Im glad you said .01 and not 1%. That is a statistic most liberals get wrong. The top 1% pay the vast majority of taxes in this country.
It’s the mega-billionaires who get away with economic murder. And honestly, it’d be less of a big deal imo if they took care of their own. Like, if everyone at Amazon, or Walmart, or Disney or wherever…got paid a living wage plus healthcare…these people would be less villainous in my mind.
This is very on point! I stopped spending years ago and I can't tell you how free that feels. I recognize luxuries almost no one else does. Paper towels instead of a worn out t-shirt to clean with. I'm telling you it's great to actually REALLY appreciate a sandwich take out. I love my simple life and highly recommend it.
I didn't initially have a choice. I'm at a place where I can indulge in luxuries now, occasionally, and that's really nice. Especially when you truly appreciate it for what it is. Really good piece, Henny. Really very good.
“We want reform that doesn’t inconvenience us, change that doesn’t alter our lifestyle in any meaningful way.”
Our lifestyles have been altered in meaningful ways for the last five decades. What else is there to give up?
I bet there would be less griping about most of these things (taxes, social benefits, tuition , etc) if wages had kept pace during that same time period.
I have the opposite view. I think the pendulum has swung once, hard, already. I’m curious to see how 2028 goes, and whether it swings back for the better, and for the greater good. It will take regulation. Period. Why would corporations not squeeze every dollar they can possibly squeeze for themselves? Isn’t that the capitalist way? And we live in a capitalistic economy. There’s no room for a moral argument, according to capitalism. The only place it’s going to come from is through the law. Will it?? Unfortunately, I think there will have to be some sort of inflection point or payout for that to happen, like not enough workers (due to the dwindling population), so it makes sense to pay them more to do the work that needs to be done, etc etc.
Yeah but that seems unlikely no, what with the rise of AI? To that end, I’m surprised there hasn’t been more of a financial toll from all of this immigration stuff. Our economy relies heavily on “illegals”…at least I think most of us thought it did 🤷🏼♂️. Construction, agriculture, etc.
It wasn’t the catholic guilt that encouraged this read, I swear! Very thought provoking, I think about many of these things often. The worth of taxation, when applied in benevolent ways. Where I put my money and where I hold it on principle. I am not often on the lines as a visual protester, and I’ve felt guilt about that. But if we fight for what we believe in, however that looks, is important.
So much to think about, loved this! The scope of our free will, what influences us when we don't realize it, how quickly we get comfortable and unwilling to make sacrifices...all so true.
I flip-flop with my feelings on Scott Galloway. He has great ideas, and some stupid ones, but don't we all! Funny enough, I rolled my eyes a bit at his "resist and unsubscribe" campaign not because it's a bad idea, but because I doubted how many would adopt the approach.
It's true, follow the money if you want to know what hurts people in power, and I agree, it's more effective than a sign, but like you, I'm not convinced that people are willing enough to do things that are genuinely uncomfortable.
I also wonder how much of modern America's angst is borne of our obsession with rights and indifference toward responsibility. I suppose that can devolve into the whataboutism category, but I do sometimes think some (not all) of our pain is self-imposed, but we're always looking for the "they" who are against "us".
Totally. We are obsessed with what others have that we don’t. With very little regard to what we are actually putting back into the system or our communities.
I’m always torn on Galloway. Such a self righteous dbag a lot of the time, but so damn smart…and common sense-able…the rest of it.
I'm an old hippie freak and a lot of this POV comes straight out of the counterculture movement spawned by Vietnam War resistance. In the late 60s and early 70s we were looking for whole other ways to organize the economy, politics, society, and—more importantly—our culture, the way we live our day to day lives—because that's what all the rest is built on. If we change our lives we change the future. We didn't change the world in the revolutionary ways we were hoping for, but I think seeds were planted that have grown day by day into incremental, lasting change for the better. There's been backsliding, apathy, and the obvious reactionary response we see now from the fascist minority scrambling to maintain their privilege, but the arc is still bending in the right direction over time. It's a slow battle and we have to sacrifice and keep up the good trouble, but I know when I compare the political views, normative values, and ways of life of my parents generation with what I see in my children's I see a vast difference for the better.
Well, i hate to think, but often do, that it was the threat of being drafted that pushed us over the cultural edge. But in my more positive moments I also recognize—in my own life and in those I was close to—that the horror of that war as it was brought home to us by the media was an impelling force for change. There were also several movements that were already ongoing as I was coming of age that influenced me toward deep cultural change and a questioning of all the assumptions.
