SUBHEAD: Either you position yourself before the skies darken or you are left groping in the dark.
By Cognitive Dissonance on 30 May 2016 for Two Ice Floes -
(
http://twoicefloes.com/where-will-you-be-when-the-end-game-begins/)
Image above: Chess strategies of the End Game. From (http://www.thylacine3.com/419536821).
Sometime after oh-dark-thirty it will begin, the previously cocked trigger suddenly released to wreck havoc throughout the world’s financial system. Like an intricate and interwoven design made entirely of standing dominoes, all it takes is a slight disturbance to knock one off its base and start the cascade of toppled consequences running down the line.
With the benefit of hindsight it will be seen that the trigger itself was not the killer. Instead, sometime later, a specific projectile will be (most likely falsely) identified as the blunt instrument which tore economic flesh asunder and quickly bled the system of ‘liquidity’ faster than a slash to the femoral artery. Too late to make a difference, tourniquets will be applied to stem the red tide.
Sadly, all it will accomplish is to extend economic life long enough to enable a final frenzy of looting before the bloody end.
And the totalitarian end game will have only just begun.
End Game
Where will you physically be when the end game begins? If you are not there when it begins, you will most likely never get there.
A socioeconomic system, if healthy and vibrant, can usually withstand extremely rough handling and even intentionally directed assault. A severed lifeline, while certainly a devastating shock to the organism, can and will be survived simply because adequate resources and flexibility remain within the structure which can be quickly marshaled while emergency repairs are made.
But a compromised entity already deathly ill, continuously pumped with toxic drugs and stimulants, stressed beyond compare by various Rube Goldberg financial devices, constantly monitored and regulated to assure compliance to artificial standards no natural system would ever adhere to, is always one disturbance away from disaster.
Thus the stage is set for the dark thirty triggering event.
While several likely scenarios can be put forward regarding the sequence of events that might follow the triggering (as well as the trigger itself) the precise chain of events is ultimately of little importance since a million and one fingers are resting on the trigger and several trillion dominoes await their inevitable fall.
The socioeconomic weapon will be fired, of this there is little doubt. The more penetrating, and ultimately personal, question is of what intensity and duration are the intended consequences.
I sincerely fear a long term mass casualty event of such strength and scope as to be inconceivable, therefore impossible, for the average cloistered mind to comprehend. Even those of us presently reading this article believe we have a heightened, some might say enlightened, perspective and understanding of the coming trials and tribulations.
We do not. And quite frankly, we cannot.
I say this with great conviction by way of my interaction with, and study of, living examples...those who lived through and carried the lifelong scars of the Great Depression of the 1930’s.
While just about any American over the age of 60 has talked to, or heard stories of, older family members who survived that decade plus of sustained hardship and deprivation, as a financial planner and broker I worked directly with many who suffered the most in the area of greatest damage, their personal financial affairs.
The best way to describe this class of people, an entire generation in fact, is that of walking wounded who are deeply scared by post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
More than ‘just’ suffering from the effects of a horribly maiming bomb blast, these survivors carried the burden of having been completely demoralized and abandoned by every institution they ever came to believe in.
Seventy plus years after the fact, the remaining few still hold little trust in anything they cannot hold in their hands or create with their own sweat and blood.
Talk about a lost generation.
Thankfully for the powers-that-be who presently guide us into dark territory, that generation, along with its vivid memories and stark warnings, is rapidly dying off. There is nothing more annoying than attempting to run the train off the tracks while those in the back seats are rabble rousing with dire warnings of impending doom, death and destruction. Into the valley of death rode the 6 billion.
As they say in poker, this nearly extinguished generation is a ‘tell’, a sign, a marker unmistakably warning in no uncertain terms where we are headed is not where we want to be.
This alone should be sufficient for any critical thinker to settle his or her affairs and remove themselves from the clearly marked ground zero, your local (sub) urban center where any semblance of independence and self sufficiency is a pipe dream of the self deluded mind.
It is well past time to move to where we have a chance of regaining some (even limited) control over our food, water and (safer) space.
Time is running out
Time is not on your side. When exactly do you posittion yourself for the next phase of Empire's collapse?
This is not to say we should bunker in, both physically and mentally. In fact I speak of just the opposite. As I have expressed time and time again, while bunkering might tide us over nicely for a short duration event of a few months or even a year, at some point we must come up for air and interact with the local population.
If at that point we have not integrated ourselves into the community, an extremely unlikely event if we were actually bunkering, it will be exponentially more difficult to do so after the fact. At best, if we are seen as a threat they will shun us and leave us to our own devices.
At worst we will be treated as a dangerous nuisance animal that must be eliminated or neutralized for the community’s greater good.
