs and opinions.

Before going any further I wish to emphasize that the following is simply a thought experiment, a mental dalliance and a delicate dance with what if, how about and why not. Just because I argue a position doesn’t necessarily mean I’m wed to it or even that I support it. The ultimate purpose of my internal interrogatory is not necessarily to replace my current thinking, but to test it again and again and again, particularly if I consider my thinking solid and essentially beyond reproach. In my opinion this is where true personal courage is born and nurtured, for if I am willing to honestly face myself, particularly those deep dark places even I wish to hide from, then anything I might face externally pales in comparison.

Many more times than I care to admit I have found that what I previously thought was a solid conclusion was actually based not upon facts and reasoning, but upon preconceived notions (aka my conditioned worldview) as well as group think and/or consensus seeking. And just as often the real reason for my blind acceptance of certain facts and conclusions was to push my confirmation bias endorphin triggers again and again, as all severely addicted drug addicts are compelled to do. And boy oh boy do I love triggering my confirmation bias. There is no other drug induced high quite like knowing that I’m right and you’re wrong………except knowing that I’m right and everyone else is wrong.

Running with the (contrary) herd

Rather than denying or rejecting the notion that we are deeply influenced by the herd, a typical egoic response even if the herd is considered contrary (and don’t forget that the herd, contrary or not, might simply be a construct of my mind and populated solely by me, myself and I) if we wish to consider ourselves to be sentient sovereign beings then we must remain constantly alert to, and aware of, the herd’s influence on our emotional and spiritual centering. In addition, we need to be ever vigilant of its corrosive effects on our thought process and the conclusions we draw from within that distortion.

This is the big lie that influences us all, that while we might be part of a herd (if we can even manage to admit that much) we are thoughtful, intelligent and educated adults and thus not really affected by the herd to any significant degree. But common sense and life experience tells us otherwise, that this just isn’t true, that we are very much herding humans (whether by nature, nurture or both, ultimately it really doesn’t matter) and that we are most certainly influenced by others. In fact I would go so far as to say that for the most part we do not enjoy freedom from the herd, just freedom to choose the herd we run and think with.

The soothing self deception that we are stoic free thinking individuals, our psychological Achilles Heel if you will, is repeatedly and successfully leveraged against us by those who wish to manipulate and control. Very often it is not an outside force that blinds us, but rather an outside force that leverages our own blindness. This is why we must always question everything, beginning with ourselves. It is our own (mis)perception and worldview that is being manipulated, which often leads to our own blind and unquestioning support of policies, positions and laws that are entirely contrary to our own self interest or the collective (herds) good.

We often blame the herding rat race for our own lot in life (either on a micro or macro level) confidently declaring that ‘they’ are the problem so we are exempt from blame and responsibility. Then we do next to nothing to change our own circumstances, claiming it’s futile to even try because ‘they’ block the way forward towards significant and lasting personal and social change.

After successfully doing nothing we proudly take the softer easier highway to hell, a path that is conveniently laid out and paved by our controllers. Then we sit back smug as a bug in our self righteous indignation when anyone dares to place the blame back at the source of our own servitude. Our controllers love that we don’t even try to pick up the cognitive tools that lie scattered at our feet, let alone use them to defend and empower us. Hands down the most powerful weapon in the world used repeatedly against us is ourselves. Blunt force trauma by self (and group) is extremely effective when self (and group) corralling.

Certainty breeds contempt of our self

At times I struggle to remind myself that the more certain I am of something the greater the likelihood that I’m wrong, if for no other reason than that my absolute certainty most definitely closes my mind to alternative possibilities no matter how obvious they may appear to others. Not recognizing or even considering the possibility that I might be wrong feeds my confirmation bias and rewards my circular thinking with another shot of delicious cognitive dissonance soothing endorphins. Do not underestimate the power of this positive feedback loop for it claims all of us at one time or another, particularly when we confidently claim that it is not now doing so. Our critical thinking is often the weakest precisely when we believe it to be the strongest.

For the vast majority of us a new thought trail is blazed one cautious step at a time despite our egotistic self delusions that we bravely and willingly go where we’ve never cognitively gone before. And for the most part we all color well within the socially correct lines with very rare and short lived deviations beyond the border and into the cognitive badlands. Thus the reason for my venturing outside conventional contrary thinking and into what at first blush might appear to be the mainstream meme. Rigid beliefs and preordained conclusions must never dictate the (self) discovery process or the intent of that process.

Despite egoic protestations to the contrary it is downright frightening to venture outside the comfortable confines and safety of the consensus herd’s artificial reality, thus one of the reasons we keep tripping over our own (and other’s) cognitive dissonance. Once off the reservation we tend to huddle with other similarly off-the-beaten-track explorers, a perfect example being our affinity for Zero Hedge and its own equally artificial reality. The only thing better than being right when we know everyone else is wrong is cahooting with others who validate our beliefs. You scratch my confirmation bias and I’ll scratch yours.

If we are unwilling to travel in new perceptual directions, even if we can conceive of no readily apparent benefit and especially if we feel emotional pain while doing so and quickly back off, then all we ever manage to do is endlessly cover the same well marked territory regardless of its perceived (validating) distance from the majority consensus. Just because our intellectual hunting grounds may lie outside the mainstream meme doesn’t mean we are immune to our own brand of rutted rigid thinking and herd mentality. In fact we often justify our own rote thinking by pointing to our contrary stance as proof we are flexible and thorough in our self examination.

 

Mind Control

 

Self inflicted mind control

One man’s collapse is another man’s crumble, two seemingly divergent points of view formed in large part by very different perspectives as to the meaning of both terms as well as the active ingredients propelling the use of those terms within our respective (mostly false) world views. While on the surface this may seem painfully obvious, very often we do not practice what we perceive and even less often do we perceive without self deceiving, without externally and internally self inflicted distortions and blurring.

