The Glass is Refillable

The earth looks so beautiful from space. Let's keep it that way.

The Glass Is Refillable

by C. A. Matthews

Most of us reach a breaking point at one time or another in our lives. There’s simply too much crap being thrown at us. We’re in pain both mentally and physically, and we’re long past the point of caring at work, school, or home. Since nothing is going our way, and it appears to be the last days of the Late Great Planet Earth, the urge to do absolutely nothing but tear down others who voice even an ounce of optimism is too tempting to resist.

So, we sit on our backsides and insult absolute strangers on the internet whenever they suggest possible solutions to our or the world’s problems. Simply put, we don’t want to hear that the glass is “half full.” Oh, no, no, no! We bitch up a storm and tear those faceless internet posters a new hole and make them feel as horrible as we feel, because we don’t have any optimism left when we’re in the midst of a breaking point.

Well, pardon me for breathing, but I think you actually can generate some enthusiasm for life even when the sh*t has hit the proverbial fan.

Optimism is Mother’s Nature way of keeping us alive and functioning and not wallowing in self-pity or destructive behaviors. Because while we’re wallowing, nothing is getting done, and we’re actually adding to our own problems as well as the planet’s. Screaming—or the online equivalent in all caps complete with asterisks and exclamation points—that the glass isn’t even “half empty” because it has been spilled and smashed into a million pieces only provides a mere nanosecond of relief. The pain inside remains.

 

The goal for intelligent, rational creatures is to rid ourselves of pain, not continually do things that ask for more of it. We are hardwired to take action to end the pain, and we can do so without killing ourselves or others. (Editor’s note: If you are feeling suicidal, in the US please call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. If you’re feeling homicidal, put all weapons out of reach, take a deep breath, and contact Emotion Anonymous to find a meeting near you.) 

Rash actions are often regretted and cannot be rescinded, but wisely planned and deliberate actions taken toward a reachable goal can ease our pain and provide possible solutions to the challenges facing us.

For all those who feel hopeless and see no way to fight against those who are destroying Earth’s biosphere, I feel your pain. Peter Kalmus, a NASA climate scientist, recently said in his keystone address at the Green Party Annual National Meeting how much it hurts him to see what’s happening in the world, too. He told us: “Don't lose hope—but don’t have false hope.”

This means we can’t deny what is happening any longer. We need to educate ourselves about the main causes behind the environment’s degradation. For example, we have to look at our outdated economic system. It is disheartening and maddening to watch heartless capitalists turn the precious planet we’ve come to know and love into one huge polluted cesspit for the sake of ever bigger profits for a tiny handful of billionaires. It makes no sense. Don’t these a-hole billionaires breath oxygen and drink water, too?

It's the senselessness of the mega-polluters’ stupidity that causes us the most pain. Their asinine and self-centered attitudes reveal the true cause behind these insanely short-sighted behaviors: they’re a-holes and selfish bastards.

There, I said it. Now, what do we do about the situation? Do we allow the super-wealthy to continue wallowing in their a-holery and selfishness?

Nah, that would be wrong of us. We want the sick-o billionaires to be happy and healthy functioning human beings, right? They can’t remain these hideous, soulless creatures, raping the planet of its natural resources, filling landfills and oceans with toxic wastes, poisoning life as we know it. It’s time to take action to turn the billionaires into actual human beings even if it impoverishes them in the process. It’s time to take away their power and their playthings and stop others from cooperating with them in the destruction of Earth.

How we go about this awesome feat depends on our own individual/personal philosophies. Some activists will take to the streets in protest and boycott products from countries that are greatly contributing to the biosphere’s demise. A great example of focusing attention (and possibly bringing about some real change) on how destructive the fossil fuel industry is to our environment is happening on September 17 at the March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City. 

If marching down Broadway while screaming at the billionaires doesn’t bring you out of yourself and generate renewed determination to become a doer and not just a wallower in your pain, please find someone to talk to, such as a professional counselor. Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness, and we need all the strong people we can get.

