Gil Can Run!A blog on Running and all the crap that runs through my head while doing it

Mar 12th A fine running weekend

If we discount the ridiculous winds yesterday. Something about Saturday afternoons is not working for me. But then I went out today, winds were about half the force as they were yesterday. So 10 mph (16 kmh). I could have finished off my “usual” mileage for the weekend, but I wanted to get back in time to make it to the store, and I didn’t carry water on me. So I did a half marathon, no water, no fuel. It was the right choice, as I was pretty warm at the end, and definitely needed water. So good thing I cut it short, it doesn’t seem like it, but an extra two miles could have been troublesome.
So with my more advanced students, we usually end up talking about things like movies and whatnot. I do my best to watch things that my students ask me to. One of my classes, asked me to watch “The Hateful Eight”. We started talking about Tarantino, and I never make any secrets about not liking his movies. But, I’m a good teacher, so I watch the movie. It was basically what I thought. Generally, Tarantino only has a couple movies, and he just keeps remaking them. Well, he takes the same scenes, and sometimes the same basic dialogue and repeats them with different characters in “different” situations. The thing is, I get the point he tries to make in movies, I understood the message in the movie, I don’t disagree with what he’s trying to say most of the time. I enjoyed how the horrible, racist, dickbag, soon-to-be sheriff, who starts off as a complete idiot, gets educated and in the process drops his bullshit racism. But it was 2 hours and 40 minutes of Tarantino using his same old tropes and scenes. Also, I always enjoy watching Bruce Dern get shot.
I get it, people have short memories and Hollywood studios aren’t just there to entertain, they’re there to make money whilst entertaining. It’s the same reason they remake movies over and over. Also why we get Michael Bay-splosions. Also why we get Matt Damon cast in movies about the Great Wall of China and Scarlett Johannesburg as Major Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell. They want your money. But I will keep watching what is suggested, with higher level students, it’s important that they be able to discuss things they enjoy.
I really need to work on my story writing, because I have two fairly good ideas. One is more developed than the other, but I need to do some reading and studying. One is based on a true story, the other is just some stuff I have bouncing around up in my head. The discipline to stay focused on what I’m writing every day is the problem. I let myself get distracted too easily, that’s always been my trouble. It’s my problem with work, it’s my problem with marathons, it’s my problem with writing. My best efforts are this blog, I’ve been pretty good. But as constant as I am, and as good as I try to make the content of these posts, the fact is, it’s max 1000-1500 words at a time. It’s fairly easy, and while sometimes one thing may flow into the next, usually it’s just disjointed thoughts that come up while I run. Seriously, just like it says on the tin.
Yet I persist, and I keep trying and this time I want to really do my best. I need to get off my ass and get things going the way I want them to go. I need to stop just living in a way that allows others to exert pressure on me to serve their purposes, this part isn’t about business, I mean my job right now, there aren’t many demands on me at all. I’m talking about family. Fact is, I run, I work, I cook, I clean up, but then I don’t do anything. That idleness allows other people to try and drive me around. Is that a sloppy metaphor? Yeah, pretty much. Thing is, I don’t have the drive to be rich, or famous, or whatever. I just want to be me, I want to be comfortable, I want to go where I want, when I want and I want to help. I don’t want to worry about all this bullshit the powers-that-be make us worry about. I know it’s wrong, and I need to break free. I need to break free, because I need to help others break free too. You can’t tear down the house while you’re living in it, is what I’m getting at here. I’m working my way out the door, but I can’t quite get there yet. That’s what I need to do, I need to stay focused and get my stuff done, and let the chips fall where they may from here, but I need to at least try, instead of just moving the location of where I’m grinding it out.
And that’s the thing, that’s why there’s so much malaise, so much ennui, so much strife in this world. They’ve got us just working a grind, every day. We have to pay for things we all need, instead of just getting the things we all need, and then all the other stuff being extra. That’s a big part of it right there. We all buy into a truly silly system, but more than silly, it can be downright cruel. I had to explain the severity of the word “cruelty” in a class the other day. I also had to explain appalling, which was more fun to explain. Odd that cruel and appalling are good ways to describe the system we live under though.
In fact, I watched and shared a video today about Daesh blowing up the historic monuments and buildings in Nimrud. Like it or not, groups like Daesh are the inevitable result of this system we live under. Their destruction of Nimrud is a tragedy, with the root cause in this system. If we are meant to dominate our hold on resources and goods and services, etc. If the goal is “wealth” overall, then things like this will always happen, because instead of collaborating for the greater good, some will always look to take control. A system which requires control will always see a fight for control. It doesn’t matter what idea, philosophy, religion, the “leaders” use to motivate their followers, there will always be battles, there will always be wars. It doesn’t matter the tactics used, or anything. It is the same. People trying to control, or sit at the controlling table, in the global market. That’s all this is.
Let’s hope we come out of our collective state sooner rather than later, because I honestly do not believe the Earth will tolerate much more of this, and there is a very good chance our landlord will evict us. It’s funny (and sad) how that works. We will see what happens I guess. All the warnings are there, the environment is telling us to knock it off. To knock it off we have to change, fundamentally, the way in which we operate. I’m going to keep trying, I hope you are too.