This is the art of mind control and false realty creation, to induce you and me to willingly create an alternatively perceived reality, often entirely within our own minds, thereby eliminating the need for messy ‘reality’ based rules, independent verification and basic fact checking. And for the most part we do this in response to manipulated external stimuli which is often in direct conflict with our true inner knowing.

The key to this manipulation is to convince all of us that it is in our best interest to ignore our better judgment, our inner voice of caution and prudence, and willingly surrender our personal sovereignty to a false external authority while rejecting our genuine inner sovereign authority. I say all of us because to some degree or another and at one time or another we have all done so, usually with plenty of excuses, rationalizations and justifications for doing so safely tucked away in our back pockets.

We surrendered our personal sovereignty long before we were ever threatened with concocted external ‘terrorist’ threats when we consciously decided to ignore the obvious early warning signs of an increasingly out of control and hijacked government and instead pursued our own ideology, financial self interest and assorted pleasures. Unfortunately very few of us will admit this, thereby keeping us locked in our own vicious circle of denial and dependence.

We rationalize(d) it all away by saying that at least we aren’t as bad as ‘those guys over there’, when ‘they’ are saying the exact same thing about us. Or worse, we utter the entirely self absorbed and narcissistic declaration that “It’s not my problem” or “I didn’t vote for that guy so…..” The litany of excuses given for our inaction, both for internal and external issues, is endless.

Within this skewed alternative reality state of mind, where we stand depends entirely upon where we sit, and where we sit nearly always depends upon our financial, emotional and psychological self deceptions as well as our strategically selected denials and raging co-dependencies. Essentially we achieve a perpetual infantile state of mind in return for transient material comforts and a false sense of security, security that could quickly and easily be achieved if only we were to (re)connect with our own personal sovereignty.

Like a dog endlessly chasing its tail, we can never practice true freedom of thought and being while deeply dependent upon and fully immersed within someone else’s version of reality, particularly when it is self induced. Yet after a sufficiently long enough period of time of sustained conditioning within our mentally confined cognitive box (achieved for the most part during our state sponsored education and in concert with the willing assistance of our loving parents who passed on their own cognitive conditioning) we find it nearly impossible to conceive of a life of true freedom (that of a practicing personal sovereign) without our deeply embedded co-dependencies and ingrained notions of how the world works, thereby completing the circular co-opting of our inner spiritual and sovereign being.

Freedom to choose………slavery

The brilliance behind our so-called (illusionary) freedom (of choice) is that we almost always consciously choose our own enslavement. The genius lay in never forcing us to make one large and final decision in favor of enslavement. “Sure, I’ll be a slave for life. Are there any fringe benefits?” The socioeconomic control system helpfully breaks the decision making process down into tiny little bite sized bits of slippery slope while sweetening the gruel with flashing lights and artificial colors, tastes and textures. “OMG, it’s the iPad mini in white and silver with a ruby red cover. Can I charge it?”

And when we do willingly choose enslavement we almost always make the choice based upon our own personally customized reasons that helpfully mesh with our mostly programmed pursuits and interests (reasons that just happen to be wonderfully aligned with the control systems’ own agenda) in the same way a cattle shoot funnels the willing cattle to their own personal date with slaughterhouse destiny. I don’t need to list them because there are hundreds of millions of them, several hundred of which I have personally used myself.

Regardless of whether these thousands of tiny little micro decisions appeal to our ego, vanity, sense of self worth, hidden inner fears or unsated (mostly externally manufactured) hopes and dreams (just review Maslow’s hierarchy of needs for a more complete list) and even if the decision is made by default, meaning we make no decision other than to stay with the status quo, the deed is still done. The ultimate Catch 22 is the cognitive catch you never fully recognize, but still willingly embrace. Where is John Yossarian when you need him?

Our ‘willing’ participation within the present paradigm only serves to strengthen the cognitive binds that tie us to our internal and external dependencies. It matters not if it is an agnostic, mindless, resentful or even hostile participation, just that we all march to the same narrow range of emotional and spiritual frequencies. And it really doesn’t matter if we are fully or partially aware of our dependencies nor that we might strenuously object to them, only that we participate in order to enable this powerful form of consent. Our slavery is always hidden in plain sight under layer after layer of willing consent, regardless if most of it is coerced with threats of state violence.

 

Catch 22

 

Socioeconomically addicted

To directly oppose this addictive material compulsion (whether by force of mind or body) only serves to nourish and strengthen it simply because it is cognitively and spiritually designed to absorb our misdirected emotional and physical energy by using it to feed other parts of the whole in the same manner someone who is addicted to drugs or alcohol fails to secure his or her release from the addiction by way of denial or brute opposing mental force.

Ask any long term recovering drug addict or alcoholic (to name just two examples of deeply embedded co-dependencies) if they were able to free themselves from their addiction by just saying NO (and really meaning it this time) and their responses will be overwhelmingly negative. The consumed active addict simply refuses to acknowledge that they can no longer participate in their obsessive activity. Their battle is always to limit the addiction and never to admit defeat in their ability to control their addiction. Always they wish to bargain and always they lose more ground to the addiction. If asked, the intelligence services might call this socioeconomic addict a ‘compromised person’.

At first glance this appears to be a huge contradiction since how can you ‘control’ something by admitting defeat. The key is not to (even try to) control, but simply to disarm and disempower that which is controlling us. This allows the addicted to move beyond this seemingly impenetrable roadblock rather than meeting it head-on. The fight is always with us and within us, not externally where the illusion makes it appear to be, and the way to personal and spiritual release is not to fight, not even to try to ‘win’.

