Life Is Not Fair

Life’s Not Fair

                Life’s not fair: it’s harsh, but it’s true. Life’s not fair because some people are taller and are better basketball players, and some people have a huge singing range and can stay on key effortlessly, while some people have an aptitude for math like it’s nobody’s business.

To be born with such advantages or disadvantages in life is not fair. We are not all born equal no matter what any constitution says, and that’s just the way it is. We’ve got to work with what we’ve got in this life and learn to accept ourselves the way we are.

                However, there’s another type of inequality that exists, and it’s much more unfair than any physiological or biological difference will ever be: it’s the current, competitive economic system. This system has been built and designed to produce haves and have nots, where billions of people are going hungry, most people are struggling to get by, and a handful of people have everything they could possibly want and more.

                It’s one thing to be ‘lucky’ enough to be born with certain aptitudes wherein one can possibly enjoy a certain skill set throughout their life, which another may never get the chance to do. It’s another thing when you’re born into a country in debt, and you starve from the moment you take your first breath till the moment when you die.

Life’s Not Fair: The American Dream

Two people are born in the ghetto somewhere in the U.S.A, One is tall and a good basketball player, and the other is the same minus the height and skills. The tall one who can play basketball gets discovered and goes on to make millions and now he’s all set, while his counterpart will remain in the ghetto, where he will suffer the consequences of the unemployment, unaffordable education, and the bad economy created by the elite. Basically, he hasn’t got a chance in hell. And no matter how much money his basketball playing friend can make, he can never buy a solution to this problem, because it is global and it is systemic. Instead his millions will go to supporting the system as it is and making sure everything stays in place.  

We live in a world where one can be born  into a country, or a part of a country where no matter how hard you work or what type of person you are, you will go hungry, and you will never get the opportunity to change that reality because of the systemic and inescapable poverty that exists. And then there’s the illusion that in America, there’s still a chance for everyone to ‘make it’, also known as the American Dream. It’s not called a ‘dream’ by accident: dream on America. Take my example of the basketball player- that would be an example of the American dream- but even if every NBA player were to have come from poverty, the fraction of people that go from rags to riches is so insignificant. Billions of people, tens of millions in the U.S. remain struggling, isolated, merely surviving with no future and no hope. The few people who make it out of this situation are celebrated, given media attention and held as examples of what the others ‘could’ become if they’re lucky. To this I say: Good luck getting a loan with bad credit and no assets. Good luck getting a good job with a criminal record. Good luck making sense of the world when you’re born into drug addiction. Good luck being an honest, hard-working individual when you are physically or sexually abused, and you have no one to show you how to ‘rise up’ and ‘overcome’. Good luck becoming competitive in a country where the quality of education is poor unless you can afford Ivy League schools, where a BA just doesn’t cut it anymore, and where poverty is systemic. Poverty HAS to exist in order for the system to function properly, wherein the rich become even more rich every year, and the middle class -the backbone of America- gets chipped away at, crumbles under crushing debt and begins to live hand to mouth, joining the ranks of the poor.  But these are the breaks right? I mean, Life’s not fair after all.

                But this is different, this is a man-made phenomenon. This has been planned and orchestrated, accepted and allowed, legislated and concretized.  The difference is also the fact that this is global, and that starvation and suffering is systematic and long-term.  The situation has been created over generations, and it has gotten out of hand. Now it’s time to just stop, stop, and do something altogether different.

                The Equal Money system is a new kind of economic system. It is being proposed as an alternative to profit-based capitalism. It is being proposed by an international, self-organized group who are committed to change. We understand that in order to bring about change we first have to change ourselves, by going to school, educating ourselves, and getting jobs that will place us in good standing within the system. We are cleaning up our own financial situations and becoming responsible, well-disciplined individuals who care enough about the lives of those who have no chance, to commit our own lives to personal, then systemic, then global change. We are empowering ourselves by learning about what Life is really about: not clothes or beauty, sex, partying, drinking or sports- but rather the global community who need to work together to lift the poor out of their isolation, help the rich step down from their delusions of grandeur, and bring everybody to a level playing field where education, medical attention, food, shelter, communication and transportation are guaranteed to all.

                We understand that REAL change can only come from a change within the system. That we have to ‘be the change’ as they say, by becoming the politicians, by becoming the educated, by becoming the rich, by becoming the system, in order to change the system from within. We need to become the system to change the system, not fight the system.

 If you are unsatisfied with the way things are and if you agree we need to change, I propose you join the Equal Money movement by learning about it, learning about Desteni, and then empowering yourself to become the system, so that you truly can ‘be the change’ that will change the world. It’s about time, but it will take time. Real change is slow, but there’s a lot to do.

Here are some of the principles of the Equal Money System in simple English:

No human being may profit off of the work of another, one human hour of labour has the same value across the board. If you want to be rich and have more, you simply have to work more. Profiting off of the work of another is called slavery.

The value of money is not backed by gold or market shares, but by Human Life. We are all born with the same worth; we all have intrinsic value which is inseparable from us. When the human dies, the value dies, no value carries over to be passed down the bloodline creating family elites. We are one global family and each member will be considered.

- This not only makes sense, but helps to deter corruption while we re-educate ourselves till we understand that equality always pays in the end. It eliminates the constant fear of not having enough, eliminating the ‘you OR me’ mentality, and nurturing the ‘us’ mentality.

Within an Equal Money System there will be two parallel systems, one for basic requirements and one for luxuries.

-          It’s not the same as communism. If you want more- you can have it, you just have to do the work yourself. If you don’t want to work, you don’t have to, but you will only get the bare minimum in life, if you’re cool with that-so be it! If you want to work 5 hours, 10 hours, 15 hours a week only, that is fine because you are only ‘sacrificing’ luxuries by working less.

