US Politics Are the Whole World’s Business
I thought I’d go through the questions and comments on my various platforms today and tap out some answers to the ones that jump out at me.
❖
Chang writes on Substack:
“Caitlin, I have a question for you -> How do you deal with the outrage building up inside against this other-worldly behavior that has no words to describe it? I’m struggling in my efforts at keeping my constant anger at Western authorities (politicians, oligarchs, administrators, PR scumbags, etc.) in check.”
Inner work. You can’t engage with this shit without copious amounts of inner resources, which for most people can’t come about without extensive inner work. What that looks like will vary from person to person, but some popular expressions of inner work are meditation, mindfulness, energy work, healing practices, therapy, mantra recitation, self-inquiry, etc. Anything that expands your own consciousness of what makes you tick inside so you’re not just flying on autopilot getting whipped about by the unconscious forces within you, and enables you to find a foundation of inner peace.
There are vast oceans of deep peace within you — actually deep peace is what you’re made of — but this doesn’t do you any good if you’re unaware of it. It takes some work. Really deeply question your most fundamental assumptions about who and what you are, what the world is, what thought is, and how perception is ultimately occurring.
Practices like mindfulness have been getting a bad rap in revolutionary circles because they have been harnessed by the machine to train workers to remain functional in this stressful and abusive status quo. But they do that because these methods actually work. If their power can be harnessed to keep you from having a mental breakdown while working a horrible job for shit pay, it can also be harnessed to keep you sane and stable while fighting the machine. And even to open up a lasting shift in perception which gives rise to a better quality of life than you’d ever dreamed possible.
❖
Too Much Work writes on Substack:
“Caitlin, if you could, a few words about the US stealing an airplane from Venezuela the next you write.”
TMW is referring to the news of the US government’s seizure of the official airplane of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro under claims that it was purchased in violation of US sanctions.
The thing that really struck me about this was a quote from an anonymous US official to CNN, who broke the story:
“This sends a message all the way up to the top,” one of the US officials told CNN. “Sei
Article from LewRockwell
LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.