Our ego simply refuses to recognize that we are physically and mentally consumed and spiritually broken. The longer the battle for control rages the more consumed the ego becomes in winning a battle that only exists within and can never be won and only be lost. The solution is to accept completely and unquestioningly that the battle can never be won, then turn in an entirely different direction and begin to do those things we never would have done before because we were consumed with pounding on the closed door of addiction directly in front of us and oblivious to the dozens of open doors all around.

By opposing the addictive force directly the addicted is hopelessly consumed by himself, by his mental, emotional and spiritual defects. His directed energy, the force he applies when trying to break the addictive binds that tie, is mirrored and deflected back towards him, creating a situation where he is literally fighting with himself. Imagine a split personality pushing on both sides of an open door at the same time, one trying to force it closed while the other tries to push it open. Any increase in force from either side is immediately met with an equal and opposite force from the other. The only way to ‘win’ is not to play at all, to circumvent any notion what-so-ever of winning or losing and just walk away. Clearly this is easier said than done and thus exactly why the socioeconomic addict remains consumed and compromised.

This process describes very well the convoluted and conflicted mind of the severely socioeconomically co-dependent addict and it applies both externally in the ‘real’ world as well as internally, within our controlled and manipulated minds. To ignore this dynamic is to be totally controlled by it, the ultimate fulcrum that is leveraged against us by external mind control forces.

The Trojan horse money meme

The all consuming fear based economic mind control money meme of (among other things) contrived scarcity is the Trojan horse that gains entry to our mind and spirit and it is something we for the most part willingly embrace even while denouncing certain select portions of it as ‘the’ problem. We are simply unwilling to look critically at the entire money meme, at the artificial and contrived scarcity of many resources which is designed to demand of us that we ‘pay’ (our masters) just so that we may continue to exist.

We do not wish to look too deeply into the fundamental flaws of this system, of our willing and complicit bondage, because that might entail leaving it all behind once we recognize its true nature. This is our root addiction and one we are loath to abandon because that would entail embracing true freedom, not just freedom of choice. We have allowed ourselves to become institutionalized, sated fat rats that are more than willing to run the maze each day for our daily keep. We are a slave nation and rapidly becoming a slave Earth.

Like the (completely) consumed drug addict or alcoholic, we are desperate to control the money meme’s hold on us so that we can still partake of certain select (believed) ‘good’ components rather than to admit total defeat and begin to do those things we really don’t wish to do, to first look within and recognize who and what we are, and then to act upon those discoveries. We convince ourselves that if only this component was removed or that participant was properly controlled or regulated that the socioeconomic system would function properly.

This is the big lie. The money meme itself is designed to mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically enslave you and me while enriching and empowering a select few regardless of how well we think it can work if only we ousted the rogue elements, an excuse which is itself a colossal self deception. Explain to me again why we wish to salvage this? But of course logic and reason fall on deaf ears with the consumed compromised addict.

This concept can be difficult to comprehend for a mind thoroughly immersed within the right-wrong, good-bad, left-right present day paradigm. Or worse, it is impossible to accept for a mind that perceives itself as not afflicted by the money meme mind virus at all, as above the sordid fray and immune to the collective madness. To some degree or another we are all specialists in our own psychological damage control. We are experts in blame, involvement and personal responsibility avoidance at all cost because……well, it’s the other guy who’s to blame, not me. Tell him to get his house in order, and then maybe I’ll take a look at mine.

The amount of energy we expend to rationalize away our own direct and indirect involvement, of our actual willing participation, would be truly staggering to measure if it weren’t so sad to behold. I am constantly amazed how quickly we shed any personal blame whatsoever once we begin to gain some insight into the ugly underbelly of the mind control machine of the money meme. It seems as if once a portion of the manipulation is unearthed we become desperate to believe that now that the infection is somewhat visible to the naked eye, the virus is no longer infectious to us, as if our (limited) awareness somehow sterilizes the madness.

It’s the best of both worlds. At first we aren’t affected when we are clueless because ignorance is bliss, then we become magically immune once we are (somewhat) aware of the illusion. Sadly these are the first, second and third orders of our addiction; the denial, then the denial of the denial, and finally the denial that there ever was any denial in the first place. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I can clearly see what the issue is and it sure as hell ain’t me. It’s you and those idiots over there that’s the problem, not me.”

Our distorted worldview

Once we begin to peak beneath the surface layer we become so certain of our understanding of how the ‘real’ world works now (as opposed to how certain we were about how it worked before our revelation) that we rarely give it a second look, let alone devote any time to examine it critically. And why should we? Why venture too far down the rabbit hole when the next conveniently presented answer is right in front of us? The fact is that nowadays we are so completely bombarded with absurdity after absurdity on an exponentially increasing scale that we begin to lose all touch with common sense and reality…………including our own.

Stay high or drunk on the money meme long enough and reality becomes so strange that it is to be avoided at all costs. Soon enough our warped sense of perception comes measured by our dependencies rather than despite them. This all too common state of emotional and intellectual paralysis might help to explain certain vows of poverty and abstinence practiced by tens of thousands of history’s thinkers, philosophers and holy/spiritual men. One cannot see clearly while in the midst of the madness using only the cognitive tools and worldview assumptions supported and promoted by the madness.

Simply put if we allow ourselves the conceit of believing that we are thinking outside the box without actually (destructively) testing our predispositions, all we’re ever really doing is confirming for ourselves not only our imagined outlaw status, but our more perfectly conditioned and captured mental state. It is highly likely, absent a rigorous and continuous self examination, that we are blindly trapped within another smaller, though still thoroughly confined, psychological thought control box a la those fascinating little Russian nesting dolls.

With this entirely self imposed cognitive impediment blocking our way forward (meaning our unwillingness to destructively test our own thinking) our only claim to fame might actually be that we are still somewhat closer to the core issues of our own self enslavement. Tragically, this slightly higher state of self awareness in no way mitigates the fact that we are still hopelessly mired within the muddy waters of the present day false reality paradigm.