Basic Needs System: All basic needs will be met, giving the human peace of mind and security, eliminating the need to simply survive, giving each human value so that he and she can understand what it is to value others and respect life. Educating him and her to be responsible, considerate and caring custodians of the earth and the plant and animal systems  upon which we depend for our survival.

-          How can we value others if we don’t value ourselves? How can we value ourselves when our societies only value money? How can we value the earth when it pays to destroy the earth?

-           When a child is born he or she is immediately granted a bank account, the balance in the account will last the child’s entire life, the money can only be spent on basic needs for that child and the well-being of that child.

The Luxuries System: Entertainment and other luxuries will be provided wilfully by humans, and paid for by money which represents man-hours of labour. Entertainers will be paid per hour worked the same as doctors and veterinarians and teachers. If you want more luxuries, you work more.

Profit will not exists, thus cheap products and excessive packaging will cease to exist, among other things, drastically reducing pollution.

-           Everything that’s related to cutting costs will cease to exist. Such as using harsh chemicals, (because ‘green products’ are too expensive and don’t work fast enough).  Advertising and all the waste associated with it will cease to exist: therefore, false advertising, and ads that are emotionally manipulative will cease. Products that self-destruct after two years will have no place here. Fertilizers, hormones, antibiotics and other high-yield producing techniques will end. Pesticides will be reduced and replaced.Cheap waste removal such as waterways and landfills will be drastically reduced with the aim of only producing so much waste as the environment can effectively handle. No more slave labour, no more inhuman working conditions. No more child labour. No more child sex trade. No more insurance-based suicide.

All decisions will be guided by the principle of what’s best for all, and voted on in democratic elections where each person has a vote.

None are free until all are free. None are equal until all are equal.

There will be a four year mandatory work period for all human beings. Once schooling is complete, a 4 year mandatory service in work towards the functioning of society is required for the running of the system.  4 years is nothing compared to today, where many people have to work a lifetime after schooling is complete, if they were even lucky enough to get an education. We have to work for our whole lives in order to survive; even the idea of retirement is becoming something that is no longer tangible for most.

Leaders will lead as equals, and will be voted in by the people.

For more information visit www.equalmoney.org.

Language Divides Us: Quebec

The country where I’m from has two official languages, English and French. The country is Canada, and I’m from the French part, the province of Quebec, on the eastern side. In Quebec there is a big river called the St. Lawrence that comes in from the Atlantic Ocean and goes right down into the Great Lakes and is a major port of entry for imports into the heart of the United States. In the St. Lawrence River there is an island, the Island of Montreal. This is where I live.

                The city of Montreal has a population of about 3 million, depending on what you qualify as ‘the city’, and it gets pretty crowded in the downtown areas. The city is divided nearly in half, with, as a general rule, the majority of Anglophones (English speaking people) on the West side of the city and the Island, and the Francophones (French speaking) residing mostly in the east. In the entire province, Anglophones are the small minority, but on the island it’s pretty much an even split. The culture and lifestyle in Montreal is drastically different than that of the rest of Quebec, and even more so from the rest of Canada.

                Some Quebec politicians dedicate themselves to preserving the French language and culture, and they have been voted in often enough to have legislated laws surrounding that preservation. There is a sort of ‘language policing’ that takes place where fines are given to store owners whose signs do not meet the criteria of having the English wording in a font 2/3 the size of the French lettering. Phone calls are made by government offices to businesses to ensure that employees can communicate effectively in French, new immigrants must attend school in French, and the children of parents who went to school in French must do the same. Many Quebecers are unable to speak English and don’t have the option to learn how through the public school system and conversely, many Quebecers can’t speak French well enough to be employed in the public sector. Needless to say, a lot of the politics of Quebec are tied up in the language issue, and because of Quebec’s size and population, this issue reaches the federal level as well. Quebec has historically received special allowances due to the power of its government juxtaposed to the other provinces. It can make threats, such as the threat to separate from Canada, and it can act in an obstructionist manner in order to reach compromises.

                Being an English speaking Canadian, born and raised in Quebec, I was not brought up with a feeling of belongingness or of strong ties to my province or my country. I do not have a rich history of tradition passed down from generations because my French Canadian grandmother died before I was born, and I know nothing of the families of my English grandparents who passed away some time ago. I learned French in school but I learned it as a subject, not as a living reality. I can conjugate the hell out of verbs and I can take your food order at a restaurant, but I can’t discuss anything in much depth as I never developed a real meaningful relationship with a French speaking person. My linguistic skills improve the more I immerse myself in the French culture through living here, working and getting around, but I lack the skills to fully express myself in the language.

                From where I stand, this reality presents several obstacles in the quest for universal equality. First of all, there is a general separateness that exists between the English and the French within Quebec. There’s a history of oppression and conquest that seems to linger in the minds of the present-day population, an ‘us-and-them’ mentality.  This separation creates a barrier between the two groups of people: there are communication difficulties and cultural differences, and besides some inter-mingling of the mostly younger generations on the island of Montreal, the two pretty much just keep apart. A francophone from rural Quebec is completely alien to an anglo living in a west-end Montreal suburb, and vice versa.This difference can be a scary thing, but if the two swapped places and were born in each other’s shoes we’d have the same result, so what does that say other than we are not in fact different, but rather exactly the same. So the separation is really only a perception, existant only in the mind.

 This emotional political battle between French and English has been a defining factor of life in Quebec and has been a 'presence' in the rest of Canada for generations as well. To cut to the chase: this is something that we’re going to have to get over and get through in order to realize our real relationship to each other, which is that we are one and equal, so that we can start facing and taking responsibility for the real problems in the world, such as the wealth gap, starvation, the child sex trade, animal abuse, pollution, war, crime, mental disorders, slave labour, illiteracy, preventable disease, eutrification, desertification, rape, child abuse, torture, malnutrition, obesity, economic insecurity, suicide, and the list goes on. And on. And on.  