There was the labor movement that impacted my working class family. I saw that my union steward mom had a more positive outlook than my right-to-work, George Wallace-supporting father. We ate no head lettuce, grapes, or raisins back then because of the United Farmworkers and the fact that my mom did the shopping. Delores Huerta’s book Huelga! was on the coffee table. My racist dad wasn’t a reader, so it could stay.
Also having an impact was the Civil Rights Movement. Even in my early days during the 1950s the newspapers were full of the active resistance and the fascist repression. Even though my mom wasn’t as racist as my dad, she was still prejudice against the scary “Other”, but the truth of the wrongness of racism came through to me and I easily applied it to the racist war in Vietnam. Events made the rhetoric of the left seem like the truth to me and most of my friends, even as we were living in an all-white suburb. The anti-racist wheels were turning and they seemed self-evidently righteous to me.
The precursors of the “hippie” counterculture were in the Bohemian and Beat art scene at the time. Rock-n-roll hit me hard with its message of rebellion. It’s a chicken and egg thing as to whether it was a source of change or a means toward change already in the wind. A lot of cultural streams were coming together as mass media evolved. I really believe that art and artists need to take a stronger lead in this current anti-fascist push against the most recent fascist resurgence. I often post asking when the big “Democracy Aid” concerts are going to happen. Our millionaire musicians and other performance artists need to step up like they did back then.
Then there was the women’s movement that was beginning its second wave back when I was entering adolescence. There was a whole, long history of women’s struggles revealed to me by reading, and by listening to the smart, dynamic girls-becoming-women around me. It affected my mom. I read her copies of The Second Sex and the brand new Ms Magazine and it affected me deeply. I now have become a feminist first, politically, as I see patriarchy as the foundational dysfunction in all human cultures since the big take-over of our matrilineal cultures 10,000 years ago. Racism, violence, crime, and war have all stemmed from patriarchy, in my Humboldt opinion. Recognizing the personal as political leads naturally to seeing the greatest locus of change inside our personal lives. Culture—the way we live, creates our societies, and our economic and political institutions.
Lastly, I was a nearly-graduated senior in high school when the first Earth Day took place. At the liberal-leaning, white, privileged high school I was bused to because there were projected soon to be non-white people living in our neighborhood (a correct projection, as it turned out), we shut down classes for a day of seminars about the population bomb and pollution and even climate change—way back then. So I was lucky on that front. I read Silent Spring in high school. Attending that liberal high school saved me from dropping out and joining the military like every young man in the history of my family had done. It’s the reason I became an artist and a teacher—both of which tend to move you away from the old racist, sexist culture.
Oh, and somehow the religious institutions lost my parents before I came along, so it was easy to become a scientific thinker and an atheist, which helped me get away from the old ways. LSD and other psychedelic drugs that the counter culture provided were an immense help, as well, on all levels. I high highly recommend their thoughtful use. I was guided by Huxley’s The Doors of Perception and a book called LSD, Age of the Mind. Now, I’d recommend Michael Pollen on the subject, if you haven’t read it yet.
So, a lot has to come together for there to be deep, lasting cultural/social/political change for the better. We’re in a different world now, and only history will tell us in retrospect if what needed to be done was done—whether the pendulum or the arc has reach some kind of apex, and in which direction it will now move. In the mean time, just keep on keeping on. ✌🏻❤️ 🎶 🏳️🌈 🌍
99% turnout would be amazing, and change things no question. And in terms of that arc you mention, I agree…but with a caveat. With every arc there is the eventual downturn. What I think a lot of folks are worried about is that we may have just crested that arc. Only time will tell I guess.
Also, I wonder what would have to happen to get this generation of young people (or the next), to force substantive change like yours did?
Well written! You really cooked on these points. One underutilized advantage the internet offers is how easy it would be for people to align and boycott. Cancel culture is usually an individual paying for a systems sins. I’m talking more like how Wall Street Bets Reddit beat hedge funds for a few weeks. The opportunities for change are at hand, the hard part though is what you get at really well in this post
I’ve thought about that first part…aligning and boycotting online. I don’t think it’s that easy. All of these platforms do a good job of promoting free speech, but their algorithms hide anything that is detrimental to them.
Hence why you can’t promote your work on a different platform. Ever try to get someone on Facebook or YouTube to go directly to your Substack page? Not gonna happen. Because they won’t let it. They downgrade anything that would remotely entice people to leave their site.