Chapter Two to follow shortly.

 

01-27-2013 

Cognitive Dissonance

 

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Mon, 01/28/2013 - 11:52 | 3191405 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

I was born and raised in a small town and spent most of my adult life in similar rural areas. When I did move to a more densely packed urban area some 15 years ago the first thing I did was knock on several nearby doors to introduce myself to my new neighbors. The stares and suspicious looks quickly told me that I wasn't in Kansas anymore.

After a few years of this I beat a hasty retreat, coward that I am. Not my cup of tea.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 22:38 | 3193570 Seer
Seer's picture

I've always been highly adaptable.  I can, and have, straddled both worlds: I'd like to say that I can talk to anyone about anything: and I love doing so (person to person).

They say that it's really not a good idea to wait until the last moment to move out into the country.  I very much took this in to consideration and opted to buy property even though I knew prices were still going to drop.  This has allowed me to get to know my neighbors while things are running semi-normal: they get to see my wife and I work our butts off- this tells them that we're not here just to camp out.  Because my wife and I aren't getting any younger (well, she looks about 20 years younger than she is- I... not so) it was a good idea to get going while we still could.

My neighbors have already offered to let me use a BIG backhoe as well as a log splitter (two different neighbors).  Pretty impressive since we've been here just shy of two years.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 06:27 | 3190754 ebear
ebear's picture

"Folks out in rural areas tend to be less in the technological world and more in the "leave me alone" personal liberty camp."

So, when your truck need a new distributor cap what do you do?  Carve one out of wood?

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 22:29 | 3193548 Seer
Seer's picture

Straw man argument.

What it is and what it will be are of no choice of mine.  That is, what I want things to be and what they WILL be are not the same thing.  Because I have little influence over the course of global events I go along with what I see as things WILL be; and I base this on human history and physical laws.

I am quite aware of the fact that I am utilizing things of the modern era.  I do NOT take them for granted: and, I find things pretty amazing; but my amazement cannot overcome what the future will bring.  No, I have no illusions that I can have my cake and eat it to.

I will continue to ratchet down knowing that one day my truck will be nothing more than a planter.

How are you hedging?

BTW - My truck doesn't have a distributor cap.  I do, though, have PLENTY of wood, wood that I prefer to use to heat with, thank you very much.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 00:16 | 3190405 RockyRacoon
RockyRacoon's picture

In the first collapse (2008) they took what was left of your money to maintain the "system".  In the next one they'll take what is left of your liberty.  That's the only way to prevent total anarchy (per the classical definition).

At that point we, the people, will be out of assets, and we'll be considered fully expendable.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 00:25 | 3190425 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

"At that point we, the people, will be out of assets, and we'll be considered fully expendable."

Actually I'm hoping they need at least one person to remain behind to feed the HeatMaster 5000.  :)

<I'll have plenty of experience by then.>

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 05:47 | 3190738 steveo77
steveo77's picture

You going off the grid>?

Me too pretty much, at least as an option, use utilities while they last, but have fully functional backups in please and tested

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 10:10 | 3190789 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

More along the "at least as an option" line of thought. Multiple options available just in case of.....whatever.

Well and septic so we don't need to depend upon municipal services and a babbling brook and a cliff to pee off if those fail as well. Heat pump and central air for when the good times roll, big windows that open and the HeatMaster 5000 to supplement the heat pump or replace it if needed. Buried utlities to minimize weather interruptions and a standby whole house generator along with a very large tank of LPG (to be used sparingly) if the world goes to hell for a while.

You get the idea.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 00:35 | 3190442 RockyRacoon
RockyRacoon's picture

Otherwise known as the MF5000.  It is a mother, for sure.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 00:02 | 3190376 JOYFUL
JOYFUL's picture

Daniel Amerman's latest posting has a similar theme to the crumble analogy...

What if the current economic and investment reality aligns with neither (A) the continuation of the status quo from the long-gone latter half of the 20th century, nor (B) the collapse of the status quo, but instead (C), the ongoing transition to a new status quo for the first half of the 21st century, which is that of a dysfunctional and increasingly politicized economy, with an ever-smaller share of that economy coming from free enterprise and the private sector?

http://danielamerman.com/articles/2013/DichotomyC.html

...with the takeaway message that investors\bagholders of all descriptions are going to get hosed ïn more and deeper ways by an "ever-expanding web of laws and regulations that smother unstable market forces along with many individual economic choices in the process" - which keep things limping along in the current fashion, a slow but steady transfer of wealth out of the hands of the many, into those of the few.

So, if prepping for collapse becomes as meaningless as waiting for 'recovery' what's a body to do? Perhaps CD's second chapter will address that question, but in the meanwhiles, this is something that pm bugs, amongst others, need consider, if this kind of exercise in self-reflection is going to have any practical application...

that a small coterie of ínsiders have surreptitiously gained control of not just the levers of political and financial power, but the entire structure of social communication - from media to education - through which individual minds are shaped and formed. And that they have not done so for benevolent reasons...but rather, to forcefully remove all challengers to their ascendancy - by slowly wiping out not just your savings, but your ability to discern and resist their machinations.

Time is not on your side here. You will rise and defend yourselves, by throwing out this nest of dual-citiizened vipers, or passively give up everything that you once held dear. Ljke it or lump it, that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 06:11 | 3190746 falak pema
falak pema's picture

given its the crazy market of shadow banking that created this self destructive exuberance of the bonfire of capitalism, it is only normal in terms of human experience that the Oligarchy world crosses that sterile symbol now become meaningless Rubicon to their eyes; first in crumbling mode then accelerating into collapsing mode as the towers of status quo melt before our very eyes. They feel they know the path out of this mess that their predecessors have created...