Have fun, keep running, and remember; if Gil can run then so can you!

Mar 9th The days are flying by

Which is either a really good, or really bad thing. I’ve been busy correcting papers and tests, and teaching classes, and need to get into the habit of updating every day again. It is difficult, after being disrupted in my routines for so long. But it’s ok, I did run Tuesday, yesterday and today! The wind has been fierce and relentless. It’s the start of March and I live on the sea, what should one expect?
So I’m getting a little angry about people’s reactions to protests. On both “sides”. The fact is, there are way more than two sides to anything in this world, but I digress. When someone is protesting “your side” of things and gets arrested, for protesting, stop lamenting it! If you’re not agitating, if you’re not getting in the way, if you’re not disrupting the flow of things, then you’re NOT DOING ANYTHING! If all you do is gather and talk, then you’re having a meeting, not a protest.
“I have identified problem A, my suggested resolution for this injustice is to gather everyone together and voice our opinions, but in no way make a condition where anyone causing the problem would have to change their behavior. They will magically change on their own because I was civil and kind and they will see the errors of their ways.” Not once, in the history of humanity has this EVER been the case! I realize this is from physics and does not always follow when it comes to behavior, but “A body at rest, tends to stay at rest.” Why would anyone change a situation that is comfortable for them? They don’t, people really do not. Never in my life have I seen someone say, “You know what, I’m too comfortable, let’s change that.” If you want to change behavior, you must cause I condition which makes people want to change. So if you’re not disrupting in some meaningful way, then you have done nothing.
Next point on this, yes, driving some jackass into a murderous rage because they will be late for work, because you are blocking the road IS a proper protest. You have identified the injustice and are protesting it. Someone’s road rage is not a proper response. No matter how far removed from being human we have become, and claim “well, so and so has to get to work”. That’s bullshit, at no time is someone else’s life equal to, or even less than you being on time for the big meeting. Most of what people are protesting is another form of this exact problem. That people believe they have the right to determine who is worthy or not of life, of liberty, of the pursuit of happiness (‘Mericanized it there!). By evoking that reaction, they are showing exactly what the problem is and exactly why they need to protest. So yes, It’s dangerous, yes you can go to jail. No you’re not supposed to make friends, and everyone sees the error of their ways because you were so nice. What happens in, the observers, the people on the sideline see, “OK, so and so was protesting this problem, I maybe didn’t see it as a problem, but then this person reacted like this, holy crap, there’s something wrong here.” Protest isn’t about winning over the people who are already invested in consciously promulgating the problem. It’s about exposing the problem, and those who keep it going, to those who either through ignorance or incompetence keep that problem going. The people who have no real opinion on it, but when they see the hyperbolic result in a situation like a protest, recognize the absurdity of the status quo’s position. I hope that’s clear enough
On the other side of things, as I said above, you are not judges, you are not juries, you are not executioners. If you have factual evidence to support your position, by all means produce it. If you do not, then shut up and sit down. Honestly. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, it’s true, but when the facts fly in the face of your opinion you have to be willing to change it. No, I do not care that “science” said eggs are bad for you, then they said eggs are good, then they said, only the egg whites, then they said…” Shut up. 40% of Americans believe the world is only 6,000-10,000 years old. I want to repeat that 4 out of every 10 Americans believe that the Earth is only 6,000-10,000 years old. I am not going to bother you with Carbon-dating. I had students, the other day, marvel that an NBA basketball player honestly asserted that the Earth was flat. My point in this is: If you cannot properly adjudicate very basic scientific facts like the Earth being over 4 billion years old, with the dearth of evidence, if you cannot look through a telescope and see other spherical planets and planetoids, and accept the Earth as being the same, how can you judge anything about anyone else? What gives you the right, at that point, to try and assert that you know what’s best in any manner? If you believe the Great Pyramids at Giza were used as grain silos not tombs, why should I entertain your other opinions?

Have fun, keep running, and remember; if Gil Can Run then so can you!

Mar 5th Long run!