It’s why understanding “the medium IS the purpose” when it comes to social media is essential to your point about free will. The first benefactor of the attention gained, is the platform. There may not be anything wrong with that, but it’s problematic if that fact isnt understood. Gotta know what game you’re playing kind of thing. It’s hard to score touchdowns in baseball
So well said! 100% agree. A lot of the same can be said for signing petitions; how many do you sign before you notice the petitions haven't changed anything and the orgs just keep asking for money?
I'm also tired of the purity tests. No human being is going to align with your individual views and goals at all times, no human being is going to be free of anything that could be controversial, etc. Reasonable people understand this.
Totally. And I think that goes for our personal relationships as well. Too many of us think we can’t be friends with people who think differently than us.
I also think it’s funny when people assume something about you and what you believe just because of the particular demographic you slot into.
Tale as old as time. The primitive part of our brains that were rewarded during our evolution for assuming the worst about people from another place who look/eat/live different seems to be stubbornly refusing to evolve
We need both. The pedos in power(both sides) need to know that we have numbers.
Second, you vote more with your pocketbook than with a ballot in the age of billionaires.
Well thought out and laid out quite nicely, Henny.
Thanks William! 100% agree, the only thing these people fear is a dip in their bank accounts.
Until the guillotines roll out...
😳 💀 🤣
RIP .01% 💀💀💀👻😬🤣🪦
Im glad you said .01 and not 1%. That is a statistic most liberals get wrong. The top 1% pay the vast majority of taxes in this country.
It’s the mega-billionaires who get away with economic murder. And honestly, it’d be less of a big deal imo if they took care of their own. Like, if everyone at Amazon, or Walmart, or Disney or wherever…got paid a living wage plus healthcare…these people would be less villainous in my mind.
End rant. For now 🤣
This is very on point! I stopped spending years ago and I can't tell you how free that feels. I recognize luxuries almost no one else does. Paper towels instead of a worn out t-shirt to clean with. I'm telling you it's great to actually REALLY appreciate a sandwich take out. I love my simple life and highly recommend it.
I love the pictures too! Thank you, Henny.
Thanks MaryBeth! I can’t say our family is as dedicated as you!!
I didn't initially have a choice. I'm at a place where I can indulge in luxuries now, occasionally, and that's really nice. Especially when you truly appreciate it for what it is. Really good piece, Henny. Really very good.
👍🏼
This is a true "mic drop" post (Or article?! What's Substack currently calling it?!)... In any case, brilliant!
Post, article, whatever…I’ll take the compliment!! Thanks Stephanie!!!
This is worth reading just for all the images. Love the brilliant golf cartoon.
Ha, thanks!
And thanks for the restack. I was (am) honestly a little concerned people won’t read it because they think I’m ripping on the movement.
Me too — that’s why I put that pre-amble. 😆
People can be so easily offended.
“We want reform that doesn’t inconvenience us, change that doesn’t alter our lifestyle in any meaningful way.”
Our lifestyles have been altered in meaningful ways for the last five decades. What else is there to give up?
I bet there would be less griping about most of these things (taxes, social benefits, tuition , etc) if wages had kept pace during that same time period.
Totally. Because the groups with their feet on the scales, politicians and corporations, keep taking a larger percentage.
The question is, when have people had enough? It doesn’t seem as though we’re there yet.
I have the opposite view. I think the pendulum has swung once, hard, already. I’m curious to see how 2028 goes, and whether it swings back for the better, and for the greater good. It will take regulation. Period. Why would corporations not squeeze every dollar they can possibly squeeze for themselves? Isn’t that the capitalist way? And we live in a capitalistic economy. There’s no room for a moral argument, according to capitalism. The only place it’s going to come from is through the law. Will it?? Unfortunately, I think there will have to be some sort of inflection point or payout for that to happen, like not enough workers (due to the dwindling population), so it makes sense to pay them more to do the work that needs to be done, etc etc.
Yeah but that seems unlikely no, what with the rise of AI? To that end, I’m surprised there hasn’t been more of a financial toll from all of this immigration stuff. Our economy relies heavily on “illegals”…at least I think most of us thought it did 🤷🏼♂️. Construction, agriculture, etc.
You’re right, we do.
https://www.cato.org/blog/cato-study-immigrants-reduced-deficits-145-trillion-1994
Holy cow, that’s crazy. Also funny/interesting that they cost less than retirees.
Yep. Who’s going to fund social security for them now?? AI? 🤔
I have a long list of people I’ll be sending this article to 🤨
Thanks! I think 🤔😀
It wasn’t the catholic guilt that encouraged this read, I swear! Very thought provoking, I think about many of these things often. The worth of taxation, when applied in benevolent ways. Where I put my money and where I hold it on principle. I am not often on the lines as a visual protester, and I’ve felt guilt about that. But if we fight for what we believe in, however that looks, is important.
