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Thread: russell brands revolution

  1. #1

    Thumbs up russell brands revolution

    what do you guys think of this :

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLYcn3PuTTk
    I guess we are who we are

  2. #2
    I agree with the interviewer. They’re vague ideas. It sounds nice, but what does it all mean? Russell is saying nothing new that every other political party and leader around the world hasn’t already argued for since the beginning of 20th century. Democrats have made similar arguments. So have Republicans, Communists, dictators, theocracies, etc. All have very different results.
    I generally tend to dislike the concept of revolution. It’s an emotionally charged concept and usually does more harm than good. Most times, revolutions just make way for even worse governments.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wuxia007 View Post
    I agree with the interviewer. They’re vague ideas. It sounds nice, but what does it all mean? Russell is saying nothing new that every other political party and leader around the world hasn’t already argued for since the beginning of 20th century. Democrats have made similar arguments. So have Republicans, Communists, dictators, theocracies, etc. All have very different results.
    I generally tend to dislike the concept of revolution. It’s an emotionally charged concept and usually does more harm than good. Most times, revolutions just make way for even worse governments.

    IMO what Russell is saying is very different from any politician that I have heard of. Politicians are into democracy, capitalism, and politics, what Russell is talking about is against all of this. It's vague, because he's limited by time in the interview. The ideas he presents are not new, but they are ignored. It sounds like he is into the Venus Project, and Jacque Fresco, here..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KphWsnhZ4Ag.

    Revolution is good when it is needed, right now it is needed IMO. Society is going down the drain sorry to say..

    J

  4. #4
    I can't help but think that his brand of revolution is style over substance and his criticism of media is "listen to me, my hair is perfect."

    Many of the things he says I can agree with, but his approach seems to me to be a different version of the Dennis Leary thing from the nineties(and the multitude who have copied him since), which then was "everyone's dumb but me, let me prove it with simplistic argument based on common sense that fails to sum things up", whereas Brand uses somewhat more involved argument that falls short of deep scholarship.

    The only revolution that might change the conditions he wants changed are technological, not social. As long as the modern economy is dependent on finite resources whose finite nature gives them high value, the greatest power will be gained by pursuit and control of those at all costs. If technology solves that problem, the entire paradigm changes one way. If it doesn't, then we'll eventually be in wooden ships and talking about how great we are.

    Just my opinions.

  5. #5
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    Best not to try to figure out Russell on a personal level, his motivations are his alone. But lets just say this, the present system has made him rich and famous, everything everyone wants he has within this present system, and he's dissing IT! That says something.

    Both Socially and Economically we have to change. Today we live in the most comfortable and convenient society that has ever been created, and ppl are still not happy, they are comfortable and seek pleasure, which is temporary happiness. Technological advancement has made this happen, but ppl are still looking for outside stimuli to make them happy, be it food, drugs, sex, smartphones, or whatever, they know not of their inner happiness but only techno pleasure and outside awareness within their pursuit of happiness.. Just my opinion as well

    James

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by sihing View Post
    Best not to try to figure out Russell on a personal level, his motivations are his alone. But lets just say this, the present system has made him rich and famous, everything everyone wants he has within this present system, and he's dissing IT! That says something.

    Both Socially and Economically we have to change. Today we live in the most comfortable and convenient society that has ever been created, and ppl are still not happy, they are comfortable and seek pleasure, which is temporary happiness. Technological advancement has made this happen, but ppl are still looking for outside stimuli to make them happy, be it food, drugs, sex, smartphones, or whatever, they know not of their inner happiness but only techno pleasure and outside awareness within their pursuit of happiness.. Just my opinion as well

    James
    Agree on all points.

  7. #7
    More choice creates more stress after a certain point. Principle of diminishing returns applies here. We're just raising a high percentage of entitled pussies these days.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by sihing View Post
    Best not to try to figure out Russell on a personal level, his motivations are his alone. But lets just say this, the present system has made him rich and famous, everything everyone wants he has within this present system, and he's dissing IT! That says something.

    Both Socially and Economically we have to change. Today we live in the most comfortable and convenient society that has ever been created, and ppl are still not happy, they are comfortable and seek pleasure, which is temporary happiness. Technological advancement has made this happen, but ppl are still looking for outside stimuli to make them happy, be it food, drugs, sex, smartphones, or whatever, they know not of their inner happiness but only techno pleasure and outside awareness within their pursuit of happiness.. Just my opinion as well

    James
    ...you mean we have lost our spiritual connection to God, the earth, our fellow man and ourselves
    "The true meaning of a given movement in a form is not its application, but rather the unlimited potential of the mind to provide muscular and skeletal support for that movement." Gregory Fong

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    Quote Originally Posted by TaichiMantis View Post
    ...you mean we have lost our spiritual connection to God, the earth, our fellow man and ourselves
    Yes and No. We have definitely lost our Spiritual connection, now what does that mean, what does Spiritual mean? Nothing to do with God of the bible or any other gods, or entities outside of yourself. The way I've been introduced to it is this, Spirituality is a dimension beyond the physical.