I’m all for equality, but there is a hierarchy when it comes to the relevance of the problems we as humanity are facing. Politicians -those in power- need to be able to use the common sense necessary to address the more important problems first, because with the power we elect to them comes that great and grave responsibility. But these politicians have us instead pitted against each other as they sit atop platforms of language and cultural preservation. So it's up to us to stop participating in these games. We can't depend on the politicians anymore to make the right decisions, and I don't know if we ever could. Maybe the fact that we so blindly followed and trusted their leadership is what got us into and created this mess of a world. We the people now need to start taking the responsibility we thought the government was taking for us because as it turns out, they weren't. So now it's up to us to take responsibility of rourselves and stop participating in the puppet show and start havig a look at what's really going on.
Secondly, doesn’t the preservation of something indicate the fear of losing it?

 I’m an Anglophone, a minority without religion, without tradition, without a culture or a place I feel is ‘home’ for ‘my people’... so is the fear that if they lose the French culture, language, religion (Roman Catholic), and tradition, that they will become like me?

In a way, I am removed from fearing losing that which I never had, and therefore I am not bound by that fear of loss. That fear of loss has consistently tied up a huge chunk of political energy and finances in an un-reckonable juggernaut with no signs of ever being resolved, because in reality there is an established English and an established French population in one province. Point finale. This is not going to change. But we are not the same English and French people who fought on the Plains of Abraham or who wrote the British North America Act; we are altogether different beings living in the present moment and it’s time we stop digging up the past and throwing it out in front of us like a path we have to endlessly walk while the world crumbles around us. We are not defined by our language and we are certainly not defined by our culture because if we fear losing these things that means they can be taken away when, who we are as human beings, as Life, cannot be taken away.

Third of all, we are the product of whatever environment we are born into. So those who are extremists in Quebec would be extremists if they were born anywhere else, fighting tooth and nail for that which they have decided is the ‘truth’ and is ‘right’ because it is what they 'know' and it is apparently ‘who they are’. Culture and tradition have no bearing in practical reality. Culture and tradition do not function on common sense or doing what's best for everyone. Culture and tradition have led people to defend human and anmal sacrifice, female and male circumcision, removing limbs as punishment, rape as punishment, all sorts of oppression and more. Why? Because when that's what you're brought up with it's all you know, but every human being has the opportunity to use common sense over and above tradition and culture, to be able to look at where they stand in relation to the rest of the world, and what the consequences of their actions are. It's easier to do this in some countries more than others, that's why the global system needs to change.

The ironic part is that in the fight to preserve the language, culture, status and numbers they have actually created the reality they fear, but for others. It’s interesting because at Desteni it is said that ‘you create that which you fear’. It’s almost like the law of attraction because so much time, energy, attention and focus is spent on the issue that it actually manifests in reality, just not for those who spent all that time conjuring it up. In this particular scenario   it manifests as a reality for people like me. So my message for those who fear becoming like me is this: I am not subject to the cattle call of patriotism; I am not bound to the history of a people, and I’m not tied by the fear of loss of language or culture... I’m absolutely free to say that the reality we have accepted is bullshit, the status quo is literally insane, and we as humanity need to get over our differences so that we can work together as one voice to change the world because that is what needs to be done.
 In this respect, our politicians have failed us. They have lowered themselves to childish fears and the comfort of living 'the way things are' and stalling the politics of a country to get their way. Politicians are supposed to be our leaders and lead us by example, to show us how to elevate ourselves above quarrelling like children so that we can advance as a species. But they don't.
The Equal Money System is a part of the political platform of the Equal Life Party- a political group that is dedicated to the radical advancement of mankind by placing th principle of what's best for all above the immediate emotional desires of the individual. This is truly responsible government and leading by example. 
The Equal Life Party proposes a change in the economic system as we know it, from a profit-based system of abuse to one that supports all life. This is done by ensuring all being's basic requirements are met, and that the few cannot continue to profit off the majority while the majority struggle to survive. Also, by backing money with life and making it inseperable from life is the realization that all beings are in fact one and equal, and no one has the right to deny that fact.
 In the end, equality has to start at an economic level, because if you don't have money your priorities change pretty quickly. We need to make economic equality our priority if we truly care, and only then can we realize that language and culture don't matter in a world where all are equal.

            I am one vote for world equality, I am one vote for an Equal Money System, and the Equal Life Party has my full support because I support all Life equally and I understand we need to work together to get this done.
www.equalmoney.com
www.equallife.org
www.desteni.co.za
www.desteniiprocess.com

               

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Equality Always Pays

Equality always pays.

Life gives constantly, consistently and continuously. Take a plant, if you grow a fruit bearing plant and you don’t water it, don’t feed it and don’t tend to the soil, that plant will not give up. That plant will put everything into staying alive, growing and bearing fruit. If such a plant does manage to still bear fruit, you can eat it and nourish yourself, regardless of how you treated that plant.

The environment in which we live is constantly filtering out our toxins, cleaning our water and air, and providing us with food, shelter and raw materials with which we create every single thing we need for our comfort, enjoyment, entertainment and security.

Animals provide the same giving. They will produce in the form of their labour and their products in the form of milks, eggs, flesh, skin, bone etc... And they will continue to produce these things which we use, regardless of how we treat them, for as long as they are able.

This is the unconditional giving of life, and of innocence of Life: they do not have a mind to judge us or the ‘free will’ to choose not to provide. They do what they do because they are alive.

Inequality exists only within the mind of man, and is expressed in his actions, in our actions, wherein we take advantage of this unconditional giving from our world and even demand more, as if we were somehow entitled to take what we want without considering the experience of that which is providing, or `the consequences of our `taking. We demand more and more until we suck the life out of that which provides, and we move on to the next one, or the next space, to do the same. Over and over until we ruin everything and there’s nothing left for our children.

