Media & Communications

The trouble with binary thinking

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Robert Anton Wilson pointed out some years ago that people who say “you’re either part of the problem or part of the solution” are usually part of the problem. The habit of thinking in binaries–that is, in hard oppositions between antithetical concepts–has deep roots in the human mind, but it leads to certain predictable difficulties, among them a particular kind of vulnerability to the sorcery practiced by the advertising and marketing industries. If we’re to see past the haze of arbitrary binaries to a less polarized future, a glance at other ways of thinking is probably worth our while.

The Metamovement: Moving beyond marches and people in the street

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It is encouraging to see thousands of people in hundreds of cities around the world marching in the streets in solidarity for the 99% of the population disempowered and disenfranchised by despots and corporatist elites, pulling the strings of government and making all the key political, economic and social decisions in our world. But in order to convince the despots and elites that we really are the 99%, we need to engage those who are unable, because of fear, or lack of access or opportunity, to join us in the streets…How can we build on the Metamovement phenomenon to start to achieve the objectives that 99% of us believe in, that the current power structures are disinclined to pursue?

Bringing #OWS home for the holidays

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Though they’ve played an especially mendacious role in our predicament, it’s not just the big banks that have created our manifold problems. We all play a role every time we spend our hard earned money. Each one of us feeds the hyper-consumption beast by shopping at big box stores and malls, by using disposable cups and straws, and by confusing petty indulgences for necessities.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s foreword to ‘The Transition Companion’

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Spreading outwards from its inception in the towns of Kinsale and Totnes, Transition has become a remarkable network with global reach. There are now practical projects under way on the ground all over the UK, and beyond. They demonstrate beyond doubt that the strengthening and diversification of local economies, underpinned by a commitment not to squander the Earth’s finite resources, is a highly effective strategy for the uncertain times we live in. They help take the fear out of the future, while offering people a renewed sense of belonging; of shared experience and goals; of a life that makes sense again.

How to turn the power of the Wall Street protests into real reforms

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As the Wall Street protests have spread from New York City to the rest of the country, some media pundits have criticized the protesters for being unfocused — as if there were only one thing wrong with the financial sector of the U.S. economy. The protests have provided a welcome response to Wall Street’s massive takeover of governance, and continued opposition to the status quo could produce opportunities to enact real reforms.

Occupy Santa Rosa’s first week contrasts with Wall Street’s moral principle

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“When They Execute a Corporation,” read a sign held by activist Gary Abreim, 69, “You Know They Are Real People.” When asked why he had been coming to the occupations, Abreim explained, “There are seeds being planted here. I’m here to water those seeds. They are a yearning, a passion on the part of Americans to return to a democracy that we have lost.”

Throw them out with the trash

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What the Occupy Wall Streeters are beginning to discover, and homeless people have known all along, is that most ordinary, biologically necessary activities are illegal when performed in American streets — not just peeing, but sitting, lying down, and sleeping. While the laws vary from city to city, one of the harshest is in Sarasota, Florida, which passed an ordinance in 2005 that makes it illegal to”engage in digging or earth-breaking activities” — that is, to build a latrine — cook, make a fire, or be asleep and “when awakened state that he or she has no other place to live.”