    All of us are pieces of Creation and Creators, but most of us are living just the creation part, not realizing the creator part that is in all of us. What created this universe is within us, it doesn't mean we are selves created the universe, but the same source of creation is within us, and that is what we need to get back intouch with. Once your there, you feel the oneness of it all, from that basic foundation you function within the society, with ego, but in awareness of it all..

    James

  10. #10
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    Why always destruction.... Tear down the establishment, revolution, Chaos.

    Though this is a mechanism for change, surely it is not the best.

    Let me make my case as simply as possible;

    There are good things and there are bad things. We want more good than bad. There are two ways to achieve this, either destroy what is bad or create more of what is good.

    For some reason people always go straight to destruction. Destroy what is bad. But destruction begets more bad things. Why tear down a broken system only to replace it with another which may be even more broken?

    NO one ever seems to see the other mechanism. That is instead of destroying what is bad, if we instead promote the good and create more of it, then what is bad will fade into insignificance next to it. Gradually, safely. Instead of looking for whats wrong in society, look for what is right, what is working well, and do more things like it.

    Now is not the time for revolution, its the time for co-operation.

  11. #11
    Revolution can take many forms. One could call the civil rights movement a revolution. The groundwork took a long time, but once it started to move, it went down pretty fast.

    I think a lot of people equate revolution with violent resistance, but it isn't always so. Egypt had a revolution through protest, albeit there was some violence, but that wasn't the main focus. One could argue the whole gay thing was a revolution. One could argue the marijuana thing going on now is a revolution. Public opinion is swinging hard as the old reefer madness crowd is dying off fast.

    A revolution of thought can be good or bad, it's up to the people involved to decide, that's what makes it so powerful, appealing and scary. You should try to use conventional mechanisms in order to affect change, but sometimes that isn't a productive route.

    For example... in the US there are many groups coming together in order to get a constitutional amendment to decisions like Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti. Should that not succeed, then other measures are called for. It's pretty clear where popular opinion stands on those issues. If the majority can't have their way within the framework, then they'll move outside that framework, and rightfully so.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by RenDaHai View Post
    Why always destruction.... Tear down the establishment, revolution, Chaos.

    Though this is a mechanism for change, surely it is not the best.

    Let me make my case as simply as possible;

    There are good things and there are bad things. We want more good than bad. There are two ways to achieve this, either destroy what is bad or create more of what is good.

    For some reason people always go straight to destruction. Destroy what is bad. But destruction begets more bad things. Why tear down a broken system only to replace it with another which may be even more broken?

    NO one ever seems to see the other mechanism. That is instead of destroying what is bad, if we instead promote the good and create more of it, then what is bad will fade into insignificance next to it. Gradually, safely. Instead of looking for whats wrong in society, look for what is right, what is working well, and do more things like it.

    Now is not the time for revolution, its the time for co-operation.

    Depends where you are. Sometimes the bad prevents the good. That's when you step outside.

  13. #13
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    I don't think this is about destruction, never heard any mention of that. It's about change. Revolution is just a word, some may interpret it differently, but it's about change to a more productive and synergetic way for our society to be.


    In the end, it's comes down to each of us, as individuals, and doing what is right for us. Some love this system, they are the rich, powerful, secure, and have all the things that they think they want. Have heard a ton of ppl in the know say that these types are not so happy as well, but at the least they are very comfortable, the problem is that these types are the minority, while the majority suffers just as much mentally with no comfort. The middle class is becoming the lower class economically, so the gap is getting larger, the minority is hording it, they still want more b/c to them MORE IS BETTER.

    Great sacrifices have been made in every area of life because of this type of lifestyle, I've read that if everyone on earth lived like the avg. American, we would need 3 earths to support it. So that says it, we are too much into consuming and not enough into gathering what is already within us, our true Happiness and Well Being is within us, and even though this is getting more exposure, the addiction to the outside stimuli and the "in pursuit of happiness" mentality that is prevalent today, the messaged is being muted..

    I'm not sure if a major shift is possible consciously now, don't know, all I can do is make myself as conscious as possible, bring about a natural happiness within myself and then from that stand point, function in the society and the world...the more naturally happy ppl there are in this world, the better it would be, great change would happen, not sure if that is possible either the way things are going..

    James

  14. #14
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    I've wondered lately, why do rich and famous ppl use drugs and alcohol? They have everything the society teaches us we need to have, so why have the need for something outside of themselves to enhance their mood?


    Why do athletes, when they achieve their goal of winning the gold medal, the world series, the superbowl, the Stanley cup, World Cup, Masters, etc... why do they need drugs, alcohol, women, status, fast cars to make themselves feel good, when they have achieved their dream, their goal is to win, they win, then they use things outside of themselves to enhance their moods, why?

    J

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by sihing View Post

    Why do athletes, when they achieve their goal of winning the gold medal, the world series, the superbowl, the Stanley cup, World Cup, Masters, etc... why do they need drugs, alcohol, women, status, fast cars to make themselves feel good,

    because that was their goal

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