20 miles today, yes, I walked most of the last 5 miles again. I really need to bring more than ONE banana with me on long runs. So based on that I have to decide if I will run Rome or not. It’s in a month, so there’s no long run to take in between. Two bad long runs in a row, but I wasn’t properly equipped for either. And while I didn’t like the disorganization of Rome last year, it will be easier now that I know what to expect. Also, I know I can do better than 4:17. I will figure it out by the end of the week. I also am unsure I want to take on the expense of a hotel room and such for the weekend.
So for dinner I made Tofu parmigiana over linguine. I’m trying to think of different things to make, because I get into these modes where I just make the same thing over and over and over and over again, and never put any thought into what I’m having for food. I can eat the same thing every day, and not get sick or bothered by that for weeks. I know because I’ve done it. It was nice to break up the monotony a little bit.
Today, I was pretty blank while running, there is a good reason for that. There was thunderstorms in the forecast. It was for later in the day, but on a long run, it’s important to pay attention to how weather is changing around you. I got very lucky. Now mind you, I planned everything to be done (even if what happened, and I bonked the last few miles, happened) long before the forecasted T-storms. But still, you never know, forecasts are only the very best prediction based on what we know. We don’t know everything and we get things wrong, this includes meteorologists. Basically, if there are thunderstorms in the forecast, stay away from them. This is not the first time I stupidly ran out with lightning in the forecast. This time worked out better, last time I damned near did get hit. I was racing the last half mile to try and avoid the bolts hitting within a few hundred yards of me. With weather, that’s not that big a distance.
When I started out, the sky to the South of me was dark and nasty, but everything to the North was rather nice. I was heading to Barletta, so North it was. I figured I’d hit the city and head down the Lungomare, then back into Trani. About two miles out from the Barletta city center, the dark clouds rolled in there. As I hit the Lungomare the wind whipped up, in my face. It still wasn’t raining as I turned to head home, and now the wind was a tailwind, which wasn’t as pleasant as you would think, a strong tailwind can be bothersome when you’re trying to pace yourself slower. But at least the sand from the beach wasn’t scrubbing my eyeballs anymore.
As I got back to the Barletta city limits proper, it started raining lightly. It stayed with me for about 20 minutes. The whole time I was keeping my eyes open for flashes and listening for the sounds of distant thunder. Always keeping in mind where the tall trees were on the route and other buildings and things I could shelter under if needed. I was lucky that it was never required. There is not much between Barletta and Trani. It’s about 7 miles between the two cities, and about 2 miles outside of Barletta there is nothing but farmland, no trees, save some olive groves, until you get to the SS16 bis overpass. Two miles out in the open, no real protection at all. As I said, I was lucky.
Other problems today, haha, since I seem to be in that mood. I clench my jaw a lot when I run. I need to be more cognizant of that and relax more. I am in a fair amount of pain right now. In that respect, I’m glad I live by myself and have no one to speak to tonight. Because I don’t even want to sing along to the music right now. I must have been clenching my jaw the whole way, except when I was eating. I could feel the soreness at mile 16 when I was having the second half of the banana.
Alright, so the rundown of the new stuff. Replaced the stolen laptop, with an updated version of the same ASUS laptop. Ended up with a Motorola Z Force phone from Verizon. As much as I wanted unbranded, it was cheaper and easier, and it has the same guts as the S7, only a better camera, and a less bulky Android version, because Motorola doesn’t bog down their phones with all the junk Samsung does. I got the same model backpack as I had before, but the updated version didn’t come in the same colors, so I got the electric blue one they have, it’s flashier sure, but that’s what I want, so it’s harder to lose sight of. The new wireless mouse is nice too. Oh, and no more leather wallet. Yes I’m still drinking milk, eating eggs, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream, but I am trying to cut out as many animal products as possible.
As shitty as it was being robbed, in the end, I am better off. I have all my proper Italian documents now, my US passport needed to be renewed anyway, all I have to do is renew my driver’s license in the US this Summer, and get a motorcycle endorsement while I’m at it. As I said when it happened, yes, destroy the system, disobey, do all that stuff, but don’t steal from the people who are down in the trenches with you, that’s a surefire formula for failure.
Well, I’m glad I did better today than I did yesterday. I need to get myself to bed. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! And just a friendly reminder:

Have fun, keep running, and remember; if Gil Can Run, then so can you!