All we would have to do to gracefully receive all these unconditional gifts provided to us by Life in all its different shapes and forms is to realize our equality with all of Life, and with all that is here. This involves treating everything with the respect, care and dignity we ourselves would want to be treated with. If we are unable to even treat ourselves and our own bodies with respect, care and dignity, then we will be unable to treat our world with equality, because we are unequal to ourselves. This is why, within the process of bringing about equality, we must first start with equality within, because only then can we realize our equality with All Life.

If we were to actually live as ‘equals’ with all that is here, we would nurture the land and it would provide the most wonderful produce forever, baring of course the occasional isoloated environmental factors that would prevent such a thing. On a global scale, if we as humanity took care to respectfully cultivate the land and animals all around the world, the earth would provide ceaselessly and endlessly for us. It is already willing to do so, except we take too much, we abuse the animals and we deprive the land of the essentials it needs, we destroy the land and deprive half the people in the world of any kind of Life other than to struggle for survival, while a small minority live the kind of life we could all be living if we truly lived as equals. If we truly cared for each other, honoured life as ourselves and ourselves as Life.

The animals and insects already provide for us unconditionally, all we have to do is acknowledge that. Acknowledge that we depend upon them for our very survival and be humbly grateful for what they do, by treating them with respect, by giving them something in return, like dignity, care, comfort, enjoyment.

This is what I mean when I say it’s time to realize our equality with all that’s here, treating others, even other life-forms, as we would want to be treated.. This can only be done by mature, responsible people who have the strength to be humble enough to be grateful. Most humans are not that advanced, think only of themselves and their personal experience in the world as the world cares for them as if they were spoiled children who never grew up to realized that :at some point, it’s time to take responsibility, for oneself  and one’s actions.

That time is now, because it has to be. We can’t remain in denial about what we’ve created in the world. As all of us have been living out our lives in ignorance, millions and now biliions are going without. We are completely insulated from what’s going on in the world, in terms of suffering and destruction. It can’t continue.

We have to get through this by forgiving everything that has led up this point, everything that has allowed us to get this far out of control, so that we can stop immediately and start to change. Start to respect what we have and where we live so that we can ALL graciously experience the abundance and the unconditional giving the earth is already providing.

What is Abdication?

Abdication:

Usually refers to self-responsibility- when one uses justification, excuses, validation, beliefs, blame or denial to not take self-responsibility for one’s thoughts, feelings, emotions, actions, words or deeds- one is abdicating one’s self-responsibility as Life.

In other words, any time one points to something outside of self as the reason for one’s internal experience- that is abdication (of self-responsibility). This is because nothing and no one is responsible for how we experience ourselves in this world. Everything we think, believe or feel can be traced back to an experience or to genetics, and even then, parents can’t be blamed, they couldn’t help it then and they can’t change it now, but self can change from within it. Within this process we must first change ourselves, and then we change the world. This is the responsibility of each human being, and anything other than taking responsibility for this is an abdication of self-responsibility. Responsibility to self is responsibility to all that is Here, because all is one, therefor everything that is here is you, and everything of you is Here.

Some examples:

1)      Belief as, for example, religion, as an abdication of self-responsibility: When one places one’s personal power outside of self in the belief of a higher power, giving that belief the power of judgment and the responsibility to come one day and save us. When in reality, the only judgment is self-judgment, the only responsibility is self-responsibility as all as one as equal, and the true source of power always comes from who we are as Life.

2)      Justification as an abdication of self-responsibility: When one justifies, for example, being in an abusive relationship or having an addiction, instead of facing these things, standing up from within them and taking the self-responsibility to change them. In a sense this type of behavior indicates that one perceives the situation or addiction to be ‘bigger than’ the being themselves, when in reality, everything we experience, we have created and therefore we can un-create. We are equal to everything we have created and experience. However, we created most of the consequences we are currently experiencing over long periods of time, where we continuously and consistently repeated patterns until they finally became, for eample, an addiction or a pattern (of abusive relationships). It takes the same amount of constant continuous application over the same amount of time to free oneself from these internal prisons, and it’s absolutely worth every second of ‘effort’ because the alternative is to continue to be a slave to that which each one has accepted and allowed themselves to become.

3)      Validation as an abdication of self-responsibility: Seeking validation from anything outside of self places the responsibility on to another to decide what is or is not valid within self. Only each individual person can validate themselves, and the only reason one will ever seek validation outside of self is if they have not gone through the process of doing this for themselves. Self-validation is similar to self-acceptance, and it empowers human beings to not have to rely on others to give them completeness, but instead to complete themselves and become complete wholes within the greater whole. Oneness within, oneness without, equality within, equality without. What is valid? –Who one really is as Life. Complete self-honesty about who one is in context of all of existence, whether one’s actions, words and deeds consider, respect and honor all that is here as existence as one would consider, honor and respect oneself. Considerations such as these help each person determine what within self is valid, and what is dishonest, greed, deceit, etc… so that one can rid oneself of anything that one decides is not valid, to slowly accumulate the validity of Life.

4)      Excuses as abdication of self-responsibility: Excuses are usually used to justify or validate reasons why one did or did not do something one knows one should or should not have done. You either did it, or you didn’t do it, it is necessary to take responsibility in either case, because when one takes responsibility instead of making excuses, one can then take the self-responsibility necessary to make the appropriate correction.

5)      Blame as an abdication of self-responsibility: When we blame others we place the responsibility upon them to change and make it right. When something appears to be ‘not right’ within self, only self is to blame. Therefore, self is responsible to change self and correct the situation. This too empowers each person to be able to make necessary changes without having to wait for or depend on another to do it for them, which is abdicating the responsibility to them. No one has the power to change your inner experience but you. When we don’t take the self-responsibility to change ourselves, we can fall into the tendency to project this frustration, resentment and powerlessness outwards, and in effect, blame others for our experience (instead of taking responsibility for ourselves).

