It’s not even 7am and yours is the third essay I’ve read discussing illegitimacy of power and possible remedies. The world is pregnant with possibility for our Rosa Parks moment.
Perhaps the silver lining of the naked tyranny in the name of COVID is that it spurred the development of what Havel called "parallel structures." What was conceived of necessity in 2020 has indeed, as you say, become pregnant with possibility.
I can see the parallels and so I have started reading The Power of the Powerless. Havel notes the attractions of this post totalitarian society but points out the huge price people pay. Quote
“Of course, one pays dearly for this low-rent home: the price is abdication of one s own reason, conscience, and responsibility, for an essential aspect of this ideology is the consignment of reason and conscience to a higher authority. The principle involved here is that the center of power is identical with the center of truth.” There are frequent discussions now about why are people going along with the current propaganda/ narrative - so this may assist in explaining it. People may be trying to avoid the anxiety of having to grapple with uncertainty but not realise the price they are paying.
I sense optimism in your replies but the FSU satellites had to endure decades of deprivations before they could breakout. They had the shining light on the hill to give hope and comfort. Maybe the Czech Republic will be our guiding light here in 2070
Optimism? Maybe. Denying reality has proven to be unsustainable, so I am optimistic that the ideology of lies will collapse at some point. But as you say, the timeline of the actual collapse can be undesirably long.
egg-xactly--the techno morass we'ze in now is denser an' far more ubiquitous... escapin' the radar is gonna be MUCH harder... not ta mention that many folks that opted fer "what's behind jab no. 1" are now givin' off MAC addresses.... Who needs a bug in the lamp when at least 2 people in every room are wearin' a wire?! Big Brother is literally in the bloodstream!
GOTTA turn off the 5g an' arguably 4G, 3g....etc. so as not ta interfere with team-human signal (an' what we DO) else all lines (parallel 'er otherwise) intersect at Der Kontrol Tower-- give a listen ta' Amua Jabbi...
I think've all the prison time poor Havel endured (fightin' his good fight) in addition to bein' censored (they'd a banned him from Twitter fer sure!). Sadly I think our Fearless Leaders would'a let 'im rot in stir (not unlike the Jan 6'ers) an' un-doobie-tably would've opted fer the trannie trade over the articulate dramaturge (...thinkin' the flat chested hash-smokin' 6'9"-er with shoulders like a linebacker, size 13 sneakers, an' a voice only slightly higher than that'a lssac Hayes -- i.e. "she" ain't no laydee....)... Such is the czech-an'-double-czech absurdity of 2022; we are all...Gregor! (Duck! it's a GMO apple!)
Could what one werked in CZ fly here? Argu'bly Substack is one such parallel "struck'ture" (a good'un too!) But.... oh Havel, oh Havel have I gotta match fer you.... it's an arranged marriage with Siri! (or Alexa, she's a little' older but she's a giant--an Amazon even...) Can we build a parallel "whirled" when we'z surrounded with GPS trackin', 5G and AI? Better ask the 8-ball....
“Because the regime is captive to its own lies, it must falsify everything. It falsifies the past. It falsifies the present, and it falsifies the future. It falsifies statistics. It pretends not to possess an omnipotent and unprincipled police apparatus. It pretends to respect human rights. It pretends to persecute no one.” <- I definitely recognize this in our “free” society.
I knew our government and its leviathan-sized bureaucracies were corrupt to an extent and that they falsify all sorts of things, but I had no idea it had become so thoroughly corrupt and diseased -- that is, until these current troubles began almost three years ago.
It’s not even 7am and yours is the third essay I’ve read discussing illegitimacy of power and possible remedies. The world is pregnant with possibility for our Rosa Parks moment.
Perhaps the silver lining of the naked tyranny in the name of COVID is that it spurred the development of what Havel called "parallel structures." What was conceived of necessity in 2020 has indeed, as you say, become pregnant with possibility.
Thanks Lex
I can see the parallels and so I have started reading The Power of the Powerless. Havel notes the attractions of this post totalitarian society but points out the huge price people pay. Quote
“Of course, one pays dearly for this low-rent home: the price is abdication of one s own reason, conscience, and responsibility, for an essential aspect of this ideology is the consignment of reason and conscience to a higher authority. The principle involved here is that the center of power is identical with the center of truth.” There are frequent discussions now about why are people going along with the current propaganda/ narrative - so this may assist in explaining it. People may be trying to avoid the anxiety of having to grapple with uncertainty but not realise the price they are paying.
Yes indeed! In fact, that's the context for the quote I used myself in the article.
We are indeed the amphibious frog...Already in the pot.
I sense optimism in your replies but the FSU satellites had to endure decades of deprivations before they could breakout. They had the shining light on the hill to give hope and comfort. Maybe the Czech Republic will be our guiding light here in 2070
Optimism? Maybe. Denying reality has proven to be unsustainable, so I am optimistic that the ideology of lies will collapse at some point. But as you say, the timeline of the actual collapse can be undesirably long.
I've read this a few times. Spot on with the analogies to the present political and social environments we live in.
Important information here Lex, so keep posting the historical facts such that it might wake up the Sheeple.
Thanks, Ekim. Lots of wisdom already in the world.
egg-xactly--the techno morass we'ze in now is denser an' far more ubiquitous... escapin' the radar is gonna be MUCH harder... not ta mention that many folks that opted fer "what's behind jab no. 1" are now givin' off MAC addresses.... Who needs a bug in the lamp when at least 2 people in every room are wearin' a wire?! Big Brother is literally in the bloodstream!
GOTTA turn off the 5g an' arguably 4G, 3g....etc. so as not ta interfere with team-human signal (an' what we DO) else all lines (parallel 'er otherwise) intersect at Der Kontrol Tower-- give a listen ta' Amua Jabbi...
I think've all the prison time poor Havel endured (fightin' his good fight) in addition to bein' censored (they'd a banned him from Twitter fer sure!). Sadly I think our Fearless Leaders would'a let 'im rot in stir (not unlike the Jan 6'ers) an' un-doobie-tably would've opted fer the trannie trade over the articulate dramaturge (...thinkin' the flat chested hash-smokin' 6'9"-er with shoulders like a linebacker, size 13 sneakers, an' a voice only slightly higher than that'a lssac Hayes -- i.e. "she" ain't no laydee....)... Such is the czech-an'-double-czech absurdity of 2022; we are all...Gregor! (Duck! it's a GMO apple!)
Could what one werked in CZ fly here? Argu'bly Substack is one such parallel "struck'ture" (a good'un too!) But.... oh Havel, oh Havel have I gotta match fer you.... it's an arranged marriage with Siri! (or Alexa, she's a little' older but she's a giant--an Amazon even...) Can we build a parallel "whirled" when we'z surrounded with GPS trackin', 5G and AI? Better ask the 8-ball....
LOL at "Czech and double Czech."
Whether we can build parallel structures inside a technological dystopia is an intriguing question. I think we're going to find out.
“Because the regime is captive to its own lies, it must falsify everything. It falsifies the past. It falsifies the present, and it falsifies the future. It falsifies statistics. It pretends not to possess an omnipotent and unprincipled police apparatus. It pretends to respect human rights. It pretends to persecute no one.” <- I definitely recognize this in our “free” society.
I knew our government and its leviathan-sized bureaucracies were corrupt to an extent and that they falsify all sorts of things, but I had no idea it had become so thoroughly corrupt and diseased -- that is, until these current troubles began almost three years ago.
There's so much more in Havel's essay. The chunk I quoted is just one of many that made me go, "holy shit."
I need to read it in its entirety.