If the community, already dealing with great stress and turmoil, finds ‘us’ of less value than our ‘stuff’, they will take our stuff and leave our rotting carcass behind. We will be outsiders and must prove our worth to the others.
In a devolving socioeconomic situation a cohesive community must work together as equals while providing similar and equal value to the whole in order to survive. Those alien to the area will be quickly cast off if they do not measure up.
But there is more, so much more, to the unfolding totalitarian equation. One must be willingly deaf, dumb and blind not to hear the propaganda on the boob tube, understand the game theory being played out and see the bleak writing on the wall.
Any oppressive and controlling regime, whether it is defined as the elite, the one percent, shadow government, deep state, corpocracy, fascism or whatever label we use to mindlessly identify, compartmentalize and thereby cognitively diminish, will use any and all means at its disposal to defend itself when it perceives itself under attack.
And the term ‘attack’ is loosely defined to encompass any perceived danger real, imaginary or falsely concocted.
To view the increasingly hostile police state which America is rapidly becoming as anything other than an oppressive and controlling entity readying itself for war upon its population is to expose the reader’s appalling denial of the glaringly obvious. This is nothing short of an emotional and intellectual defect that is severely debilitating and potentially terminal.
The danger is clear and present and growing on a daily basis. If this cannot be seen for what it is, the observer remains hopelessly mired in the bargaining phase of their denial.
Then again never underestimate the time, energy and effort seemingly intelligent and worldly people will invest in constructing an alternative reality they wish to believe in. As a corollary, never underestimate the time, energy and effort an oppressive and controlling regime will invest in promoting an alternative reality the population wishes to believe in.
A self deluded populace is more easily controlled and directed than one whose sticks and stones, when used in anger, may break the elite’s bones. If the population wants to believe in fairy tales, give them fairy tales they can love, honor, cherish and defend. If they don’t, convince them they should believe by any means possible.
The genius of those who are constructing the underlying superstructure of the police state is their cunning ability to do so under the unflinching glare of the midday sun. Problem, reaction, solution is their trade craft, the government bureaucracy their blunt instrument, a corrupted legislature the enabler and creator of the unconstitutional and immoral laws, a co-opted and controlled press their sympathetic choir and the judiciary the final fraudulent arbiter of the chains that bind.
Make no mistake about it, every ‘government’ at war with its people makes certain its actions are ‘just and lawful’, particularly when they are patently not.
When viewed from the point of view of the disinterested and detached, the inevitable is obvious. The only purpose for power is to use the power…or have it used against its own creator. Therein lays its absolute ability to corrupt absolutely.
Clearly the rapidly increasing capacity of the powers-that-be to surveil, subvert, suppress, subdue, subsume and slaughter is self evident to all but those who are desperate not to see. Or, in what is more likely the case, are either paid not to see or wish to continue to be paid if blindness is feigned and cooperation assured.
See No Evil
The Empire demands compliance. Why would you possibly think your 'End Game' options will still exist when the End Game begins?
This is why, at least at this moment, we would not be able to strike directly at the heart of the diseased beast, for it will be our fathers, family and friends who will defend ‘it’ from us. The Empire is exquisitely designed and constructed to be empowered when physical force is used against it.
Both the physical structure of its ramparts and the perverted psychology of its defenders are strengthened and emboldened when physical force is applied. Active resistance, when directed towards the Empire, is our own worst enemy.
The only way physical force has any chance of working against the Empire is when applied in overwhelming numbers against all vulnerable borders on a continuous basis. Since this requires great sacrifice by the population at large, Jane and Joe will only turn to these devices as a last resort, when all hope is lost and abject desperation sets in.
Even then, the controlling elite are expert at employing propaganda and psychological operations to turn Jane against Joe, thereby minimizing the effectiveness of the opposing force. One must be competently conditioned to kill on command in great numbers with ruthless efficiency to be considered an effective fighting force.
Quite frankly an angry mob is the exact opposite, making it very easy to turn each upon the other since the only driving force of the mob is blind emotional outburst easily subverted and misdirected.
Below are some sobering thoughts to ponder regarding human psychology and armed resistance to the Empire.
Organized revolution requires both the will and a way. And by ‘way’ I mean money. Any money procured by, or offered to, a resistance always comes with strings attached. Often the money comes directly from the controlling elite itself via back channels designed to subvert, misdirect or implode the resistance.
Or it might come from an enemy of the Empire, thereby making you a proxy and not an independent force. Someone’s bitch, plain and simple.
Essentially, when outnumbered and outgunned guerrilla tactics are usually employed. Basically you are fighting fire with even more devastating fire. If you have any moral qualms with using the methods of Empire against the Empire, this fight isn’t for you. To convince yourself otherwise will only destroy you from within.