6)      Denial as an abdication of self-responsibility:  Denying there is a problem, for example, refusing to acknowledge the suffering in the world is a quick and easy way to not have to do anything about it, not having to feel responsible for it. Sometimes we fear that feeling will be too much, in the form of the horror and guilt one would feel if one had to admit one is responsible for the starving to death of a child. Denial abdicates the responsibility to do something about it because one will just not ‘go there’. The truth is, we are responsible for this type of atrocity, and we’re also responsible for the suffering we have endured within ourselves, in the form of, for example, suppression and compromising ourselves and enslaving ourselves to so many things. We have to wake up and really see what’s here and what we’ve done, so that we can snap out of this denial and start to repair the damage.

Bahrain in Our Name

     In Bahrain many oppressed people have begun to protest in their demand for equal rights and a more transparent and accountable government among other things. These protesters are being arrested, tortured and murdered by their own government on the world stage while all powerful countries stand aside and watch.
     This is not surprising to anyone, in fact, we may not even raise and eyebrow because we have heard of this type of abuse so many times before. But the difference is this is going on right now, and in our inaction we are accepting it. It is normal to us and it will continue to happen so long as we don't change.

     Why is change so scary to us? Why are we so docile? How would we feel if it were us and not them who were being tortured and murdered after having been oppressed for so long that we just couldn't take it anymore? And most importantly, how would we want the rest of the world to react?

     I have never been religious but I do agree with the principle of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. When I put myself in the shoes of the citizens of Bahrain I would want help. Not military help, not more war and more conflict, but a huge group of people who will not stand for this kind of outright abuse. This is what we are doing at desteni with the proposal of the Equal Money System. We are taking a stand using social media and proposing a system that will allow all to gain the basics for a dignified life.
     Nobody who is currently in a position of power and great wealth will ever act to change the current system because they require it to live in the lap of luxury as they do. They do not have to worry about where their next meal is coming from, and they keep that security by supporting a system that benefits them in this way at the expense of others. This is why mainstream media will never be the voice that changes the world, it has to come from us. This is not a choice, it is a responsibility we have to bear in the name of life, in our name.
     Where will we find the strength, the energy and the compassion to dedicate ourselves to such a venture? Visit the Desteni forums to see how people are changing themselves to be the directive principle in their own lives, to see how they are moving themselves to not only speak, but to act on their principles (www.desteni.co.za). The process being discussed investigates the questions of why we fear change, why we are so docile, and how we can separate ourselves so much from other beings that we do not even care enough to know what's going on in the world.
     In a way we can be seen as de-sensitized and brainwashed, having been raised without the proper tools to support ourselves as decent human beings. Instead we are directed by greed and lust, or fear and depression. It is time to learn the tools that will free us all to direct ourselves to a place where we can clearly state: till here no further.
     As we stand here accepting this abuse to take place we blame the elite, however we neglect to realize that we too are the elite. We live in their shadows and reflect their behaviour and live comfortably off the scraps they throw us to keep us content. We are growing fat and medicated, we are slowly losing our rights and every day it becomes a little more difficult to survive. But instead of stopping we continue to hope, to drink away our problems and to work like slaves to pay our way. In our belief that 'at least we have it better than most in the world' we live in the constant fear of having it all taken away and becoming like 'them.' We do not realize that we are them already, not in situation, but in fact. We ARE them, and they are us, because we are all one. That is why both oneness and equality are required, and the only way we can achieve that is to guarantee each and every human being's basic needs are met, with the opportunity to work for the luxuries in life. This will be the reality in the Equal Money System, a reality that IS possible.
     In Bahrain horrible abuse is going on in our names. Do we stand here, powerless and depressed in our own lives, or do we find how much of a force we can become by taking in to consideration the commonsense of taking care of all life as we would like to be cared for?
     The answer is obvious. Do unto others because others are in fact you. Lets start to take care of ourselves in this world like we should have always done. An Equal Money System will end this repeating cycle of madness once and for all.

Profiting off of Food While Millions Starve, just because we can.

     In order to understand the necessity for humanity to start opening themselves up to the proposal of an Equal Money System (EMS) and to start actually taking steps towards an economic change at a global level, we must first understand some of the intricacies and consequences of the current economic system. This system has been molded and manipulated for generations by an increasingly powerful and an increasingly small group of human enterprises and corporations.

     To illustrate this point I'm using the example of the global food market. This market began at a local level where farmers would sell what they grew at a market price which was based on the system of supply and demand. More recently, this activity has reached a global scale with profits in the billions.

     What happens is countries produce crops of, for example, rice, soy or cotton, and sell them in the global food market. As food is a basic requirement for human survival, it has gained much interest from the very wealthy in the word as a source for profit.

How does it work?

     The global food market functions with its own language and set of complex rules and regulations understood for the most part only by experts and speculators. Speculators make educated guesses or predictions based on their unique understanding of this system, thus influencing buying and selling behavior. Corporations will buy up billions of dollars of these life sustaining resources based on these predictions, and they will hoard them until the price goes up and they can then sell them at a greater profit. These human actions are the major contributors to the movement of money and the fluctuation of prices within the global food market (more so than weather, global warming, drought, pests etc...).

     These fluctuations within the food market can cause the prices of food to double and even triple. This can cause the cost of our groceries to go up (as it is the price of very basic foods which are a small portion of our diets), but it also causes tens of millions of people to be added to the list of starving people globally (whose diets consist mainly of these items). In 2008, one fluctuation added 75 million people to that list.