Mar 4th Developments

I’m back!
I need to thank everyone who helped. My sister ran a GoFundMe, and while I have some issues with how that company does business, it was way more helpful than I could every imagine, because my friends absolutely showed up to save my ass after I got robbed. Lessons learned, I will move on and I will be better.
Whilst I was excommunicated from modern conveniences, I made a resolution to unblock everyone on my Bookfaces personal account, and give them a chance to not be a giant piece of garbage (If I block you, you were being garbage). I have kept that promise to myself. But anyway, that doesn’t matter, what matters is everything else. The running has been alright. Today was horrible! I just had no legs and no heart for some reason, I was having equipment issues. My new phone is massive; and since I’ve been using charity miles, it was weighing me down. The new Mp3 player was malfunctioning, I discovered it was because I fucked up the file transfers from my old hard drive, from my old-old computer, to this one. Yes, I have my old 1TB HD and a docking station to run it, so I can grab those files. So luckily I didn’t even lose that much data!
Alright, so it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, and I’m feeling good. Right? right! In the interim, I’m still kicking ass. I’m coming back to Trani in the Fall, after going back to the US to sew things up for the Summer. But I’ve been so focused on the shit that I’ve had to handle, new ID, new computer, new phone, recovering old phone number, shit like that, I haven’t been focusing on my running. Still been taking time out to do what I can to fight for what’s right in the world, not completely blinded to the world, never can be. But there’s been lots to handle, getting all your identity documents stolen is a big fucking deal, and that I managed to recover all of them, and even get two new ones, in the span of two months, that’s pretty impressive.
More will come, I promise, and I will also start writing and not sharing my keyboard rantings all the time, I need to focus and put everything in book or movie form, I need to get myself some discipline, in some ways. While I’ve been exiled from the keyboard, I’ve had lots of time to think about how to do certain things, and certain things I want to say and how I want to say them. I need to get writing discipline. I need to make it all work, and get shit done, time is wasting! But I’ll leave it at that tonight, I need some sleep, I need to try and get a long run in, with lightning storms in the forecast, I need to wake up early and be ready to go as soon as possible to try and get some serious miles in.

Have fun, keep running, and remember; if Gil Can Run, then so can you!

Jan 9th I was robbed

So, I’m in Napoli. Met up with a friend, we’re talking and having coffee, and someone took off with my bag containing my computer, cellphone, all my IDs, and credit cards. I’m in very bad place right now.

The paperwork is a nightmare, the loss of a cellphone and computer hurts really bad. I have a lot to say about the philosophy of crime, but when I’m not typing with my thumbs.

What I do have to mention is my friend, who feels wholly responsible  and shouldn’t, got me a new phone and simcard without even thinking about it. I didn’t know, and still don’t know the proper way to thank them. I will never be able to pay them back and I have failed to assuage their misplaced guilt for the situation.

I’m dealing with it fairly well. I’m depressed, angry, I feel violated. I know the road ahead will be difficult. But it will be ok. Stuff is stuff, I will eventually replace it. The problems I’m having are existential.

I am going to leave it at that, I will fill you all in as soon as possible.

Have fun, keep running, and remember; if Gil can run then so can you!

Jan 5th 102 seems like a long time

Between last night and today I did an accidental tribute run. Pasquale, Donato, Maria, Philomena, Giusepina, Giovanni, Elena, Alberto, Giorgio, Elisabetta, Francesco, Giachino, Anna, Charles. This is my grandmother and her brothers and sisters. At 102 years old my Aunt Helen (real name Elena) was put on morphine today, due to unsteady breathing. I have to leave to go back to work tomorrow no matter what happens. When she is gone, there will only be three left, and my grandmother will be the oldest sister for the first time in her 97 years. But I did 3.5 miles last night, and 6.7 miles this afternoon, or 10.2 miles. 102, that’s the number of the day.
Since 1913 a lot has happened. We like to think of things as a series of events, First World War, Second, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, so many skirmishes here and there. They’re all one thing. Basically, the world has been at war, the same basic people, for the same basic reasons (making money) for slightly less time than Aunt Helen has been around. Humanity had first flown 10 years before she was born (doesn’t matter if you think the first flight was in Kittyhawk, NC or Bridgeport, CT yes there is a controversy there). Yet she was only 56 years old when man first landed on the moon.
It’s a very long span of time for a human. Through all the changes and struggles she’s seen it’s still nothing in scheme of the planet, the solar system, the galaxy, or the universe. While it’s nice to see people grow and learn and things change in the span of a human life. We need to stop thinking of time in the way we divide it up.While we have learned over the last few centuries that the Earth is not the center of the Universe. We still have all our systems set for Humans to be the center of the Universe, and it’s simply not true. That we look at the world, and what we can offer, and take, in terms of the span of our lifetime is what causes most of the problems and inequities of our society. It’s why we destroy the environment, hoard resources, look down on each other, look up to others, treat animals and nature as possessions. Putting ourselves at the center of our way of measuring time allows us to look at the world as something which serves us.
The world, the Universe, owes us nothing. It is not here to serve us. If not for our ability to make and use tools, it would have eaten us. We are here to serve the Universe, we are here to give what we can to it, not to take. Nothing is out there to save us, to make us better. We are here to make the Universe better, we are here to take care and be helpful, to discover and explore. That is all. When we view ourselves as better, as separate, like we are owed something from this Universe, then we are failing. When we fail in this manner, we delve into the madness which we find ourselves constantly surrounded. We think our world is getting worse, the reality is, it simply isn’t changing. We don’t do anything to change it. We do everything within the worldview of anthropocentrism. We look at everything as though we are the prime movers, or our “gods” are the prime movers. Either way, it is either us, or our agents, putting things in motion for our needs and our desires. Ever noticed the “Will of God” always coincides with the will of some, or all humanity? Because it’s merely us declaring supremacy over something we have no right to.
If we want to change our world, if we truly wish to change this condition, we must change how we see our place in the Universe. We must stop seeing ourselves as the center, and in that respect we need to stop measuring time in a way that suits us.
Some people will say, “But a second is now determined off the decay of a Cesium 133 atom, so it’s not based on Earth’s rotation.” But the reality is the cesium decay is .10 seconds less per day. We found the atom that decays at about the same rate as Earth’s general rotation around its axis and based everything off that. The arrogance is astounding. If we really want to change how things are, we truly have to change how we look at ourselves, and our world, and what our place in it is. If we keep looking at things the same way then we will continue to have the same results.

