America On Strike!

Ok, this is my first time starting a thread. Mods, I put this in Political, if there is a better place for it, please move it, thanks.
I recently joined ATS a few months back after lurking for much longer and I feel that it is time to throw an idea or two out here for the masses to feast upon.

Everyday, I peruse the ATS contents and I can't help but notice (and partake at times) that many posts on here are about Guns, Gun Control, DHS & bullets and pretty much awaiting major civil unrest and militaristic consequences. I am not going to dispute that something is afoot but I have been entertaining a few thoughts in my head and want to share with you.

Money it seems is at the root of everything. TPTB have been controlling people with money for as long as the notion of a value based system has been around. Yes, people, we value money because it was given a value and we were told to believe that if we traded papers/coins/shiny rocks/precious metals of certain unit values that we would be trading fairly and equally in our transactions. Some of the coinage & paper we hold today costs more to make than the value it represents. The system has been severely manipulated and almost all of the population has become slave to this way of living.

A long time ago, people used to barter with their neighbors. One item of a known, or agreed upon value for another item or some agreeable unit of work. Folks also used to pitch in and raise a barn or house for the sheer satisfaction of being helpful to their neighbors and communities or as part of a bargaining to get help on their own projects. We really never should have gotten so far from this way of life even with the technological niceties we have today.

Now, TPTB seem to have us over a barrel and all but totally enslaved. We operate on the premise that we are feee to do whatever we want, especially on our own (rented/mortgaged/possibly owned outright) property but the truth is that you can't do any construction or modifications to existing structures without a permit ($) or you risk a fine($$$) see the fear element here? I am all for safety and I understand the need for permits to ensure harmony in a neighborhood lest you want to build an ark and block your neighbors sun etc... But why pay? Why not just get approval? It costs money to be part of society, that's why, you pay in to be a slave to the freedoms you want. Want to drive a car, same thing, buy into the licensed driver's society. Anyhow, the government and banking systems have plenty of mechanisms in place to keep us needing to work in order to get time to rest and enjoy life.

Here is the meat of my post, everyone is talking about how the government is going to be cutting us down for rising up against them. I am quite self-sufficient, write software for a living but balance my life with mechanical skills, such as carpentry, metal working, metal casting, robotics, gardening, alternative energy harvesting (wind/solar) and experimentation such as hydrogen and unity generator theories. I really wish more folks in America were still self sufficient for we coudl head off a real revolution by organizing a US strike. If everyone did their part by stocking up supplies and then one day simply all stop going to work producing for the masses and instead, stay at home and supply the household with whatever is needed, like early pioneers did, maybe stop paying all your bills and eventualy the government and banks will have to do something (if there are any people working in any of the offices anymore).

I know it is VERY UNREALISTIC given the scope of such an undertaking, especially since most of us don't know how to manufacture a sandwich, even, anymore. But I was just wondering is there another way to stem the tide of TPTB without shots fired? Money is the root of the power. If we could get along without it, bartering and creating what we need, we might be able to create the change we desire. I am not saying we need to do away with money forever, we just need to understand our own value, what we bring to society as a person and a community before we really settle on an items worth. Why do we have inflation, because any time TPTB feel that we are getting close to paying down our debts, they create more.

I know this is going to be viewed as a crazy man posting crazy ideas but I keep thinking there must be a way. For those of us here that aren't quite onboard with President Obama, you will be happy to hear that my plan could work because we just need the other 49% of the population to stop participating in the cycle [sarc.]

Well, let me have your thoughts? Anybody got any other whacked out ideas, I mean we might need to try something if we don't have guns and ammo, right?

Everyone has heard of and I have seen a few times "the blue flu".
Is it even possible for there to be a "Green flu"?
What if the whole US military got a 24 hour bug?

reply to post by g146541
That would be extremely hard to do and they don't have a union to protect them. If they have an organized "flu", they would probably all be marked AWOL or something and even traitor and dishonorably discharged..... Of course, we would be without an armed force so that would have to instill fear in the TPTB.

I think that if there were to be any organizing of that sort, TPTB's moles would out some folks and there would be a rash of "training accidents" & "friendly fire" to keep the rest in line.

I would really like to think there is an alternative way to bring change, that's why I started this post.

thanks.

reply to post by evc1shop


If you could get 30% or more of "taxpaying" Americans to abandon the system, burn their money, and adopt a barter and trade "private" economy without being confronted by the federal government, agencies and military and without civil war... It would destroy the federal government and most of the financial systems in this country. It would all collapse quickly. Of course the rest of the country would fall into chaos, society would likely breakdown completely.

You can do that, or wait for them to destroy the system on their own.

Either way leads to a similar outcome.

reply to post by ausername
I don't know if it is the same. If we could all take responsibility to create and supply for ourselves first and then move outward in our community circles helping out and trading goods you could crash the monetary system while maintaining and expanding a supply line of bartered goods. There is a possibility that those in the 70% may start defecting to the other side and adopting the ways out of necessity or from seeing the that TPTB's power has been leveraged/undermined.

