Power of stories.

 

Power of stories.

Why do we say, lest we forget? Is there nothing more important than remembering? Memories, as flighty as they are, make me who I am. Memories make me not repeat mistakes and be the kind of person I believe I should be.

Our planet exists in space far from other worlds, and it behaves in a predetermined way. Does it remember how? Is it following some law or instructions? What it does sustains the lives of humans and nurtures our growth. I would hesitate to force it to change. We are made from it and all we have comes from it, just the way it is.

Earth is set up perfectly to grow us, it gives life, takes it away, and it always seeks to level things. Look at how water behaves. Write a new story for humans and watch what they will do with it.

Humans existed for a relatively long time. Look at the evidence, not at what some low-educated politicians tell you. Human society needs leadership in order to act together for everyone’s benefit, yet there is a question regarding what leadership should lead people to do. Leaders can unite or divide people, make us co-operate, or go to war.

Travel around the world and marvel at the beautiful buildings humans created. Each nation prides itself on its culture visible with what they built. Look at people who built palaces and cathedrals. Don’t expect to meet them but admire the projects they created. They are the elite. A few are on top and it’s branching down, spreading right to the billions of poor people working hard to survive another day. The two don’t mix.

The elites are a small group that owns most of the world. Some are very nice, while others are acting as if they are entitled or more qualified than others. Some made a fortune mostly by being at the right place at the right time, while many others inherited riches. In both cases, it is difficult to get close to them. They are accustomed to Gold-diggers. A few use their wealth for the benefit of humanity, while others focus on building more wealth and competing with their kind. To do that, they need power and they purchase it. How do you purchase power? You invest in marketing.

Most of the gullible 99% of humans find it hard to think or learn, so they look for easy ways to reach them by advertisements. People look for what is popular and prestigious. Most folks don’t make any effort to figure out what is the truth versus what someone is selling them. Those who work hard to build a fortune and join the elite capitalize on the phenomenon. Marketing professionals can sell anything to anyone using a well-developed science of advertising.

I remember the worldwide American campaign to start a war against Iraq. Nothing has been done before on that scale. Most of the world was against it, including Canada and so many people in the US and Great Britain. Enough money and expertise were poured into the campaign and the war took off. It killed millions and the results are still felt today.

A good example reoccurs in every election campaign. Emotions are stirred up and often the promises being sold are impossible to provide, but the party that spends most ends up winning. Regular people who don’t have even the slightest chance to join the elites vote against their self-interest and later defend their actions with anger, abuse, and ignoring any form of logic, just to save face.

A good recent example is a well-organized and lavishly financed campaign to convince people that the raging Corona Pandemic is a hoax of some sort. The campaign invents statistics, employs actors, and convinces people they must join if they belong to a certain political persuasion. I assume it originated in China or Russia who could benefit from destabilizing our society.

Marketing is a necessary tool for getting rich nowadays. People use it expertly and destroy countless lives. Most people are convinced to buy, mostly on credit, which can never be repaid. The instinct to keep up with others and outdo them is used to promote consumerism to a level previously unheard of. The marketers profit.

The entire world is involved in converting the resources needed for all of humanity to survive, into consumer goods for one generation. Politics is used to speed up the process and ignore the stress points that develop into irreparable fractures. We mine, manufacture, sell and throw away, hardly able to enjoy the products. People work longer and harder and avoid morality. The few on top are hardly aware of the pain and suffering caused to the many by their actions.

In my lifetime, the world flipped upside down. Homes tripled in size and house fewer people. Travel became a necessity that young people can’t do without for no other reason but prestige. Households and countries are in debt that a few years ago was unimaginable. Folks are ignoring the fact that there will be no way to care for the old when they can no longer work. Record numbers of people are homeless. Millions of people are migrating with no place to go. Half of our production and taxes are devoted to producing tools for killing.

Yet our ability to build a paradise on earth for all has also advanced. With current technology, we could have heaven on earth and engineer a human society free of suffering and soon perhaps even death. All we need is to float the idea and let humans run with it.

Remove the competition for superiority over each other and replace it. Watch the efforts of health care workers and others risking their personal safety for the sake of human wellness and maintain and reward it. Let the young people see that society admires self-sacrifice for the common good above the ability to accumulate wealth for personal gratification. Now is our chance.