The big freeze of the people's market is a given, the return to oligarchy age and top down control bigtime now a daily event. 

Deleverage of peoples wealth and accumulation of the Oligarchy power and wealth now totally and openly apparent. 

What is the justification of this global trend of corruption now gone viral? 

We all know that...its the crazy slide down the fiat slope that started in 1971, made easy by the Oligarchs controlling the PRIMAL creation of the reserve currency pump; the FED, that allowed fractional reserve to PRIVatELy create the euro/petro dollar inflationary world like a fount of steroid primed toxic nectar, having lost the game via local peak oil to the Arabs on the true cheap oil commodity front.

As the old druid of that age, Jacques Rueff, said : The monetary sin of western world had been committed and there was no loooking back. Our world has adopted, under Pax Americana stewardship, capital formation as its SOLE measure of human well being and the MArket as its sole impartial GOD; who now has gone blind as its prime HIGH PRIESTS, THE CB CABAL, are precisely those who have torn out its all seeing eyes. 

You cannot flush out a system, that has grown on false foundations and dwarfed the world like a colossus on clay feet, with a magic wand of righteousness. It'll take pain and sacrifice; and it will be at the heart of the EMpire; or else that first world adventure which began in 1492 will end like that of it's predecessors did in 476. 

History rhymes bigtime. We are but moths flitting around the incandescent light bulb of our own lucid fount of knowledge, knowing that knowledge just singes our wings and burns our insides, 'cos we cannot flush out the augean stables like a latter day Hercules. That is the true zero set that the world awaits for renaissance to resurge. 

COG Dis shows us how we will continue to slide down that slope and begs us to develop resilience as we flit around that all consuming light bulb of materialist mayhem gone mad. 

 

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 12:48 | 3191644 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

"COG Dis shows us how we will continue to slide down that slope and begs us to develop resilience as we flit around that all consuming light bulb of materialist mayhem gone mad."

It is very difficult to fight the enemy when we don't recognize that the enemy is ultimately us. "They" just leverage us against ourselves. As I state in the piece......

"The soothing self deception that we are stoic free thinking individuals, our psychological Achilles Heel if you will, is repeatedly and successfully leveraged against us by those who wish to manipulate and control. Very often it is not an outside force that blinds us, but rather an outside force that leverages our own blindness."

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 01:58 | 3190560 Radical Marijuana
Radical Marijuana's picture

Best comment, so far, Joyful.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 08:08 | 3190823 new game
new game's picture

The slow erosion of our "fuits of labor" whereby time works against the ability to provide excess.

law of dimishing ability to save for times of inability to provide fruits due to societies bias towards age(and the meer fact that the body and mind dimishes).

identify these erosions and fight back.

taxes

where one lives

minmalism in a society that "rewards" excess consumption(cog dis for sure).

working smart

listening and understanding before acting.

link rewards to actions

purchases have profound results (f150 verses honda civic) (fuck that snowmobile i must own and tow).

on and on

in most cases aside from what joyfull expounds we are our own worst enemy...

 

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 10:40 | 3191125 tip e. canoe
tip e. canoe's picture

in the spirit of searching for the way toward your name (new game), some fruits for thought to give back for your tasty morsels:

"law of dimishing ability""due to societies bias towards age" "meer fact that the body and mind dimishes": so how can we can sidestep that law?   what seeds can we plant now that will bear fruit for us in advancing years?  (i'm thinking about the longevity medicines & exercises that the eastern cultures have known about for centuries)

"identify these erosions and fight back"  isn't the notion of fighting back a large part of the problem?   even if we are successful in doing so (think hoover dam), what does that to our environment (inner/outer)?  how about instead of fighting, working with nature to redirect the flow to a more productive result?

"taxes"   indeed.  but how can this be achieved without fighting as long as we choose to use the weapon that kills us by a thousand cuts?   how do we redefine what it means to be wealthy without using the weapon that is being used against us?

"where one lives"  how about not just where, but how?

"minmalism in a society that "rewards" excess consumption"   to play devil's advocate, is this a false dichotomy implanted to prevent most of us from seeking this end?   how is minimalism defined?   can it be defined without minimizing quality of life?   is the problem consumption or taking more than what one gives?

"working smart"  "listening and understanding before acting" absolutely critical to minimize the potential for a cruel fate like that which has befallen so many millions of our hardworking ancestors.

"link rewards to actions"  perhaps by following the above two, nature will take care of that for us if we are willing to trust her?

"purchases have profound results"  not just purchases, but every single economic exchange, and not just what is exchanged, but how & why.

on and on and on and on

aside from what joyfull expounds we are our own worst enemy...   perhaps they are connected?   if we look back into history, do not the vipers always appear when civilizations reach their degenerative stage, like moths to a flame?

how can we accept this without beating ourselves up continuously which does nothing but accelerate our own destruction and that of those around us?

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 10:43 | 3191173 new game
new game's picture

tip e

essential oils

NO hfcs and soy oil products for starters(juice everyday)

embark on becoming self-suficient for rational reasons

always ask yourself;"if someone else can do it why can't i"(within reason).

opt out of heath care and set the money aside(escrow)

bike, walk and hear nature or something other than what a car can give you.

minimize everything - one is enough and do i use it daily. home fork spoon test.

read articles like this to reset rational thinking

be paranoid, obsevant and question everything!

and most of all get your conceled carry permit and refuse to be a victum!!!!!!!!!!

and don't forget to laugh it off...

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 10:53 | 3191202 new game
new game's picture

tip e

on where to live...

the one that provides the greatest challenge.

as a R.E. broker(former), fuck location bs. that serves the investment objective rather than the happiness quotient.

near the edge of town on acreage with a shed and graden is a climate that affords a diversity of growing options and allows year around comfort outside - is my defination.

where exactly? for me the southern half of usa where the least density of humans which happens to be contrarian...

texas for political reasons!