ETA:
I think that could transcend a period of chaos as more people get on board. Of course there will be a lot of people with guns, knives, sling-shots etc. who may feel that they don't want to put the effort in and will just try to steal from those who can provide.

Originally posted by evc1shop
reply to post by ausername

 

I don't know if it is the same. If we could all take responsibility to create and supply for ourselves first and then move outward in our community circles helping out and trading goods you could crash the monetary system while maintaining and expanding a supply line of bartered goods. There is a possibility that those in the 70% may start defecting to the other side and adopting the ways out of necessity or from seeing the that TPTB's power has been leveraged/undermined.

ETA:
I think that could transcend a period of chaos as more people get on board. Of course there will be a lot of people with guns, knives, sling-shots etc. who may feel that they don't want to put the effort in and will just try to steal from those who can provide.

edit on 15-3-2013 by evc1shop because: ETA

Op I give you a star and flag, though what your proposing, no matter how it was done, would implode the economy. As not one person can barter enough that they can gather themselves to afford a giant crane, or a jumbo jet, or an oil rig etc....

It takes a lot of rescources to be where we are at technologically, and unfortunately, at present anyhow, the only entities in the world with enough rescources to support large yet necessary infrastructure and projects like the interstate highway system for example, are the suoer rich and corrupt governments.

The people could never make a coast to coast highway system on tue local level, as some communities woukd never be abke to get their hands on the necessary materials and knowhow.

Without our current system, most of the people alive today would he dead in a month or two tops. The world could only support about a quarter of the population without modern technologies and abilities to transport large quantities of goods over great distances.

This entire system woukd implode overnight if your plan took effect.

I cant give you any better ideas, as yours is a good one for breaking their strangle hold over the people, but it also hurts a lot of people, which the entire point of changing the system is to help in the first place.

reply to post by evc1shop

I really wish more folks in America were still self sufficient for we coudl head off a real revolution by organizing a US strike. If everyone did their part...

Pretty much all of the solutions that people bring forth to 'fix everything' involves the mass cooperation and awakening of a populace already indoctrinated into an "us vs. them" mentality.

While competition may bring individual security, Westerners rarely consider the state of their community to be the 'barometer' of their own quality of life. (Who cares about those shootings down the street, as long as my lawn is lush and green?!)

Unfortunately, convenience leads to dependence and ultimately to ignorance. Survivalism used to be a way of life, not an unusual hobby.

One of my pet peeves is when people flick cigarette butts out of their car windows...
This shows a person's complete disregard for anything but their own convenience.

Community has been replaced with complacency and callousness, and until our children are raised with a different mentality, nothing will get better.

reply to post by inverslyproportional
inversely, I am aware of how monumental this would be and, also, of the challenges it would bring to people. I almost know this is out of our grasp right now but I had this thought and wanted to share it.

I think the most important take-away from my post would be that if we weren't so busy chasing the dollar, we wouldn't be a slave to it and those who control it. It is this cycle that needs to be broken, give the notion that the money doesn't matter and power is lost.

ETA:
As far as cigarette buts and litter in general go, I totally agree with you. For me, it really shows how far we've gone that people can have so much of a "not my responsibility", "not my problem" attitude and I know that when the SHTF, they will be first to ask how come nobody told them this was coming or did anything about it for them.
Folks need to take off their iPads and step outside their me, me, me selfish little bubble and look at how their actions or inaction can make a difference, for both good and bad.

reply to post by evc1shop


I've often thought along these lines myself.

But in reality it wouldn't need to be anywhere near a long term thing. A single day, taken off 'sick' by the majority of people every single week would be enough to lose SO much money from the system, TPTB would be begging the slaves to resume normality.

It could be called 'A united sick day, to heal a sick America.

Originally posted by evc1shop
reply to post by inverslyproportional

 

inversely, I am aware of how monumental this would be and, also, of the challenges it would bring to people. I almost know this is out of our grasp right now but I had this thought and wanted to share it.

I think the most important take-away from my post would be that if we weren't so busy chasing the dollar, we wouldn't be a slave to it and those who control it. It is this cycle that needs to be broken, give the notion that the money doesn't matter and power is lost.

ETA:
As far as cigarette buts and litter in general go, I totally agree with you. For me, it really shows how far we've gone that people can have so much of a "not my responsibility", "not my problem" attitude and I know that when the SHTF, they will be first to ask how come nobody told them this was coming or did anything about it for them.
Folks need to take off their iPads and step outsode their me, me, me selfish little bubble and look at how their actions or inaction can make a difference, for both good and bad.

edit on 15-3-2013 by evc1shop because: ETA

I too would like to see more respect in society, at all levels.

But is it really any wonder that the majority of people have so little respect for society, when they see everywhere around them and in the world at large, purely profit driven mega corps running entire countries into the ground for a higher share value?

It's conditioning. Effective conditioning at that.