Environmental activism (protests, marches, sit-ins, demonstrations, etc.) can include resisting and preventing the growth of the military-industrial complex (MIC) and fighting for peace as well. The US military machine has not only killed millions of innocents, but it’s also the fifth most polluting organization in the world, ranking far ahead of actual countries.

Shutting down America’s endless wars for resources would help stop the MIC’s pollution, and it would also create friendlier conditions among nations to cooperate and fight climate change together. Once everyone is on the same page and talking to each other, without fear of having an American nuclear bomb dropped on them, it would go a long, long way in solving all our planet’s problems.

Isn’t it better to take the “half-full glass” of optimism and run with it than to throw the glass on the floor in a fit of existential pique?

Some activists will hack into banks’ and corporations’ computer systems and take the power away from those who do the most harm by financing the resource wars that increase pollution. Relieving billionaires of their wealth and redistributing it to those who are in need will end most social ills, too. Once income inequality is addressed many good things will fall into place. In the US that would mean the end of homelessness, health care for all, and free education from the youngest to the oldest of students. Solving those issues could lead to the end of racism and classism. Less pain for everyone!

Some activists feel more comfortable working “within the system” or at least attempting to overthrow the corrupt system from within. They put time and effort into electoral politics and assisting political candidates and causes. Is this the most effective use of their time, energy, and intellect? The jury is still out.

One thing's for certain, to sit around and scream obscenities online at those who are involved in the electoral process is definitely a waste of time, energy, and intellect. Acting like a “troll” online does not solve anyone’s problems, let alone the planet’s. It doesn’t meet the challenges of ending wars or fighting for the environment or preventing income inequality, for instance. Perhaps the people who have tough skin that can handle the media smears and nasty hit-pieces in the press about their characters while they run for office are the ones most capable of inspiring the majority of populace to take action.

Human beings need honest and hard-working leaders because the game of life is tough and the goalposts seem so far away. Let’s not run the worthy leaders off the field before they’ve had their chance to convince us otherwise. But let's not be afraid to expose and run off the dishonest and unworthy leaders, either. Perhaps a two-pronged approach of direct action as well as electoral action is the wisest route to take after all?

Many people think they have the sole responsibility to fix what all needs fixing in the world. But that’s not true. We’ve got to do it together or not at all. The “not at all” happens while we wallow and criticize others’ optimism and actions. It only adds to our “empty glass” pain.

Taking action by becoming an activist is one way to fight the pain in our hearts and the depression that clouds our thought processes. When you focus your energies toward a common goal—tackling climate change, for instance—then you’re no longer alone in your pain. You no longer have the time to wallow and criticize needlessly. You’re busy doing something worthwhile, and you’ll feel better about yourself and others.

At the very least, you’ll have more things to criticize later when you give activism up and go back to the wallowing and destructive behaviors. So, why not give it a try? You’ve got nothing to lose.

Remember, the glass may not be “half full,” but it isn’t “half empty,” either. The glass is refillable. We’re still here. The planet is still here. We need to get to work now. It may sound hokey, but tomorrow is another day. Let’s use our glass wisely and together.

 

Another way to look at the necessity of activism:

Nuclear brinkmanship. Yemen. Iraq. Starvation sanctions deliberately targeting civilians. Deliberately imposed poverty crushing people to death at home and abroad. Arming neo-Nazis, violent jihadists and right wing counterrevolutionaries in foreign conflicts to advance geostrategic interests. Police brutality. The relentless push for online censorship. The nonstop barrage of propaganda to manipulate our minds. The increasingly loud drumbeats for hot war with Russia and China. The ecocidal nature of global capitalism.

All of these things are profoundly horrific, but people don’t really see them, because they’re being conditioned to look past them.

