We the People Hold the Power
It is becoming increasingly evident that our economic paradigm perpetuates various forms of social decadence. That is to say, the built-in structure under which the monetary system operates is intrinsically anti-economical for the vast majority of people on this planet. At this point, there seems to be no controversy on this issue. Weather you see the glass as half empty or half full, most people acknowledge that it is leaking rather quickly. Any objective viewpoint on the current state of global poverty cannot deny that something is going horribly wrong, and is entirely unnecessary. However, the source of this suffering and inequality is ambiguous at best. Most of us are far too eager to point the finger at governments, banks, and corporations; and indeed, it is these great powers that have propped society up on the pedestal of greed and ignorance that it currently resides at. But, it is the people, you and I, which maintain the status quo for the powers that be. Whatever institutions or individuals are at the source of our problems is irrelevant, for the people are the true gatekeepers of social norms. The problem is that we have become complicit and indifferent to the suffering of most other peoples for we simply feel helpless on the global scene. This helplessness we feel is a myth held together by our inaction and lack of meaningful communication with one another. Sadly, we have been hoodwinked into recognizing ourselves as insignificant to a world we see as much larger than ourselves; and consequently, we are far too willing to align our morals and ideals with a source of established power rather than from our own intuitions.
It truly is the people who hold the power to change everything; just consider a simple hypothetical scenario: Imagine that the citizens of the United States actually united and declared that Wal-mart is having a detrimental effect on society. If we truly organized with one voice and acted on our ideals, the juggernaut of Wal-mart could be non-existent in mere days. All we would have to do is collectively communicate and decide that no one is to shop there. It would, obviously, end their ability to stay in power. As you can see, the power to change the world lies at our fingertips; it is simply a lack of organization and mutual goals that prevent us from transforming the world into a better place. A real life example of how mass social awareness lead to the instant downfall of an entire industry can be noticed with the fur industry. When Americans saw baby seals getting clubbed to death in order for the top 1% to have a tangible symbol of their wealth, outrage rightfully broke out and the industry was nearly demolished overnight. This example was unique in that it could be instantly noticed by all and was inherently felt to be wrong; and so we changed the world, and saved uncountable innocent animals from a brutal and untimely death.
Perhaps it is time that we the people accept responsibility for our world being the way it is. It is tempting to pass the buck when it seems we have no ability to change the status quo, but this lack of power is a mere illusion held together only by our unwillingness to act and unite against a system which seems to be so much more powerful than we are. Electing a Republican or Democrat every four to eight years will do nothing to alter this dire situation. Our system of representatives is a farce maintained to give us the illusion of choice. How is it that we only have two parties to represent a nation of over three hundred million people? Republicans and Democrats are merely two sides of the same coin. We must learn to abandon these old ideas of social tribalism and identify ourselves as human beings, not as mouth pieces for a political party. When we learn to align our morals and ideals with our collective intuitions over established sources of power, then, and only then, will we be on the road to real social progress.
