Here comes the Revolution...

[The_Commonist]

And our friend Al Gore has shown us that there can be a revolution you can dance to!!

The question becomes "Now What?" Now what do we do with this? Is it as simple as changing the light bulbs, buying local produce, swapping carbon credits and driving a hybrid car? If we elect the right people, will they really do what needs to be done? Is there a positive way out of this mess that we find ourselves in as a civilization? Not just the climate crisis, but the political crisis and spiritual crisis we face as a nation?

I think we have to look to the economic realm. That is the "why" in what they do. It's the economy, stupid. The political sphere is used as cover for and enforcer for the economic sphere. Traditionally, revolutions have been about redirecting wealth. I would like to propose an alternative revolution to this traditional approach. Simply put, we need to redirect profit.

I don't know if you got a chance to read something I posted here on the 4th of July. It was a quiet day around here and it sank pretty quickly, so it wouldn't surprise me if you missed it. It was called "The Commonist Manifesto." It can be found here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1247865

and here:

http://www.commonizm.org

In a nutshell, in this manifesto, we talk about the need to preserve The Commons.
The corporate agenda is to destroy the functions of government and privatize everything on the planet. Everytime we spend our dollars in the corporate realm, the profits go to the top of the food chain, and towards making that project a reality.

The essence of Commonizm is to create funds to buy The Commons to hold in trust for society at large. We are starting a company that will donate it profits to these kinds of funds, and we need to encourage others to do the same. That way, profit can be used for the good of society, rather than for the good of the 500 or so richest families on the planet, the institutions they guide, and their agenda of control. They want to own everything, and charge us usage fees for our planet. We must not allow that to happen, and in our manifesto, we begin the process of spelling out what we can do to prevent that.

Al Gore is on the right track, but there's something missing from his message. We would like to fill in that something, and offer a solution. It's going to be a long, hard road to take back our world from those who would exploit it and us for their personal gain, but I don't see that we have much of a choice!

Do you? Would you join the revolution? If we do it right, it might even be fun!

[Jim Sagle]

1. I think you have a branding problem.

:-)

[shadowknows69]

2. "a revolution without dancing, is a revolution not worth having"

V

[Jim Sagle]

9. And a "revolution" named "commonist" is dead before conception.

[Labors of Hercules]

7. I agree with you there.

Eliminate the "ism" and you've got me hooked... How about "allshare", "globalshare" or "Earthshare"... and instead of "commons", which implies publicly traded common stock, call them global shares or "universals"...

Just a thought from a marketing standpoint.

[The_Commonist]

10. A branding problem?

Oh... quite the contrary! You will never forget this brand now. It's instantly recognizable, instantly controversial, and the youngsters, and I hang out with plenty of them, get it, like it and are always looking for ways to "stick it to the man." Sorry to say it, but "Allshare" or "Earthshare" sound as wimpy and corporate as every other sneaker and soft drink, and the young people, the ones who's attitudes are still being shaped, relate more to controversy than to corporate safety. Do you have any idea how many people walk down the street in this town wearing hammer and sickle tee shirts?

Things like common stock can be viewed as being part of The Commons. Nabisco and other huge food corporations would be great targets for Commonist attention! We should buy stock in those companies, and then try to affect their behavior in the marketplace as owners, as well as consumers.

[Jim Sagle]

11. Good luck with this silliness.

[The_Commonist]

12. Thanks!

It should be fun.

[Usrename]

3. It's the ecology stupid!

:)

[bridgit]

4. the war in iraq will have squandered the capital investment required...

to make the switch to renewables in a reasonable span of time...it is not known even yet just what this criminal bush family admin has wrought upon the future of not merely this nation but the entire world

on Reliable Sources this very morning; Howie Kurtz, of course, tried to tie NBC coverage of the event in with their support of left-wing causes, the DU vid forum is lit up with Live Earth vids, Katy Kay made the point that the concert was somewhat less than "carbon neutral" (be looking for that term, that will be the term and not "Yay! Zippity do-dah, we can dance to it!!"), NBC has not all of a sudden seen past what is a commercially viable event sequence, while promoters want beer & hotdog sales as well...

corporate-commercialism is fed by fossil fuel, that is the way it is, and it is time for a change

[SammyWinstonJack]

14. Was that the plan all along, to squander the capital investment required

to make the switch to renewables? Or at least part of the plan? Now that you mention this, I have to wonder?

[C_U_L8R]

5. Then there ought to be dancing in the streets

Washington and the press won't recognize
a revolution until it's on their front steps

[rosesaylavee]

6. I don't think a revolution can be shaped and directed that easily

Perhaps we start out in our own homes and with our friends and families and local communities... we need to spread the word on what happened yesterday...

A couple of ideas here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1274669&mesg_id=1274669

[KAT119]

15. Also, to spread the word that Bush War Criminals drop Depleted

Uranium Bombs every day in Iraq that have a poisonous/cancer causing shelf life of 2.5 BILLION YEARS---BLOWIN IN THE WIND AND WOMBS WORLDWIDE!!

[donsu]

8. the cure will not be simple - the cure will be a drastic change OR

the earth crashes and what will be, will be.

[The_Commonist]

13. Yes, the cure will be drastic change...

...or the earth will crash. Let's be the change we envision, and counter the violence, greed and ennui that we see with dancing in the streets. Unless you just want to let it crash. I don't. I'm ready to put my money where my mouth is!

[blues90]

16. You know it's really going to take alot to change people

I admit Gore has a great idea going . I look around where I live and no one seems much interested or even aware of what's going on . They drive their cars as if gas is 50 cents a gallon and the traffic is none stop , malls are filled and the beat just seems to go on unhampered here .

I do my part but it seems the gadgit industry has people in a trance , people here just love their cars and electronics . They are the ones who need to be woken up and soon .

I really hope this planet makes it , well the planet will survive it's the life that will vanish . .