     The problem within all this is that it is nothing but a game for the the very wealthy people who believe the stakes are only financial. They do not take a step back to see, or use common sense to realize that in the end those stakes translate in to human lives, including the lives of innocent children who were born into poverty and who never even had a chance at life in this system of money played like a lottery for the rich. The global food market is played very much like a lottery based on odds, where people with money can take as much risk as they can afford, and when they win, they win big. However, nowhere in this game of manufactured luck are there any rules with respect to the loss of life involved. While corporations are hoarding food, people are starving, and people are dying. The lives of the world's most vulnerable people are but collateral damage in the quest for profit, and the most messed up thing about this is that it's all viewed as normal and acceptable.

     What I am saying is that THIS IS NOT NORMAL AND THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!!! And I think many people would agree with me, if they knew it was going on.
These wealthy people who play the food market are drunk on making profit and their sensibility and common sense are distorted because of it, There is no accountability and no responsibility being taken and it needs to stop now. But this behavior is not unique to giant corporations and very wealthy people, its being acted out by all of us. We're all 'drunk' on consumerism which is based in greed, and we're consumed by it and we too disregard the rest of the world as we over eat and over consume and live out our lives like mindless robots wanting more products, more experiences more savings, bigger things, better things, always looking at those who have more than us and never really thinking about those who are sacrificed so that we can live the way we do, whether they be the have-nots, the slave labourers, the animals, or the natural world.

     I am a member of a group called Desteni. We are proposing an alternative economic system called the Equal Money System, which will entail all of us taking responsibility by changing the rules of the game from purely profiting, to rules which involve looking at the consequences of our actions. Such as: how can we be so detached from one another that we can allow such abuse to take place in this world? How can we be so blind to what we're doing? How is our human nature being manipulated by consumerism, by the fear of survival, by competition? How have we manipulated ourselves to believe we are not responsible and there's nothing we can do?



More Specifically:
   
      We have the basics of this system worked out wherein the value of money is not backed by gold or by debt, but by life, inseparable from life. Herein, human beings will not be allowed to be in a situation of power where they can dangle the daily bread of the poor just out of reach, as they do in the global food market; where as the price of that bread sky-rockets because of the absolute desperation of the people, people die, and people profit. There will be no poor, only equality and equal opportunity, so for those who want to live simply and work very little, that is their choice, and those who want a life of possessions and entertainment - they will have to work for it, as many of us already experience. It is the already wealthy in our current reality who will experience the biggest change, because unlike this profit-based capitalist system we live in, the Equal Money system will not allow some to profit off the labor of others.

     We as the masses who agree that this current system is unacceptable need to do so in an organized, unified and visible way. We at Desteni have created an outlet for this to be expressed and lived into reality by preparing to enter into politics where the rules are written, so that we can work within the legal boundaries which already exist by presenting a platform based on economic change and a system proposal that abides by the principle of what's best for all.

Taking responsibility and waking up to the abuse that's going on due to the current economic system we all participate in is every human being's job. You can do your part by finding out what the Equal Money System is all about by searching Youtube, Networked blogs, facebook, Netlog, Twitter, Branchout, or any other social media outlet. You can participate on the forums at www.Desteni.co.za, or visit the Equal Money site at www.equalmoney.org. We have an Equal Life non-profit set up and we are doing research into the abuse taking place in the world so that we are not ignorant to the workings of reality, such as the millions of deaths due to the gambling that takes place in the global food market. This is but one of literally countless examples of the absolute disregard for life and suffering in the world, and of the hopeless future we're leaving to the earth's children.

    For further insight into the global food market I recommend the short documentary called "Dying in Abundance" on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsvqbNRq3Zk). If you agree that this is not acceptable, use your voice and say so. Support the Equal Life Party with your vote, speak for those who have no voice. Be a part of the group that is ready to do something real about the dire state of the world.

By 2012 there will be Equal Money books available, describing how the Equal Money System will work, and how it is the first feasible solution that has ever been proposed in all of time by all of humanity. Walk this solution with us,

     One man- one vote - on all issues that affect the whole, because we are one whole, and we all have the right to live with dignity respect, within ourselves and towards others.

Here are some links for further perspective, a good place to get started:

The Equal Money Solution

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fKIQltJR6M

World Equality is Equal Money (4 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/user/MarlenLife?blend=7&ob=5

test your FREE WILL: Support Equal Money for All

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYjXLAIVbys

Equal Life healthcare System

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nirgY4JnIy0

 

 

 

Is Equal Money Communism?

What is Equal Money? Is it communism? Is it socialism? Anarchy? Liberalism? It’s hard to distinguish what Equal Money is, or what the Equal Money system entails because it doesn’t yet exist. What does exist is people’s perceptions of this system. Perceptions which rely on their past experiences, and their current knowledge of what exists in the world already, based on what they have learned, which is based in the past. When you take that past and lay it out before you as a frame of reference within which to base decisions, of course you’ll be doomed to failure and a repetition of past mistakes. What we have learned is based on the history of what’s been here and what’s already happened, while the equal money system is a proposal of a kind that has never before been conceived. There is no pre-set framework to guide us, we’re going into a no-comfort zone where we CAN’T predict how all the details will play out in reality exactly, not at this early stage. All we can to is choose a principle to guide us and keep us in line. In choosing to study the desteni material one learns that the optimal principle to abide by s one that considers all life, this is the principle of equality, which entails doing what’s best for all.

So, with regards to the Equal Money system, If you want to start imagining outcomes in your own mind then you have all the powers of a god and creator to amplify your doubts and magnify your skepticism and biases. However, when you do this, all you are doing is putting up walls and barriers, preventing change, preventing alternative thinking, creativity and human ingenuity while preserving the status quo. The status quo, meaning, our current reality: the one where over a billion of us are starving, where children are living in garbage dumps with no shoes, picking through the rot for something to sell or eat. Where the animals that feed us are being treated dirt in factory farms, and the one where nobody is to blame yet we all are responsible. The continuation of this reality must be immediately stopped, and a new system must be implemented In its place, and that is why we propose the Equal Money System.