Our task, then, is to get them to look. Really look, and really see. In this way we can actively abnormalize what has been normalized, one pair of eyes at a time.--Caitlin Johnstone, Abnormalize the Empire

Related Articles and Interesting Links

The March to End Fossil Fuels: https://www.endfossilfuels.us/ 

The Choice https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-choice.html 

Suicide and Crisis Lifeline--Call 988 in the US and for more info:   https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/988-fact-sheet.pdf

Find a meeting of Emotions Anonymous (worldwide): https://emotionsanonymous.org/find-an-ea-meeting/general-information.html 

Montana Youth Turned The Tables And Won An Unprecedented Climate Victory https://popularresistance.org/montana-youth-turned-the-tables-and-won-an-unprecedented-climate-victory/

The Imperialist History Behind the Maui Fires https://www.leftvoice.org/the-imperialist-history-behind-the-maui-fires/

Environmentalists Owe An Enormous Debt To Julian Assange
https://popularresistance.org/environmentalists-owe-an-enormous-debt-to-julian-assange/

The Media’s Role In Criminalizing Climate Protest
https://popularresistance.org/the-medias-role-in-criminalizing-climate-protest/

Japan to release wastewater from Fukushima nuclear plant into Pacific Ocean https://www.nationofchange.org/2023/08/25/japan-to-release-wastewater-from-fukushima-nuclear-plant-into-pacific-ocean/

The U.S. Military Is Driving Environmental Collapse Across the Planet https://www.leftvoice.org/the-us-military-is-driving-environmental-collapse-across-the-planet/

How Ohio’s Chamber of Commerce Killed an Anti-Pollution Bill of Rights https://theintercept.com/2019/08/29/lake-erie-bill-of-rights-ohio/

Abnormalize The Empire https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/abnormalize-the-empire

Unipolar Hegemony Is A Freakish Historical Aberration
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/unipolar-hegemony-is-a-freakish-historical

Another Day, Another CIA Press Release Disguised As News
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/another-day-another-cia-press-release

97 Percent of UAW Workers at Big 3 Automakers Vote to Authorize a Strike  https://truthout.org/articles/97-percent-of-uaw-workers-at-big-3-automakers-vote-to-authorize-a-strike/

Double Punishment: California Prisons Set Up Thousands of People to be Detained and Deported by ICE—Including Citizens
https://scheerpost.com/2023/08/24/double-punishment-california-prisons-set-up-thousands-of-people-to-be-detained-and-deported-by-ice-including-citizens/

BRICS Doubles Share of Global Oil Production In Welcoming Six New Members at BRICS Summit in S. Africa
https://themcgwire.substack.com/p/brics-doubles-share-of-global-oil

Ukraine’s Counteroffensive Has Failed—It’s Time to Reevaluate
https://scheerpost.com/2023/08/26/ukraines-counteroffensive-has-failed-its-time-to-reevaluate/

Zelensky Cracks Down on Draft Dodgers, Forces Men to Fight & Die in This War https://scheerpost.com/2023/08/25/zelensky-cracks-down-on-draft-dodgers-forces-men-to-fight-die-in-this-war/

Coming soon, the first book from The Revolution Continues blog:  The Little Red Book of Revolution

How can you get your e-copy? The easiest way is to subscribe to The Revolution Continues on Substack as a paying subscriber. Choose what level you'd like to subscribe at online at: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com

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Boulder. Together.

 

Boulder. Together.

by C.A. Matthews 

 

It’s been difficult, if not next to impossible, to become excited by the American political scene in recent years. The whole electoral process itself seems like a sham, a game meant to distract the public away from things that really matter, like providing health care and housing for all. The race results are decided months, if not years, in advance. The billionaires/oligarchs know exactly who they want running the show so they can continue to benefit monetarily from their endless wars for resources. They know which Wall Street-owned candidate will turn a blind eye and give them a free hand to abuse the workers so production costs never cut too far into their profit margins.

Knowing the futility of making any mark on American elections makes me mad enough to throw a flaming Molotov cocktail into the whole stinking cesspool of politicians, wiping them off the face of the earth for good. Or maybe I could just throw a rock into their mansions’ front windows with a note attached declaring, “I'm mad as hell, and I'm not taking it anymore!”

A rock… Hey, that’s an idea!