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 11:28 | 3191316 tip e. canoe
tip e. canoe's picture

funny you should mention edge.   edge is one of the key concepts in permaculture, which defines it exactly the same as you just did.    nice one.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 11:02 | 3191228 new game
new game's picture

for me the southern half of usa where the least density of humans

restatment with proper grammer;

where the least density of population exists in the southern half.

i can do math but struggle with composition and spelling sorry, please cut me some slack now and in the future.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 11:37 | 3191312 tip e. canoe
tip e. canoe's picture

no worries amigo, plenty of slack always given for intent that shines through the grammar.

thanks for the gems.

one back at ya : polyculture trees & berry bushes & mushrooms

especially in the south where they are so easy to grow (as long as you have enough water that is)

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 12:11 | 3191499 blindman
blindman's picture

you said it.
keyword: water.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 14:01 | 3191911 FEDbuster
FEDbuster's picture

"embark on becoming self-sufficient for rational reasons"

After several years of buying into pending collapse and prepping, I came to the conclusion that a quest for self-sufficiency is the only rational path.  Dropping out of the "economy" makes economic cycles, theories, stock market worries, gold prices, silver manipulations, etc.. non-issues.  Prepping helps one think "basics", then you can add "luxuries" as you progress.  Truly unplugging from the "system" is  most likely an unattainable goal, but it feels good walking in the opposite direction away from the herd.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 14:08 | 3191943 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

Mrs Cog and I have come to basically the same conclusion. Sheltering in place, if that place is unsustainable, makes no sense no matter how much food and precious metals you have stockpiled.

We don't expect to withdraw completely. But as much self reliance as possible is high up on our list of obtainable goals.

Sun, 01/27/2013 - 23:40 | 3190319 blindman
blindman's picture

humans are destined to create reality, it isn't a given
for man , of the species he is among those that alter and
is capable of creating his environment to a high degree.
but there are limits on everything from resources, cooperation,
intelligence, reflexivity etc .. but the point as you know
is that man collectively creates his reality , language and values determined
by that creative construction and there are many options, there is
no one right way, there are multiple solutions to arising problems and/
but different solutions or fixes have certain outcomes and consequences
that impact the populations differently. it is no secret or surprise
that those with interests and influence, when given the opportunity to
make collective decisions or decisions and choices that require
cooperation and might be considered long term investments as in
"permanent" structure or infrastructure, make those plans and arrangements
in such a way as to protect and enrich themselves first. a certain
amount of that is tolerable and so is a modicum of deception that may
creep in from time to time. but that is the problem too as people always have
and probably always will accept a degree of deception and short cutting to
gain something if just a savings in time.
.
unfortunately we , our minds, are conditioned by ,
tutored by and formed largely by language. what is
more flexible , plastic and malleable than that? and
it is there that we come up with the notion of
"reality". it is amusing and tragic but there is
the truth of the "matter". reality is a conceptual
construct based on language for the majority of human
beings, aka an illusion. and that is a near best case
scenario as many are not capable of perceiving "reality".
.
we have this dilemma of opportunity that we must conceive
our world and then construct it, name it and communicate
it to others with language that we also must create and
then we must maintain it with the resources that we
hope and pray and kill to make
available; and all this we call freedom or responsibility.
.
i don't know where you are going with this c.d. but
so far it sounds interesting. the thought that i have is that we may be suffering from a system, language and
conceptual framework that presumed available resources
and required growth to satisfy the deception inherent in
the structure of the socio-economic systems, law, and when
that becomes unavailable the perception is of collapse
or crumble or vaporization? but do we even have the language , the words , to express an entirely other
"reality"? a reality we have denied for 100 years, vilified in story and advertising and song for generations while living in a world we no longer,
if ever, loved or even recognise?
so they say " a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing and an abundance
of it is fatal without a degree of wisdom." i think you may be heading into
the metaphysical arena with this where a person might find the tools, the
principles and keys to unlock some of that life saving wisdom?
good luck recreating the language and the world, "reality", someone
has to do it. word

Sun, 01/27/2013 - 23:50 | 3190343 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

If you can control the language then you can control the mind, since few have the discipline to think without using word concepts formed by our language. How does one 'think outside of the box' when our language can only describe the inside of our boxed mind? I promoted a snippet of this idea with my article teaser below, which can also be found in the body of the article.

"One cannot see clearly while in the midst of the madness using only the cognitive tools and worldview assumptions supported and promoted by the madness."
 
Thank you for stopping by blindman and added your voice to the discussion.
Mon, 01/28/2013 - 00:50 | 3190390 blindman
blindman's picture

thank you.
i am going to try to remember how it went ...
.
" the great way has no gate,
the tongue has no bone,
clear water has no taste
.
in complete stillness
a stone girl is dancing."
.
that might be a doorway to 'thinking without using
word concepts formed by our language.'
or being present in mind in the part of the
"brain" that acts or functions as a parallel
processor rather than as a serial processor?
.
this , as has been said, is the rejected stone,
the demonized state, the non-sense. the being.
going now-where, gaining nothing, no growth "hell"
all good people would like to have their children
avoid , that being half of the truth of our lives,
outright rejected for security/fear considerations.
.
what collapses or crumbles may just be the wall
modern man has constructed in our collective
corpus callosum?

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 10:32 | 3191147 tip e. canoe
tip e. canoe's picture

"what collapses or crumbles may just be the wall modern man has constructed in our collective corpus callosum?"

may a thousand bridges bloom

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 06:39 | 3190760 falak pema
falak pema's picture

hoho, poetry and motion, well done! 