Agree! And there is strength in numbers. Thats where the resist and unsubscribe movement comes into play. Check it out!
People aren’t willing to give up on conveniences. It’s a bit hypocritical. I see it with the BDS crowd too.
What is BDS?
Boycott Divestment and Sanctions from Israeli products.
I’d never heard of that before
Welcome to being a Jew.
So much to think about, loved this! The scope of our free will, what influences us when we don't realize it, how quickly we get comfortable and unwilling to make sacrifices...all so true.
I flip-flop with my feelings on Scott Galloway. He has great ideas, and some stupid ones, but don't we all! Funny enough, I rolled my eyes a bit at his "resist and unsubscribe" campaign not because it's a bad idea, but because I doubted how many would adopt the approach.
It's true, follow the money if you want to know what hurts people in power, and I agree, it's more effective than a sign, but like you, I'm not convinced that people are willing enough to do things that are genuinely uncomfortable.
I also wonder how much of modern America's angst is borne of our obsession with rights and indifference toward responsibility. I suppose that can devolve into the whataboutism category, but I do sometimes think some (not all) of our pain is self-imposed, but we're always looking for the "they" who are against "us".
Totally. We are obsessed with what others have that we don’t. With very little regard to what we are actually putting back into the system or our communities.
I’m always torn on Galloway. Such a self righteous dbag a lot of the time, but so damn smart…and common sense-able…the rest of it.
Insufficient the enemy of better. Damn. This was a good one!!
Appreciate it Taylor, hope you are well!
Good stuff, Henny. New subscriber here.
I'm an old hippie freak and a lot of this POV comes straight out of the counterculture movement spawned by Vietnam War resistance. In the late 60s and early 70s we were looking for whole other ways to organize the economy, politics, society, and—more importantly—our culture, the way we live our day to day lives—because that's what all the rest is built on. If we change our lives we change the future. We didn't change the world in the revolutionary ways we were hoping for, but I think seeds were planted that have grown day by day into incremental, lasting change for the better. There's been backsliding, apathy, and the obvious reactionary response we see now from the fascist minority scrambling to maintain their privilege, but the arc is still bending in the right direction over time. It's a slow battle and we have to sacrifice and keep up the good trouble, but I know when I compare the political views, normative values, and ways of life of my parents generation with what I see in my children's I see a vast difference for the better.
Imagine 99% turnout.
Well, i hate to think, but often do, that it was the threat of being drafted that pushed us over the cultural edge. But in my more positive moments I also recognize—in my own life and in those I was close to—that the horror of that war as it was brought home to us by the media was an impelling force for change. There were also several movements that were already ongoing as I was coming of age that influenced me toward deep cultural change and a questioning of all the assumptions.
There was the labor movement that impacted my working class family. I saw that my union steward mom had a more positive outlook than my right-to-work, George Wallace-supporting father. We ate no head lettuce, grapes, or raisins back then because of the United Farmworkers and the fact that my mom did the shopping. Delores Huerta’s book Huelga! was on the coffee table. My racist dad wasn’t a reader, so it could stay.
Also having an impact was the Civil Rights Movement. Even in my early days during the 1950s the newspapers were full of the active resistance and the fascist repression. Even though my mom wasn’t as racist as my dad, she was still prejudice against the scary “Other”, but the truth of the wrongness of racism came through to me and I easily applied it to the racist war in Vietnam. Events made the rhetoric of the left seem like the truth to me and most of my friends, even as we were living in an all-white suburb. The anti-racist wheels were turning and they seemed self-evidently righteous to me.
The precursors of the “hippie” counterculture were in the Bohemian and Beat art scene at the time. Rock-n-roll hit me hard with its message of rebellion. It’s a chicken and egg thing as to whether it was a source of change or a means toward change already in the wind. A lot of cultural streams were coming together as mass media evolved. I really believe that art and artists need to take a stronger lead in this current anti-fascist push against the most recent fascist resurgence. I often post asking when the big “Democracy Aid” concerts are going to happen. Our millionaire musicians and other performance artists need to step up like they did back then.
Then there was the women’s movement that was beginning its second wave back when I was entering adolescence. There was a whole, long history of women’s struggles revealed to me by reading, and by listening to the smart, dynamic girls-becoming-women around me. It affected my mom. I read her copies of The Second Sex and the brand new Ms Magazine and it affected me deeply. I now have become a feminist first, politically, as I see patriarchy as the foundational dysfunction in all human cultures since the big take-over of our matrilineal cultures 10,000 years ago. Racism, violence, crime, and war have all stemmed from patriarchy, in my Humboldt opinion. Recognizing the personal as political leads naturally to seeing the greatest locus of change inside our personal lives. Culture—the way we live, creates our societies, and our economic and political institutions.