Yard Rock recently announced his run for the White House via his campaign manager, Lee Camp. Yard Rock is very old in geologic age but very young when it comes to political campaigning. Still, he has an impressive platform worth supporting:

• Has never supported a war (and never will)

• Has never supported an increase in Pentagon spending (and never will)

• Did not support the Global War on Terror that has killed roughly 6 million people

• Did not support the invasion of Iraq

• Did not support the invasion of Afghanistan

• Did not support the invasion of Libya

• Has committed no war crimes (and never will) 

  

• Has committed no rape or sexual assault, nor even been accused (and never will)

• Has never supported the US prison state – largest prison population in the world (and never will)

• Has not been involved in increasing the US prison state (and never will)

• Has never supported corporate tax cuts (and never will)

• Has never supported Big Pharma (and never will)

• Has never supported Big Ag (and never will)

• Has never supported Big Oil (and never will)

• Has never supported Big Banks (and never will)

• Has never supported corporate media (and never will)

• Has never endorsed the persecution of Julian Assange (and never will) 

  

• Has never endorsed the propaganda known as Russiagate (and never will)

• Has never endorsed the anti-China propaganda (and never will)

• Has never supported cuts to food stamps, social security, medicare, medicaid, housing programs, public schools, infrastructure, or transportation (and never will)

• Has never raised questions about the veracity of the climate crisis (and never will)

• Has never supported the out-of-control police state (and never will)

• Has never endorsed the pathetic exploitative US healthcare system (and never will)

• Has never doubted or fought against Indigenous rights (and never will)

• Has never taken a dime from corporate America (and never will) 

  

• No Super PAC funding

• Never accepted donations from Big Pharma, weapons manufacturing, etc. (This rock is not a puppet!)

• Has never voted to send arms to Israel

• Did not vote for latest spending bill

• Did not support Trump’s tax cuts for the rich

• Did not support the 2008 bank bailout

• Did not support the PATRIOT Act

• Did not support NAFTA

• Currently holds no assets in stock market

• No appearance on Epstein’s flight logs

• Never endorsed a Democrat or Republican candidate

• Has never cooperated or supported the FBI or CIA

• Is not white

• Has never appeared on SNL

• Supports the efforts of wild orcas to tip over yachts 

  

I’m really excited by the candidacy of Yard Rock. I think he’s a solid candidate. It’s hard not to love him. Only the most igneous and sedimentary of American voters would ignore this stone while he’s on a roll. He’s the genuine rolling stone, all right. (And Keith Richards is a mere child by comparison.)

 

I know what you’re going to say next—you’re going to say, “But how is Yard Rock at the podium and on camera? Can he engage and energize the voters, bringing them to a Rocky Mountain high? Will he be able to convince them to vote for his bolder than most other candidates’ platforms?”

Yard Rock, by his nature, is a rather quiet and deep individual. It’ll be rough at first getting the public to know him. He’ll need a little help in this area to smooth things over with those who don't believe a mineral has got what it takes. That’s why I’m volunteering my skills as his speech writer. I want to do him proud and help him wow audiences with a volcanic blast of oratory that will, in turn, make him win the presidency by a landslide.

The avalanche of support Yard Rock’s candidacy will bring will be further amplified when he picks his running mate. There’s no need to mine the field of independent candidates too deeply. It isn’t rock-et science: Yard Rock should cement his run by choosing Dr. Cornel West as his vice president.

Dr. West has numerous good qualities that will support Yard Rock’s strengths. He’s tall, speaks well, and has powerful arms to carry Yard Rock from podium to podium as they campaign. They already agree on so much, particularly on ending wars. They both realize they’ll face a mountain of opposition from candidates from the corporate-owned-and-operated parties. (That is, the duopoly or uni-party, or as they like call themselves “The Ds and the Rs”. They seem to have suffered a fissure at some point and now think they’re actually differentiated strata, but any good rock hound knows better. They’re a composite ore.) 

What have these Wall Street manipulated mannequins of mass destruction really got on the integrity of Yard Rock and the highly regarded Dr. West? Nothing. Nada. They gleefully bury bodies with the backhoe of the military-industrial complex profit-making machine, but they don’t offer the electorate the hope and compassion that Yard Rock and Dr. West grant it. There’s going to be a tremendous earthquake in Washington DC the day the Rock/West team cracks open and exposes the faults lining status quo politics as usual there.