Have fun, keep running, and remember; if Gil can run then so can you!

Jan 1st Same old me! I kick ass

Off to a good start, new shoes on an old course and a best on that particular race route. I was a minute slow of my 5k PR, which for a first race on new shoes I’ll take it. I feel good afterward, and looking for some time off. Although, I may try to make it to the club run tomorrow night and Wednesday night. We have to see.
So, we start right, and that’s always a good thing. As I said, I will keep doing my best every day, and I won’t hang my head even when things don’t go my way, as long as I can say I did everything I could. Today, I was tentative at the start. It’s all about trusting the shoes at that point. We will see how they work with longer distances, But I ran fast and feel good, even had a fastest mile on my Garmin at 7:07! Although, another app which syncs with the Garmin says it was a 7:19 minutes. I have to work out my core and stretch and work on speed, and get myself to shave 40 seconds or so off each mile. I think I can do it, I really do. I need to really start working on it, honestly.
Therefore, there’s work to do. Still not setting goals, just a slight direction. Just keep on that heading and do my best to take care of any obstacles in my way. Need to go up, over, through, or destroy anything in my way. That’s just the way it is, I have to power on and get it all done. No matter what, I have to stay focused on what’s important. It’s easy to get distracted in this world, and I have to not let that happen. Running, and with everything else. This year is going to be tough, and we all have to be ready. For today, I’ll just be happy with my accomplishment, and happy with the new shoes. Although, I do not support the mentioned shoe company in any way.

And a song just because

Have fun, keep running, and remember; if Gil can run then so can you!

Dec 31st New day, old numbers

I kept my streak going even though I have felt horribly nauseated all day. So let’s just look at the numbers from this year.

2 Marathons:
Maratona di Roma 4:12:35
Maratona delle Cattedrali 3:47:45

1 Half Marathon:
Vorbasse Half Marathon 1:50:47

3 5ks:
Craft Brew Races New Haven 5k 24:52
Courtney Honda Independence Day 5000 23:58
Chilly Chili Run 5k 24:16

I did not run many races at all. But I kept my mileage up. 1527.82 miles (2458.79 km) over 237.38 hours, burning 186,332 calories. So I basically matched last year’s output. Even though I only ran 35 miles (56.3 km) in May due to injury and uncertainty.
It was not an easy year in many ways, and in others it was the best year ever. I suppose the “Facts of Life’ theme had it right. “You take the good, you take the bad, you take them all and there you have…” and that’s that. I have no goals again for next year, I am just going to keep moving along. I’m going to try and match the past two years, I think I am comfortable at this output. I hope I can run some more races, but it is difficult with my work schedule and the general lack of races, relatively. We will see what the year brings though.
Meanwhile, I will spend the rest of this year watching the best New Year’s movies, Ghostbuster 2 and Trading Places. Seriously, they are New Year’s movies. Definitely two of my favorites. Both Dan Aykroyd movies too.
Stay safe always, but particularly tonight, it’s one of the more dangerous nights on the roads, because we tend to not pay attention to not driving when we’ve been drinking. I don’t understand why this is such a difficult concept. But whatever.
Remember that what we define as a “New Year” is arbitrary and our way of telling time is anthropocentric and it’s flawed. So don’t go too crazy about everything, do your best, stay positive, fight fascism and keep strong. That’s what I’m focusing on this year.

Have fun, keep running, and remember; if Gil can run then so can you!