Lastly, I was a nearly-graduated senior in high school when the first Earth Day took place. At the liberal-leaning, white, privileged high school I was bused to because there were projected soon to be non-white people living in our neighborhood (a correct projection, as it turned out), we shut down classes for a day of seminars about the population bomb and pollution and even climate change—way back then. So I was lucky on that front. I read Silent Spring in high school. Attending that liberal high school saved me from dropping out and joining the military like every young man in the history of my family had done. It’s the reason I became an artist and a teacher—both of which tend to move you away from the old racist, sexist culture.
Oh, and somehow the religious institutions lost my parents before I came along, so it was easy to become a scientific thinker and an atheist, which helped me get away from the old ways. LSD and other psychedelic drugs that the counter culture provided were an immense help, as well, on all levels. I high highly recommend their thoughtful use. I was guided by Huxley’s The Doors of Perception and a book called LSD, Age of the Mind. Now, I’d recommend Michael Pollen on the subject, if you haven’t read it yet.
So, a lot has to come together for there to be deep, lasting cultural/social/political change for the better. We’re in a different world now, and only history will tell us in retrospect if what needed to be done was done—whether the pendulum or the arc has reach some kind of apex, and in which direction it will now move. In the mean time, just keep on keeping on. ✌🏻❤️ 🎶 🏳️🌈 🌍
Amen my new friend. Thanks for the thoughtful response.
Didn’t know Pollan had written about that. Will check it out.
I like that "new friend" part. Where are you posting from, timezone wise?
I'm in Far North CA on the Redwood Coast.
The (somewhat) frozen tundra of Wisconsin
My wife is from LaCross. Came to CA when she was 12. No accent. Darn!
Haha. Well I am a mutt so to speak. So my accent’s got a bunch of stuff in it by now.
Welcome Michael!
99% turnout would be amazing, and change things no question. And in terms of that arc you mention, I agree…but with a caveat. With every arc there is the eventual downturn. What I think a lot of folks are worried about is that we may have just crested that arc. Only time will tell I guess.
Also, I wonder what would have to happen to get this generation of young people (or the next), to force substantive change like yours did?
Well written! You really cooked on these points. One underutilized advantage the internet offers is how easy it would be for people to align and boycott. Cancel culture is usually an individual paying for a systems sins. I’m talking more like how Wall Street Bets Reddit beat hedge funds for a few weeks. The opportunities for change are at hand, the hard part though is what you get at really well in this post
Thank you sir!
I’ve thought about that first part…aligning and boycotting online. I don’t think it’s that easy. All of these platforms do a good job of promoting free speech, but their algorithms hide anything that is detrimental to them.
Hence why you can’t promote your work on a different platform. Ever try to get someone on Facebook or YouTube to go directly to your Substack page? Not gonna happen. Because they won’t let it. They downgrade anything that would remotely entice people to leave their site.
It’s why understanding “the medium IS the purpose” when it comes to social media is essential to your point about free will. The first benefactor of the attention gained, is the platform. There may not be anything wrong with that, but it’s problematic if that fact isnt understood. Gotta know what game you’re playing kind of thing. It’s hard to score touchdowns in baseball
Right.
We also need strong leadership (we have zero of that currently) to hold these institutions accountable. It feels like the Wild West currently.
Whataboutism is a wild concept. Thanks Jenny
Simple truths buttressed by deep thoughts, Henry. Great piece.
Appreciate it Amanda, thanks!
Dog pictures! Thank you! Such a ray of sunshine in these dreary times! Thank you.
That they are!!!
So well said! 100% agree. A lot of the same can be said for signing petitions; how many do you sign before you notice the petitions haven't changed anything and the orgs just keep asking for money?
I'm also tired of the purity tests. No human being is going to align with your individual views and goals at all times, no human being is going to be free of anything that could be controversial, etc. Reasonable people understand this.
Totally. And I think that goes for our personal relationships as well. Too many of us think we can’t be friends with people who think differently than us.
I also think it’s funny when people assume something about you and what you believe just because of the particular demographic you slot into.
Tale as old as time. The primitive part of our brains that were rewarded during our evolution for assuming the worst about people from another place who look/eat/live different seems to be stubbornly refusing to evolve
Served us well then. Today? Not as much.