The Equal Money System may be similar in certain respects to socialist and communist ideals, ideals which have never actually been realized in reality, but at the same time, it’s not really comparable to these systems because they never came from a starting point of equality, real actual equality. But if you have any pre-conceived ideas towards systems like communism, socialism or liberalism, it’s easy to pick out the similarities or differences between these systems and the equal money system to back your opinion, whether it be for or against. But the Equal Money system really has no frame of reference in our history, it is a system that proposes we act according to our principles, that we align those principles to ones we can all agree on, such as: doing what's best for all, including you, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, love thy neighboor etc... Everybody knows this stuff and is familiar with these principles, but has anyone ever had the discipline and will power to abide by them in their every action? This is what is required in this lifetime, and this has never been attempted before.

The Equal Money System entails providing every human being with an inherent value upon birth. This value includes all the basic necessities to live a dignified life: food/water, shelter, medical attantion when needed, an education, and transportation. This value is not able to accumulate, it is not able to be taken or given away, it is not able to carry over after death. It is the inate value of life that will be provided to each life equally so that non may starve due to the profitting of others.

Parallel to this system of provision of basic necessities is a system for luxuries; a labour system. This parallel system will also abide by the principle of 'what's best for all' by ensuring that every part of the labour, from resources to by-products to waste, is dealt with in the most effective and least harmful way possible. Because there will be no influence of profits, there will be no competitioon. All research will focus on the creation of a superior product, not a cost-efficient product. Products will therefor be built to last, not to self-destruct after a short time, forcing the consumer to purchase more frequently, and not a product that is cheap because it was built by people who are so desperate they will work for less than two dollars a day.

Most products as we know them now are devestating to people, animals and the environment at every stage of their development. From harmful and unsustainable extraction of resources, to chemically enhanced processing of materials which pollute, as well as cheap labour, i.e. slave labour, and unhealthy working environments. The effects of these practices accumulate on our earth over time (as the wealth also accumulates to those who have ownership and away from the masses). Our environment is being destroyed, our people are stressed, depressed, diseased and dying, our children have no future, and all we have to show for it are things like Walmart and MacDonald's, the IPad, cheap clothes and products made from synthetic materials, etc etc etc.... basically, what we have is consumerism, and valuing profit and products over life itself.

The Equal Money System will guarenteewritng and math etc... but in a supportive environment free of competition and comparison. Within their higher education they may chose to learn specialized labour and to further themselves in whatever way they chose so that they can be contributing members of society. For their efforts they will earn an income while they study. The income is hourly based on the worth of one hour of human labour. This implies that one hour of human labour has one value, no matter what the job that human happens to be doing. For those who chose not to pursue a higher education, they will perform a mandatory 4 years of conscription labour. For 4 years they will do all the jobs that keep society running, and they will be paid for their time. After this they may do as they wish, working or not- however, if they chose not to work, they will not be able to have any luxuries -which some may be fine with- but others will want to afford entertainment and toys etc... so they will have to work for them, just like the majority of us do today. Currently, only the elite in the world get to educate themselves with an education that the system deems adequate for a comfortable income, while most people can only dream of having access to a quality education. Low-income and middle-class America, who are the majority in that country, cannot afford a proper education, the price keeps going up yet the quality at most institutions keeps going down. And students are left with so much debt that they must work for years to pay it off. Many still are still working on it well into their thirties. We have to work every day to pay our next bills and buy our next meal. So compared to this, 4 years of conscription labour, with all our basics covered- really isn't that bad. Plus, the work  we do will be contributing to society in a way that is best for all, including animals and the environment .

Back to where we are now-

 The implementation of this system involves a group effort, and in order for it to be successful, the effort within that group has to focus on the question “how can we make this work so that everybody is considered and everybody is clothed, housed, and fed.” because That is our first and foremost priority. Another question we have to contend with is the question of human nature. So instead of asking “will humankind be able to support a system that’s based in equality?” We ask, “How will we go about implementing a system based on equality within a group that has only ever known inequality, hierarchy, and stratification?” Not “is it possible”, but rather “how will we make it possible?”

Many people are unable to ask these questions because they believe this is just a repetition of communism, an idealistic socialist dream or too Utopian to conceive of.

The reason why the group called Desteni is asking these questions rather than engaging in full out debates and arguments about how this idea is not going to work, or how this system is similar to systems which have already failed, or how it’s doomed to failure, is because such debate is pointless and will get us nowhere. What we do is explain this system so that each may understand how it can work, how it is possible, why it is necessary and what steps need to be taken to get it moving (i.e. the creation of political parties, political platforms, the education of people about how this system will function, the understanding of the devestating effects of our current system and how this will change and why, etc..)

It doesn’t matter if the system we are proposing is similar to or different from communism, or if it contains elements of socialism or liberalism, or if it reminds some people of anarchy; what matters is that we understand why these systems failed, so that we do not repeat those same mistakes (I provide links and another article on this topic at the end of this blog).

This is the difference between a constructive discussion that aims to in every way take steps and make progress towards a goal, and a discussion that goes around in circles prophesying failure and non-action.

Desteni, as a global group, have come to the harsh realization that no one is coming to save us, and that the powers that be in this world, are not going to take the initiative either. So it is up to us, the common man and woman, to make this change. We need each person to just stop, and realize, one by one, what is really important in the world. That when people are dying, when children are being sold into prostitution, when animals are being horribly abused for profit, when our environment is depleting, it’s not about sex and money, beauty, clothes or sports, fashion or the latest technological gadgets; it’s about life, it’s about ending the atrocities we’ve caused in this world, and focusing our human potential on change and betterment. We need to realize this one person at a time, 1 + 1+ 1+ 1, until the willingness for change is here, because only then will change happen.