Dec 25th Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, be inclusive

It has been a crazy few days. I have kept the streak alive, even though I did not run in Paris. This morning I did my old 5 mile loop around my hometown. My legs are still pretty sore and tired from my travels. But I kept a good pace and overall I had a good run.
It’s been nice to see my family again and share the Holiday with them. It will be nice to see friends and hang out and run, and maybe even see some snow, but part of me can’t wait to get back to work. I already feel like I’m wasting my time. But, I have a race to run next weekend, and so there are some things to focus on.
I need to keep running too, not just for the challenge, but all the food I’ve already eaten. There is more to come for course, there’s New Year’s Day, and another Christmas party tomorrow because when your parents are divorced, you always do two Christmases. I tried to get myself to one Christmas this year. I figured coming back from Europe would encourage my father to break his traditions and come down for Christmas Eve, but that didn’t happen.
So running and food are basically what I’m up to. Trying to avoid everything else while I’m back here. Ignoring what’s about to happen, don’t want to get into arguments. I may go into New York on Tuesday, I may have to take a stroll past and give the finger at least. So enough of things I don’t want to think about.
The Doctor Who Christmas Special starts here in about 5 minutes, going to relax and watch and enjoy. Sometimes, we do need entertainment, we need to relax and enjoy. Art, in all it forms, have a definite purpose and value to human existence. I will definitely enjoy watching and maybe having some egg nog and some chocolate. Which sounds like a great idea for this Christmas.
Since he died today

Have fun, keep running, and remember; if Gil can run then so can you!