Not saying it's an excuse, but it is a reason.

reply to post by MysterX
Then the corporations will take away your sick days and tell you that you can only get recompensed for a sick day via the United Healthcare Fund which the employers will all pay into and which will scrutinize your absence with ex IRS agents,

If folks ever get to this level where a universal sick day ocurs, they would all need to be in it 150% and prepped because I am sure they would be blacklisted and somehow fired, unable to find work again etc... This is why I say people should learn to be more self reliant and then money would be secondary. Taking a few weeks off wouldn't affect their quality of life. Most people like their money too much to buck the system so they trade away their happiness, it seems, for hours at the daily grind.

To not have a government is to not have much technology. If the government is gone, you will lose many material goods. The question is, is the gain of true freedom worth that sacrifice? I think so.

reply to post by evc1shop


reply to post by evc1shop



I agree completely. Our system is broke. CEOs getting huge bonuses as their companies are on a downhill financial spiral. We are in the 21st century and we need to start thinking in those terms. Maybe we should think about a credit system with incentives to obtain more. I have been thinking about this for awhile as well. Unfortunately have not been able to come up with an effective solution that would provide for everyone, and yet still promote ingenuity, originality... let me put it this way. Our bodies like rewards and with each reward come a desire to do more. This due to the chemicals released when we do something good. However, unlike most people. I believe a new world order can be a good thing, depending on how it is run. If it was a one world government like Gene Roddenberry envisioned, then that would be a good thing. Honestly, I think we should focus more of our attention on getting us off this rock, and work towards building a future exploring space. But that is a conversation for another time...

As for those of you that have this focus on cigarette butts. Well let me just say, you better make sure you are perfect in everything you do. Have you ever thrown out food that was bad, because you just didn't feel like having left overs? Do you throw out a good pair of socks just because there is a small hole in them, instead of taking a few minutes to patch it? Do you recycle every item you can? Do you drive a car, polluting other peoples air? Use a cell phone in public, intruding on others conversations because you are overly loud? or have a computer which uses electricity constantly, which in turn uses up natural resources? At least with my ipad I can charge if for just a couple of hours and it lasts me the entire day. Again maybe you should reevaluate your own behaviors before accusing others of being lax in regards to others.

Originally posted by evc1shop
Money it seems is at the root of everything.

The private ownership of the means of production is the root of everything. When the means to produce are privately owned it denies people the means to be autonomous. It denies none-property owners, the working class, real liberty.

The problem is private owners do not operate to serve the community they profit from. If profit is not made they remove the means of production, close down, lay off workers. In other words take away the means to produce, or the means to earn money required to live because all land is privately owned.

If workers owned the means of production there would no poverty, other than that cause by truly natural causes.
If you have land you don't need money, you don't need the system.

Money is just a tool that didn't really play a huge part in peoples lives until capitalism replaced feudalism, by the change in common land laws. Capitalism uses money as a marker of success, but it also produced a system powerful through it's economic control, as apposed to tyrannical state control. But economic power can be as tyrannical as a government. The capitalist economic system takes more from you than government does. It is more dictatorial than any government, you are told what to wear, how to groom, when to be where, and many more rules and regulations you have no control over. Yet no one seems to question this?

They have you chasing governments when the real problem is the economic system. The government we have is the result of the economic system we have. Capitalists want communities to be as regulated and controlled as their companies are.

reply to post by asylumofclouds
I am not perfect but I do try to the best that I can and still be a part of society.
I generate about 80% of my own power right now via solar and wind. I do mend clothes that are mendable. Socks and irreparables do go into my workshop and are sorted according to their lintiness factor for use in spreading stains, polishing metals, general clean up, wiping my gardening tools and they are usually washed and re-used until I decide to finally dispose of them.
I usually do not have leftovers to toss out because I prepare a lot of foods picked from my garden and make an amount of meals proportional to the number of people eating that meal with a little extra in case another person shows up (It's the Italian in me, one must always anticipate guests no matter the hour) . The extra is usually served as lunch the next day or incorporated into another dish as a side or used for snacking. All scraps go to my compost.
I do recycle everything that I can, including those pesky plastic bags that blow into my yard sometimes. At times, I hold tin cans in a pile and use it as charge for my crucible when I am making test castings or low quality metal castings of some sort.

I ride my bike when small distances are involved while my wife rides hers about 20 miles each way to her job when we aren't in the winter season.

I have a rain catch system to supplement my garden water supply and my grass is whatever color it can be because I do not water it.

I have some apple, plum, fig, pear and hazelnut trees here that do pretty well with my care. I am not a green thumb but I seem to be able to get things to grow okay.

So, I do try not to use my cell in public unless it is absolutely necessary, however, because I try to be considerate, I typically find a quiet place or move off to the side of other people's business.

As far as my cell phone goes, I have a solar charger specifically for it which I use to charge it when needed, like when camping, hiking or canoing, at other times, it is charged via wall socket powered 80% by my own energy. I am working to get 100% of my house powered off the grid but I am not there yet.

So, I do try and I hope there are many others out here doing the same.