This realization is every individual’s responsibility, not just ours. We are simply taking the initiative to prove it is possible to narrow in on a goal in your life, to step up and work as a unified group towards a change. We are merely a living example that this is possible, waiting for everybody to come to the same realization of responsibility, despite your comfortable life, despite your doubts and fears, we ask that you change your focus from yourself and start thinking about others in the world who need your help.

Yes, my fellow man: I am asking you to step up. I don’t want your money, I don’t want your sympathy, I want you to realize your responsibility, the sooner the better, before it’s too late.
My point here is simple: don't pre-judge this proposal as anything that may already exist in your mind, because doing so is scripting failure. This is something that has never before been proposed, so keep an open mind, and if you're interested in finding out more, take the responsibility to do the research.

To find out about the EMS and how it is possible, check out equalmoney.org. To talk to people who’ve already decided to go for it, visit Desteni.co.za

You can start by checking out these links which will explain a bit more about this system, specifically illustrating the difference between the Equal Money System and communism:

Equal Money System - Nothing to do w/Communism or Utopia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwA-c-ENX1w

Socialism and Communism are frauds - I am one vote for World Equality
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVMLaBc8jew&feature=related

Equal Money System VS Communism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN3q2jasKuQ&feature=related

Equal Money System & Communism 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqHRkDyCheQ&feature=channel_video_title

Communism and Equal Money System - do your research
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgZXZyAkl3U

The Starting Point of Communism vs Equal Money System Part 1.wmv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otc5deXfOZ4

The Starting Point of Communism vs Equal Money System Part 2.wmv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhDHiiZ_kMg&feature=related

STOP SLAVERY = EQUAL MONEY SYSTEM 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRibQTARAoI&feature=related

Communism & World Equality -- Not The Same Thing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuK3ru0zxc0&feature=feedu

Product Control, Distribution and Capitalism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ukZYeL3_gQ&feature=feedu

Marx’s “Equality”
http://darrylthomas.wordpress.com/2011/01/06/marxs-equality/

Also, read this from Manueal J, a member of Desteni:


When people react to the word "equality" by likening it to communism, they are demonstrating an energetic charge that the word has been imprinted with through historical developments. Aspects of equality were part of the theoretical Marxist idea but Marx never gave practical pointers to implement the idea on realistic terms, hence it remained a theory and nothing more. There are some similarities between an Equal Money system and some of the Marxian ideas. For example, a classless system and equal living condition for all are such shared ideas. Mostly the differences between theoretical Marxian ideas and an Equal Money System (EMS) are in having a living system through practical implementation of the principle of equality rather than a theoretical approach.

As already mentioned, the implemented idea of communism had nothing to do with the theoretical Marxian concepts. The discrepancy between the political ideology of Marxist communism, and the countries that were governed from the so-called premise of communism was and is that in reality these regimes were an extension of capitalism. Those regimes, of which China is still an example, were brought to power through money and war, and the exerted the same type of control upon its citizens as in capitalistic societies. China today is a glorified capitalistic system where dictatorship controls the country and caters to a White Elite with money. Products for consumption are produced by Chinese workers who are exploited for cheap labour. The consumer products are then marketed in the US and Europe where they are bought without recourse to the conditions under which these products were produced. The main factor here is the buying power of a Western and Christian world.

Moreover, the Capitalistic systems, such as the US, have used the idea of Communism as a form of propaganda to promote Capitalism as a system of freedom and choice in comparison to communism as a system of enslavement. Therefore, the word "equality" also triggers fears within people, fears that are pertaining to the loss of individualism. Yet, people who react in fear, or even consider ‘world equality’ as utopia, will falsely believe that they are free in a system where freedom is equated with granted purchasing power maintained through self-interest and greed.

In an EMS the main force is equality as applied and implemented principle - in short, as lived experience. Communism is a political ideology that works under the current monetary system. Equal Money is a new monetary system that works on the principle of equality.To ensure that there are no decisions being made from the standpoint of energetic, pre-programmed reactions, a mathematical principle is applied to create, at all times, what is best for all under all conditions. Equality as it is lived in an EMS, is without precedence and has no historical references because it is foremost a new monetary system that is open, meaning its sphere of influence stretches past nations and society over the entire world. An EMS, as an open system, has the starting point that everyone and every living creature is included. In that it is also differentiated from Communism and Socialism because in an EMS abuse cannot and will not exist.

In Communist regimes of the past and the present, what people shared equally was a poverty point while leaders were functioning from a point of power and ego - thus creating the same hierarchical structures as in a Capitalistic system and dependencies of people on the system. In addition, Communist regimes were engulfed in fighting Capitalism and those who were in opposition of the regime - hence abusing money and resources for the purpose of warfare.

In EMS there are no reasons for the squandering of resources or the need to uphold ideologies because the premise of functioning is that everyone is equal and only what is best for all is implemented - thus poverty and warfare is a thing of the past.

Members of Desteni stand for and work towards the worldwide implementation of an EMS. They are committed to facing and solving the problems that are here in the world. Destonians will achieve this through the basic steps of education and an effective income plan. Education is one of the basic approaches to re-create ourselves, all humans, from a starting point where we understand what it means to live in this world, to live with oneself and to live as an equal to all that is here. This starting point is unlike what we are currently living where we are steeped in self-interest, power, greed and ego. This education and the change we must become is a prerequisite for us to understand equality as lived principle through a correction of ourselves, as daily activity where we change ourselves on an individual level. Again, this shows that Destonians have no interest in acquiring power or imposing their views on others. By contrast, in communism regimes were imposing their agenda upon its citizens. In an EMS, education is necessary to understand and become the lived experience of being able to take everyone into consideration through our participation, through the work we perform and through mutual support of each other.