You are nearly at par with WB7's vanishing face of poetic nose and youthful exuberance. 

I'll drink to both of you! 

Sun, 01/27/2013 - 23:28 | 3190280 JR
JR's picture

In reality, many people benefit from enslavement, the enslavement of others. Would you believe 100 million Americans? It’s hard to believe that in their predisposition to cognitive dissonance that they can rationalize that without working they deserve someone else’s money, but here is the story…

In watching retail shopping in recent weeks there’s little doubt in my mind that a large part of the primary cash flow is coming from stimulus – taxpayer money funneled to the “preferred” recipients. Biggest days are always EBT pay days.

The facts show that the [Obama] Administration’s policies “have resulted in a record expansion of government benefit programs to include over 100 million Americans.”

According to the government report, The Obama Administration: A History of Undermining Work Requirements For Welfare Recipients August 2012,When the Obama Administration announced on July 12, 2012 its plan to allow States to waive work requirements for welfare recipients,” it struck “at the heart of the successful 1996 welfare reforms that marked the first time welfare recipients were expected to work or prepare for work in exchange for benefits.”

Continuing: “Under the Obama Administration plan, States could apply to count as 'work' many activities previously rejected by Congress. A 2005 report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office noted that some States counted as 'work' such 'activities' as bed rest, personal care, massage, exercise, journaling, motivational reading, smoking cessation, weight loss promotion, participating in parent teacher meetings, and helping a friend or relative with household tasks and errands. (In 2006, the TANF program was altered to prevent States from counting these activities as work.)"

While figures show that more than 100 million people in the U.S. were receiving some form of Federal welfare - figures count mean-tested welfare, not Social Security or Medicare - in Q2 of 2011, they also show that  at the same time, “the share of the U.S. population that is working has plummeted to levels not seen since the early 1980s.”

Say the authors: “Starting with its failed trillion-dollar 2009 stimulus plan, the Obama Administration has taken repeated steps that increased the number of people collecting benefits across a range of programs like welfare, unemployment, food stamps, health care, and various refundable tax credits. At the same time, the Administration has engaged in a systematic effort to undermine work requirements that existed in a small number of government benefit programs such as welfare and food stamps. The Administration has even allowed millions of Americans with significant personal savings and assets to qualify for government ‘anti-poverty’ benefits.'"

For the specific programs, such as Providing States billions of dollars used primarily for more welfare checks, go to http://waysandmeans.house.gov/uploadedfiles/democrat_efforts_to_eliminate_work_requirements_august_2012.pdf

These “enormously expensive” Obama Administration benefit policy changes have cost a total of “over $500 billion to date since 2009.”

Just as informative in regard to the source of much U.S. ”consumer spending” is the report, NM Can’t Do Much About Abuse of EBT Cash, Tackles Other Issues by Jim Scarantino December 7, 2012.

It begins: “EBT cards intended to help needy families have bought vacation cruises out of Miami and illegal drugs in Spokane, Washington.  They’ve been used to gain entrance to Graceland, Disneyland, and Universal Studios, and many far less family-friendly establishments.

“In Boston, a jailed heroin dealer instructed a friend to tap EBT cash for bail money.

“An unlicensed tattoo artist in Minnesota accepts EBT cards.  They’ve been used inside Florida bingo parlors, dog tracks and bowling alleys.

“EBT cash has been spent in Hawaii…by people from Missouri supposedly too poor to buy their own food but resourceful enough to travel to islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

“The problem is nationwide and skyrocketing (see reports collected below).  Billions of dollars flow through EBT cards. Once the cash is withdrawn, it is spent at the card holder’s discretion without any trace of where it went or what it purchased.

“In our first report on EBT abuse [1], we showed New Mexico EBT funds over a two month period being accessed in 45 states, including Hawaii.  Our second report [2] detailed how EBT money was used in a strip club, bars, liquor stores, smoke shops, a ski resort, a bowling alley, casinos, and may have purchased money orders to send New Mexico welfare funds out of the state, and maybe out of the country.” …

http://newmexico.watchdog.org/16557/nm-cant-do-much-about-abuse-of-ebt-cash-tackles-other-issues/print/

So much for "consumer spending," the American "economy," “recovery,” and “cognitive dissonance.” And, oh yes, crumbling inward toward collapse.

Sun, 01/27/2013 - 23:25 | 3190272 Piranhanoia
Piranhanoia's picture

Wisdom may lie at the end of the circle, if we can stop long enough to see it.  It might be best to step outside of it to get a better view of the circle itself. It's the return ticket we have to choose to purchase

+11 Cog.

Sun, 01/27/2013 - 23:28 | 3190269 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

When I first started to wake from my establishment induced coma in 2001,and then what I thought fully awake in 2008, it was an odd feeling. I knew the world wasn't what I thought it was for 40 + years prior. The odd part was that I knew I wasn't the only person who recognized that , but it sure wasn't in my immediate group of family and friends. I started looking at the world in a different manner and pointing things out but they either didn't want to hear it or they poo pood it way. Then I stumbled upon the Hedge and I found a refreshing world of new insight a whole different take on current events. The Hedge offered ( offers) some brilliant articles and some of the most intelligent commentary from the members, but that started leading to some problems of its own.

Having been in the business for quite some time now, after 2008 I have seen the "market" act in ways that I have never seen in the years prior. I thought certainly TPTB would lose control and that collapse was imminent. After four years I've had to rethink that idea and now I see a controlled collapse where expectations are slowly lowered with each passing year, and generation. People are being trained that this is "as good as it gets".

I share this because it took me almost three years of confirmation bias from reading and conversing with people on the Hedge about the inevitable collapse of the empire to re-examine my perspective. . It's an easy trap to fall into. Now I make an effort to take in everything and challenge my own beliefs, to accept the fact that maybe I'm wrong about how things will turn out. When I discuss events with colleagues now I think to myself" I hope that we aren't having these same discussions 30 years from now, because we will have wasted a lot of energy on nothing".