Dec 20th When I lost my mind the truth set me free

Here we are on the cusp of the shortest day of the year (in the northern hemisphere). Got my mile in today. Two more work days and then I travel back to the United States for a couple weeks with my family. Spend the holidays and then back to work, a new schedule, new challenges as well as some of the old.
Life is a series of challenges, and we absolutely go out of our way to make them more difficult than they should ever be. The more I realize about all of it the less sense it makes to me. The more it pains me to see what is happening in the world and the more I wonder if I should be so concerned with the long-term health and viability of humanity on the whole.
I love my friends and family, and I certainly don’t want anything bad to happen to them. Beyond that, I look at how we treat each other, how we treat the animals, how we look at the planet as something to be conquered and owned, and we never seem to learn enough to realize that way is a dead-end. The problem of course isn’t that we just will destroy ourselves, it’s how many other species end up being destroyed due to our ignorance, negligence, or even our designs and greed. So I honestly question the continued existence of humanity as a good thing.
We, of course, are capable of great things. We’ve shown how truly amazing humanity can be, in very small ways. In total, we seem to keep destroying more and more as we move forward.
I like to be hopefully and think of the current political climate as the last tantrum of the societal babies we have in this world, but it’s not true. The fact is these people are created every generation and become strong as their numbers grow into old age. Fear of the unknown, feelings of loss of a past that never was, greed for more time, for more value, a worry that in the end the things they worked and lived for, that which they truly believed in was ultimately meaningless. That their descendants will be those deemed to not have value, as they have not valued others. All these factors come together to create the great lie of conservatism.
But let’s talk about that idea of value. Even though I listed it last, I believe it to be the biggest threat. Capitalism is our problem. First, I need to evaluate what capitalism is. A system of distributing resources based on the perceived value of people, places, and things, brought about by the faith in the desirability of those things by those deemed worthy or acceptable to assign value. Those people, we generally call financiers and brokers, then turn and convince others of the value they believe in and dole out resources based on this faith-based system. Even when the system was based on “metals” it was still a belief that a metal was valuable because of its beauty, scarcity, or some other reason deemed suitable. No matter what the article of faith is, the whole system is based on faith, faith that things are not equal.
“This metal is worth more because it is shiner, that makes it better, and therefore more valuable. This rock is harder to find than this one and so I am willing to pay more for it. This factory makes more money than that one, so I will give them money to make more money.” Yes, that last one is exactly the thought process behind the modern market. In that, we find our most profitable “companies” generally exploit the labor force to its fullest. Our electronics companies use metals mined from the sweat of slave laborers, people often denied basic human rights and treated as disposable tools to get a job done and line the mine-owners’ pockets with more profit. Textiles have always been made and cut and sewn by child-laborers and exploited women as long as we’ve had a textile industry. Factories simply move across the globe from colony to colony, from developing country to developing country as people begin to shut down the monstrous practices of this industry. Even our modern food supply exploits, not only our labor resources, but also our evolutionary family. First for the labor aspect. No politician or businessman in the US who says so is interested in ending migrant worker exploitation, in the form of deportation. That is the biggest lie ever sold to fools by charlatans. The unpresident-select makes money off of exploiting workers, at his businesses, in the plants that make the clothing line he sells. He needs people coming over the border with no rights and no legal standing, he depends on them for higher profits, to make his business look more profitable. So do most of them, but a majority of those people are working out fields, in California and Texas, the Midwest, for what? They do jobs, back-breaking, low-profit-margin jobs the “farmers” (read farm-owners), need to make look more profitable so their company stock will rise. The modern farm is not “American Gothic”, it’s not “Ma” and “Pa” and the children working the fields and bringing the prize pig to market. It hasn’t been that idealized schlock for many, many, many generations. Farming in the US, from Slavery, to Sharecropping, to the Dust Bowl, to Undocumented Workers, has been a steady progression of exploitation and abuse.
Now let’s look at the abuse of the animals. We create these Frankenstein’s Monsters, these behemoth creatures, they maximize meat yields, while making a normal life for these creatures impossible. To the point the industry can even claim their farming habits as being a kindness, to make life bearable for poultry that cannot naturally sexually reproduce anymore, calves crammed into crates where they can barely move, livestock packed to the rafters to the point where they shit and piss on each other regularly. Pumped full of drugs; antibiotics, steroids. Packed into trucks and sent out to slaughter, sometimes killed in truly horrific ways to appease some people’s religious ideology. The cruelty of humanity is exemplified best in the treatment of anything we deem other than human.
What is amazing in all this, is how we deem each other as something other than human. The heartlessness we use to make our system of value stay together. Afterall, if you view others as equal, how can you determine who “deserves” more, and who “deserves” less? Because the system requires a generally finite amount of “value” someone must always have less for someone else to have more. As time moves on, in order to have more and more for yourself, more than one individual must have less and less. How can you say someone deserves to starve, a child deserves to go hungry, if you view those people as equal? How can you condemn a person to suffer if you see yourself in them? If you see your god in them? How can you demand their obedience to suffering and your dominance if you are not their “better”? You can’t, and so we tell ourselves lies, we make up whole theories, and have even tried to have science prove superiority in order to justify our system and the suffering it causes. This is the great unseen truth of Capitalism. A system which requires scarcity, lacking, less in order for something to be more, will necessarily create other systems in which those with less will be determined to be lacking in some way, and systems of thought, whole philosophies, will be designed in order to justify why that class is left behind and not worthy. Whether it be other humans, animals, or even the Earth itself.
Someone asked me how we can destroy this system, when those in control of the weapons also benefit from the system. The answer is non-compliance. But it’s obviously not as simple as just saying no. One must first change the conditioning they have been subject to, their ancestors have been subject to. Not just the surfactant things that some believe. But even things that we believe about where wealth comes from. Why wealth is distributed in the manner it is, and that somehow people’s only motivation to work is somehow the acquisition of material goods. We must accept that as beings with a mind capable of discovering the very nature of the Universe itself, that we are all capable, and responsible to overcome the mere desire for survival, and that we are clearly meant to, and have evolved to do more. We must learn to actually have faith in ourselves, and each other. We have been taught that we are not good, we are not just, we are not decent. We are taught we are selfish, we are lazy, we are base. This is fundamentally untrue. We are then taught that some are worse than we are! This is grossly untrue.
So we must break our prejudices, and our conditioning. We must then stop participating in the system which creates the inequality. Grow food with your neighbors, share it. If your tomato crop is yielding more than the person next door, it’s not up to you to judge why. It’s up to you to tell them what you did, when they ask, so they can have a bountiful harvest next year. It does not serve anyone if you attempt to keep your way secret and capitalize on that success. The virtuous will teach what they can, for the benefit of all. This is where the argument needs to be made that a sustainable world with enough for all is possible.