I don’t want Yard Rock and Dr. West to peak too soon, so I’ll end it here for now. I hope I’ve dropped a pebble into your well of consideration, and I recommend you check out a candidate’s web site before making your decision. I’m heartened by the fact that Yard Rock has the backing of Team Orca, a wonderful group of cetaceans who know when their ship has sailed in. (Or is that a yacht?)

We truly can be “boulder together.”

P.S. What sort of campaign theme tune should we have for Yard Rock/Cornel West 2024? I'm leaning toward classic rock, but Dr. West is well known as a jazz lover. Perhaps a fusion of the two genres?

Related Articles and Interesting Links:

A Literal Rock for President: https://yardrock2024.com/

Cornel West for President 2024: https://www.cornelwest24.org/  

Cornel West and the Campaign to End Political Apartheid
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/cornel-west-and-the-campaign-to-end

U.S. Cluster Bombs Have Arrived in Ukraine
https://scheerpost.com/2023/07/15/u-s-cluster-bombs-have-arrived-in-ukraine/

Rep. Gaetz Says He Will Co-Sponsor Amendment to Block Cluster Bombs to Ukraine  https://scheerpost.com/2023/07/12/rep-gaetz-says-he-will-co-sponsor-amendment-to-block-cluster-bombs-to-ukraine/

Biden’s Corruption Led to Ukraine’s Destruction: Former Kiev Diplomat https://scheerpost.com/2023/07/12/rep-gaetz-says-he-will-co-sponsor-amendment-to-block-cluster-bombs-to-ukraine/

Bastille Day 1789—Bastille Day 2023 https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/07/15/ueah-j15.html

Activists Cement the Sewers Shut https://youtu.be/wOFaBOrXFc0

France’s Racism Still on Display as It Denies Its Colonial Past — and Present https://truthout.org/articles/frances-racism-still-on-display-as-it-denies-its-colonial-past-and-present/

Julian Assange Is “Dangerously Close” to Extradition for Revealing US War Crimes https://truthout.org/articles/julian-assange-is-dangerously-close-to-extradition-for-revealing-us-war-crimes/

Seymour Hersh: Fear and Loathing on Air Force One
https://scheerpost.com/2023/07/15/seymour-hersh-fear-and-loathing-on-air-force-one/

Chris Hedges: American Poverty Is A Calamity By Design https://popularresistance.org/chris-hedges-american-poverty-is-a-calamity-by-design/

Cop City And The Escalating War On Environmental Defenders https://popularresistance.org/cop-city-and-the-escalating-war-on-environmental-defenders/

Climate Change Is Turning the Ocean Green https://truthout.org/articles/climate-change-is-turning-the-ocean-green

US Soldiers Don’t Belong in Ukraine https://scheerpost.com/2023/07/17/us-soldiers-dont-belong-in-ukraine/ 

How the West Descended Into Idiocy https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/how-the-west-descended-into-idiocy

Zelensky’s Hitlerian Heel Turn https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/zelenskys-hitlerian-heel-turn

Don’t Let Your Pride Get in the Way of Our Arms Sales, Jack! https://matthewhoh.substack.com/p/dont-let-your-pride-get-in-the-way 

Jimmy Dore Live on RBN (video)
https://www.youtube.com/live/ywEDfLgBf-A

Fantastic links to documentaries and other videos from Beanstalk's World   https://beanstocksworld.wordpress.com/2023/07/16/truthful-news-weekend-2023-07-15-8-videos/#like-9750

Join Team Orca! https://bernie2016.blogspot.com/2023/06/join-team-orca.html 

Impossible Things (Uniting the Left) https://bernie2016.blogspot.com/2023/06/impossible-things-uniting-left.html 

 

Coming soon, the first book from The Revolution Continues blog:  The Little Red Book of Revolution

How can you get your e-copy? The easiest way is to subscribe to The Revolution Continues on Substack as a paying subscriber. Choose what level you'd like to subscribe at via the buttons on any post online at: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com

If you'd like to help out in the meantime, buy me a coffee!  https://ko-fi.com/therevolutioncontinues

More details to come. Power to the people!