Thank you for the thought provoking piece CD. I look forward to the next installment.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 00:51 | 3190481 Notarocketscientist
Notarocketscientist's picture

John Perkins book was my moment of epiphany... after reading that I started to question everything in the MSM...  here's a presentation from Perkins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTbdnNgqfs8

 

ZH is excellent - I always come here to fact check the shit I see in the MSM.

However it dismays me to see some people still post partisan political comments on here as if the Dems and GOP actually exist to help anyone but the elites they are owned by

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 08:43 | 3190869 SirIssacNewton
SirIssacNewton's picture

Thanks for the link... I think it's hilarious that citizens in the U.S. still think they are electing someone with their vote.  It has been a one-party system for quite some time and the "issues" are used to galvanize people into distraction so the "real" cage is never seen.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 10:35 | 3191151 FEDbuster
FEDbuster's picture

Much like an invisible electric fence to keep a dog in the yard.  He must be conditioned to his boundaries, then he will be unable to remember that he can run right through the brief pain to experience the freedom outside the yard.  Many can't break through the consensus thought of family, friends and co-workers, or the propaganda delivered through all forms of media.  The left/right, blue/red is embraced by the masses.  Like cheering for the local sports team and despising the rival for no apparent reason.  Those traps and boundaries keep the herd calm and manageable.  Then they only have to deal with the rogue, fringe elements through marginalization and ridicule, or in extreme cases rendition or elimination.  

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 11:38 | 3191343 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

Very nice summary.

Maybe you should be ghost writing CD. :>)

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 10:25 | 3191123 new game
new game's picture

perkins - ah, yea--now you know!

debt servitude-corporate facism backed by force whether local or international.

some push back is natural, but, i am afraid a rather large blow back, as in 911, is coming.

that is what i fear, not black swanish as very predictable.

iran? our 'friends'?

call it a punch to the bully - bloody mouth with some teeth missing....

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 00:59 | 3190497 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

I agree , it's bothersome to see people fall into the red and blue argument. Unfortunately in real life I'm surrounded by it.

Thanks for the link, I'll be sure to watch it tomorrow.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 04:34 | 3190692 The Heart
The Heart's picture

"Unfortunately in real life I'm surrounded by it"

Good Dr E, in spirit, you are the fire that keeps the room warm in the presence of the coldness of pure ignorance, man's greatest sin. Truly, it is a good thing to see you and others that are here on "the Hedge" sharing their light with this very advanced group of Hearts. This article from Sir CD is outstanding and a fine example, as well as many others here, of the great and truthful light that comes from those inspired to speak their truth here into this forum of very advanced thinkers. We give thanks because one can remember when the forest of ignorance was thick, and the darkness only lit by the torch bearing watchmen planting the seeds of truth and awakening. We give thanks that in these days there are many like yourself and CD and so many here that shine and sling the arrows of truth to lite the forest making it easier to see, and hear in.

Gratitude and forgiveness are not hate...Love is not loveless.:

May the hundredth monkey awaken, and the mass mind CHOOSES to steer the ship into safer waters.

 

Sun, 01/27/2013 - 23:37 | 3190310 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

"I share this because it took me almost three years of confirmation bias from reading and conversing with people on the Hedge about the inevitable collapse of the empire to re-examine my perspective."

My own journey closely mirrors yours. It seems we both have many miles to go before we sleep. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 00:02 | 3190339 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

No thank you, the pleasure is all mine. It's been far too long since your last piece. Now the real question is ... do I top off the night with a Cabernet or a Shiraz? Maybe a nice light Pinot Noir. Decisions decisions.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 00:06 | 3190386 RockyRacoon
RockyRacoon's picture

At least you don't have to decide which overpass you're going to sleep under, or in which cardboard box.  Nor do I.  Thank goodness for small pleasures.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 00:13 | 3190401 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

+1 unfortunately too many people do, I'm fairly certain it's not meant to be that way... I wish I knew the answer to how all of society can live and not just survive.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 00:53 | 3190484 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

I thought it was just me.

More articles (and thoughtful commentarty) like this, please.

 

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 00:57 | 3190490 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

I always enjoy CD's articles. My perspective has been that there is more to this than just recognizing the world we live in, there is also a personal growth aspect too. That's why I like CD's writings; they are very though provoking.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 00:32 | 3190437 RockyRacoon
RockyRacoon's picture

The old axiom is excruciatingly true:  The poor will always be with us.  In relative terms.  There are poor around the world who would consider a dry cardboard box a luxury.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 06:42 | 3190764 ebear
Mon, 01/28/2013 - 09:40 | 3190991 RockyRacoon
RockyRacoon's picture

Pure classic Python.

Sun, 01/27/2013 - 23:22 | 3190258 Vendetta
Vendetta's picture

There is emotional pain in actually performing a destruction of a personal belief that someone exercises the courage to examine, find defect thru that critical examination, and correct the belief either by modifying the belief or discarding it depending on how 'off' it was found to be.  It is not an easy thing to do.

 

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 01:04 | 3190505 Anusocracy
Anusocracy's picture

It is the renunciation of part(s) of your morality and morality is wired into your brain.

Particularly difficult to do when morality is a behavioral survival adaptation.

Fertile ground for cognitive dissonance there.

 

Sun, 01/27/2013 - 23:28 | 3190277 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

"It is not an easy thing to do."

I agree completely and paid tribute to those who do so in the piece. Thank you for your comment and feedback. :)

"In my opinion this is where true personal courage is born and nurtured, for if I am willing to honestly face myself, particularly those deep dark places even I wish to hide from, then anything I might face externally pales in comparison."

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