We all work for the government.   Whether you sell your labor, collect any sort of government support, own any assets, or are institutionalized in any way, the gov is pinching in the forms of taxes and hidden profits.   There are alternatives such as squatting, stealing, tax evasion and many other creativities but the gov has made sure to outlaw such possibilities in hopes of bringing liberty-lovers back onto the grid.  The government continues to exist upon not only our forced contributions but also the imposed authority over the entire inventory of the land.  There is little option to avoid paying tax on nearly every necessity that has been made a commodity; from land to water and all the services in between a percentage is levied to fund an organization which seldom shows true concern for the needs and wants of the people, nor for a long term commitment to sustainable planning.  This unnatural dynamic is going to affect unforeseeable generations to come and is already creating a world wrought with conflict and disparity.  Yet a majority of the Canadian populace is complacent with this lack of choice, content instead to vie for a spot higher on the ladder, finding security in the illustrious offers of consumerism, the personal bubble.  Often it seems we are bemused by the violence and submission such a system requires; some will go so far as to defend the means for the ends.  What are the ends?  For a lot of folks it means a lifetime of wage slavery to provide an uncertain and unfulfilled existence with no chance for reprieve.  And government could have it no other way.

The environment continues to erode and natural filters are struggling against profit margins, leaving us all reveling in our “free” or “universal” healthcare.  The crime rate has lowered and leveled for years now yet they tack a billion and a half on our tab and build more prisons?  Public opinion weighs against the occupation of Afghanistan, which has made us all look like assholes while costing more than eighteen billion dollars over the last nine years.  This can also be seen as a support mission of the bigger conflict in Iraq since Canadian Forces relieved the US of NATO command in 2006.  When both crusades are considered the death toll is soon to surpass a million.  Without any sizable intervention on our part, the world is being ransacked in the interest of a few global leaders who hide behind the hollow democracy that public silence represents.  Each assault on our liberties renders us more dependant, and thereby in danger, of top-down governmental whims. 

What is to be done?  To devise a plan of action we must first consider the root causes and then forecast opportunities to harness perceived crises in the name of social justice. There are a few reasons why well-intentioned “good citizens” refuse to address this problem in a proactive way with any consistency.   There are many excuses to dodge the truth and rationalize what would otherwise shatter the illusions that hold society hostage.  A broad network of misinformation has been sold as the only conduit for candid information and it is so far reaching that at times it is assumed as our collective consciousness, a commonality based upon exterior notions of social norms and standards.  Yes, the pervasive media-feed that glares into our daily lives shapes the way we feel, interact with and process the world around us.  Media lies have cinched up the misperceptions of security and danger that keep resistance at bay.

A relative level of comfort found in western lives suggests to some that there may be no reason to struggle for change, if any thing we’re told to be weary of anyone who denounces the status quo.  The possibilities of free enterprise and the ethical dead-zone of stock market investment and free trade initiatives ensure that comfort is imported from the south and east in endless supply.  This privileged seating does not come without responsibilities or impact, but the labor market washes these concerns away.  You too can build someone else’s dream simply to stay fed and housed!  The impression that monetary income is the only means to survival leads to the assumption that one must sell their daily liberty only to afford their own cage.  Having business act as the slave driver allows the state to legislate profit-growing conditions from a shareholders distance without any accountability or scrutiny.  It is as though government is an independent organism that has the right to discretion, privacy and freedom of choice just as any other corporate operation. 

The paternalistic notion that the state looks out for our well being and therefore knows what is in our best interest is simply false.  Manufactured fears create paranoia in already down trodden habitants of this police state.  Economic collapse, crime, terrorism, religious conflict; however real, are all inflated, faceless reasons to submit to all encompassing governance.  The fearful must distrust one another and lock up what’s theirs, and are repeatedly reminded that help is only three digits away.  No longer are the times of due process and due diligence: if the state thugs and their media decide you are a criminal, so it goes.  The law has lost any legitimacy and become heavy handed and prejudiced to some while impunity is given to those with power or wealth.  Policing from the local to global level has become the front line of neo-liberalism and with a total cost of more than thirty billion dollars every year; the only realistic fear might be that this trend of brute force will only result in more of the same.  If human confinement in its many forms remains big business the only option remains expansion of those abuses.

The masters will never grant us our freedoms.  They have invested heavily in denying us any chance of self-determination.  The rich need our labor and obedience more than we need their room and board.

Misinformation.  Comfort.  Fear.

So what is the solution to being so abused?  I think the first step is communicating dislike of the situation and engaging others in dialogue if only to provoke thought.  Shamefully it seems all most people converse about is what they saw on television last night, the winning sports team, or the next video game to hit the market.   More importantly our freedoms are connected and we are the only ones who can break ourselves from these chains.  Awareness is crucial if there is to be a sustainable push for real change, awareness of our commonly suppressed aspirations and the struggle within all of us.  So, could Canada make a general strike?  

If we work and exist for the government’s function, which is undeniably evil and corrupt, why not revolt?  The most effective forms of gaining ground in a labor dispute are complete strike, blockade, occupation and re-appropriation.  Could we find commonality in our diverse experiences in this indentured slavery paradigm and use that as a keystone to form objectives and take action?  Wecan work for ourselves and with one another out of love and respect instead of against one another in fear and loathing.  The chance at true liberation far outweighs the risks of even trying and can only snowball into movement and awareness.  Even what happens here on the media co-op is a preparation ensuring the truth can be preserved and disseminated.

Resistance is global and strengthening. 

Keep your eye on the forecast.