The first part of this hinges on one of the most important parts. We currently produce enough food to properly feed every man, woman, and child on this planet, no question about it. The only reason food is scarce is due to market manipulation. We make a choice to create hungry people, we play with the prices of products for profit, and we cause suffering in its wake. A truffle is worth lots of money, they are hard to find and coveted for the flavor they impart on things. But if everyone had truffles all over, or if nobody liked how they tasted, they would be worth nothing. But they are still an organism growing, they’re not there for our benefit, they don’t grow to create value for those skilled in finding them. They don’t grow so chefs have something to put into food. They grow because they exist, that is their value. Nothing more, nothing less. Their value is not determined by the outside observer, it is determined by the fact they exist in the first place. Food, no matter what it is, is needed for every living creature. Whether it converts the Sun’s energy into fuel for its system, or it uses chemicals to digest other things for the same ends. Everything needs some sort of fuel. What is the value of it? How much is a calorie worth? We are all entitled to live, because we are here. There should be no profit in what which we simple need to maintain life. Food, air, water, no creature can get by without these things in some combination.
The next is that we require shelter. Humans specifically, require shelter. We developed big brains, the ability to make and use tools, and to walk bipedally in order to use tools while moving. We did not develop thick coats of fur and blubber for insulation against the cold. We did not develop complex systems of water storage and cooling to survive the heat of a desert. We need to shelter ourselves from extreme elements, we need to shelter ourselves from other creatures who wish to predate on us. Shelter, clothing, these things are required for anyone to live. What is the virtue in profit from these things?
There is no virtue in telling others they can’t live. They don’t deserve it. Based on whose objective standard do the poor not have a right to food, shelter, clothing, clean water? The very basics of life? Why is creating this a virtuous choice? It is not. So that leaves us a question as to where to go and how to get there. It is not easy.
Obviously, the first thing is to get together everything you can and learn to do as much as you can for yourself. Teach these skills, survival skills, cooking skills, growing skills, building skills, weaving skills, sewing skills, whatever it is, teach any and all who will listen. Start by doing as much as you can for yourself. Get the people around who are doing the same and share your work, share your knowledge, make each other better. Will all industries crash? No. Will there be resistance? Yes. As more and more people turn away from the production/consumption paradigm, those who stand to lose wealth and resources will resist, they already do in some places. If enough people can band together and set up a communal system to provide for the needs and well-being of all, they can break free of the system entirely. If enough communities do this, eventually they can break the stranglehold capitalism has on society.
When enough communities become self-sufficient, that is when industries will crash. It is difficult, it is hard work. It is going without, it is sacrificing. But why would anyone do this? Why would to sacrifice your comfort, to end all this? Well, if the moral argument hasn’t swayed you. If you are unmoved that equality is impossible in a system dependent on inequality, then perhaps a more practical matter can move you to action.
Let’s consider the idea of a system depending on infinite growth of production and consumption on a limited world. Let’s ignore all the massive environmental warning signs we already see everywhere and the challenges we face because of them. Let’s just say that all these things like climate change and extinctions and rising seas and everything else we see that’s measurable and real is a huge coincidence. Let’s just look at the growth of the system. The system must keep growing, every day more and more wealth is created and distributed. Let’s think of it like a game of monopoly where the bank can never run out of money. Eventually, someone owns the whole board, leaving the rest of the players poor and starving right? In a normal game of monopoly that’s where you win. But in this modified game, the people left destitute must continue traveling around the board paying rent, we could say buying food, gas for their car, whatever. How are they getting money to do this?
The “winner” is lending the money to the bank, at a high interest rate, because he can. The bank is then lending that money to the people at a higher interest rate, the bank needs to try and make money too right? But what’s actually happened in the modern world is that the bank is loaning itself money, then loaning it to the people. Well, of course they don’t always directly loan it, they give money to “business owners” by investing in stocks. In turn they pay the people to work at producing something so they can pay the money back to the business owner. They then pay the bank or investor back as a dividend.
So then what are the players making? With what materials? The board, it’s the only thing left. They have to take the board apart and keep making things out of it, to keep making money, to keep paying back the loan, that keeps getting loaned out, so the interest just builds. Where’s the problem? There’s only so much board, as more of it is destroyed to be turned into profit so the wealthy can own more of the board, what is left? Infinite growth in a finite world is impossible.
On the good news side of that, the Earth is not a cardboard game area. It is a living organism, and it has defenses against that which would try to destroy it. And that’s what we face now, and as I said, if you don’t want to believe we’re facing it now we will in the future. There is only so much we can take from the Earth without returning before it breaks down.
Imagine a library where no one ever returned books and no one ever gave new books. It would be empty in no time. That is our current economy, our current society. A Monopoly game with no end where the other players are forced to make things out of the game pieces and board until it is completely used up and unsustainable. A library where no one ever returned a book. This is what we face. There is nothing but doom at the end of this road, even if there are struggles down the other path.
We are fed the lie that capitalism is the best system we can think of that works. It’s not that we know this, it’s that we’ve not, in the modern age of man, tried any other way. “But they tried socialism in…” not really. A ruling oligarchy, or dictator has forced some people to live by some tenant of some philosophy, but no one has actually ever abandoned capitalism. That is why the USSR failed, until the recent coup in the United States, I do have to admire the brass balls with which Putin did that. But even there they don’t hide their capitalism anymore.
So we’ve always just accepted this idea that some people deserve and others don’t as gospel. We ignore the suffering we cause. We ignore the warnings systems beyond our control give us. We generally just meander through, pigheadedly, under the delusion that somehow having more money insultes us, because we have done what is right in our current society’s view of morality. The just, the righteous make money and can sustain themselves, those who have not enough to survive are bad, they have done something to deserve it, and this is their punishment. That is how we see the world.
We need to change it. We need to move away, we need to look at ourselves no as a consumer, a producer, or a product. We need to see the inherent value of all things, and look at ourselves as explorers, learners, creators, equals of all of creation, not better, not worse, just different. We are not bare animalistic beings like the philosophers who created this system would have us believe. We are amazing beings, wired for empathy, wired for compassion, spoiled by bad ideas who’s times have long since passed. We have to rise above and bring ourselves into the future economy, the future society, or surely we shall all perish.

“I walked the streets until I lost my mind
And that was
The best place to be
When I lost my mind the truth set me free”

Have fun, keep running, and remember; if Gil can run then so can you!