If you aren’t ready to declare war on your community, don’t even consider this path. Ninety percent of the population is hopelessly compromised, whether spiritually, morally, medically or pharmaceutically, psychologically, financially or ideologically. To believe otherwise is to engage in self deception. The vast majority will never oppose the Empire in any consistent or meaningful way.
Even worse, in the words of Morpheus, “You have to understand. Most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so helplessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it.”
This is so much more than a quote from some silly Hollywood movie. This is a universal psychological truth used to the significant advantage of the Empire. While the puppeteers are a relative few, they leverage the minds of millions far more effectively than if the bodies were simply cannon fodder.
Any serious degradation or collapse of the system will not weaken, but rather strengthen, the Empire, if only because it is accelerating the endgame towards the present day. Those compromised by the system will beg the corrupt system to save them from the collapsing system, a fool’s errand vigorously pursued by unprepared and panicked fools along with the ever present groveling sycophants.
Desperate men do desperate things. Our mistake is assuming that when the downward spiral accelerates the core elite will be among the desperate. Those pursuing a plan of divide and conquer while reaping the spoils will not panic when it’s playing out as expected. Socioeconomic chaos is their friend, not yours or mine.
While the endgame may be accelerating, it will not conclude quickly. These long period cycles of madness require many years, even decades, to complete its rotation only to begin the cycle once again.
Since the insanity of a decaying and corrupt Empire is constantly renewed and invigorated by new blood from below, its lifespan is far longer than yours and mine. The name of the game is survival, not gloriously wasted death or indefinite incarceration.
The greatest danger to us and our loved ones is not (just) the violent thrashing of the expiring Empire, but our refusal to deal frankly and honestly with our own personal shortcomings and denial. Our unwillingness to soberly assess ourselves and our surroundings circumvent any proactive response by us to a worsening situation.
To think one can shelter in place within the confines of the corral is shear lunacy. To believe one can effectively time their escape to greener pastures just ahead of the initial imposition of the financial lockdown is not dealing with reality, other than one produced by the self deceived.
The reason most of us remain frozen in place like jack-lighted deer is our reluctance to recognize the severity of our situation and the capacity for further degradation. Quite frankly, this reduces us to little more than rationalization and justification to explain our near total inaction, other than possibly stockpiling.
Ultimately our ‘plan’ is to cheer on a systemic collapse in the hope those in power will be deposed and a new regime arises from the ashes to rebuild the Empire from the tattered remains of its glorious capitalist past.
At best this is wishful thinking, at worst suicidal. There is madness afoot, a debilitating energy that permeates all that lives, not just the ‘bad’ guys and gals. In the vast majority it expresses as obsessive compulsive behavior, in some it manifests in the form of a sociopath or psychopath, with others various combinations of the seven deadly sins (greed and pride/ego especially) rise to the surface, in still others fear and cowardice prevails.
Great personal and collective courage is required to overcome the disaffected ‘self’. And during times of mass delusion and hysteria, courage is in chronic short supply.
Courage
Do we wait for the water to boil or make our move now? Our biggest enemy is not our surroundings, but our 'self'.
I am fully aware all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. I do not propose nothing be done. But the choices are not limited to either charging directly into withering rifle fire or remaining huddled behind phantom cover in the hope we survive. There are many equally viable alternatives, including (at least partial) withdrawal to begin the process of starving the beast.
Make no mistake about the following. The power of the Empire has not yet waned to the point where it will be toppled by its own arrogance, hubris or blind greed. It has miles to go, and lives to destroy, before it sleeps. Any weakness displayed by the Empire will be compensated for by even greater transgressions against the population.
The lie we tell ourselves is we are not participating in strengthening the Empire by simply going about our daily business while drafting, and possibly even implementing, contingency plans A, B and C.
The Empire cares little about the plans of individual mice and men. So in this respect the illusion of safety within the anonymous pack emboldens inaction. But to believe we are not contributing to the Empire because of our status as an individual snowflake flatly denies our involvement in the avalanche.
Empire does not require willing participation, just involvement plain and simple. The more our contribution is reduced, the less dependent we become, the less contributory we are.
The ugly, and self evident, truth is the vast majority of us wish to partake of the spoils of Empire while denying Empire and the means by which it acquires the spoils. We know any significant change to our living arrangement involves dislocation, deprivation and uncertainty.
We pontificate about high moral aspirations while decrying the despicable greed and self interest of the elite and powerful. Yet our perceived ‘enlightened’ self interest dictates our own (in) action even if it ultimately undermines us as well as our family and friends.
Who are we kidding if not our ‘self’?
As stated previously, Mrs. Cog and I do not have the answers, let alone a firm understanding of all the questions. What we believe we know is extremely personal in nature, but can be universally applied.
Either we declare powerless victimhood by doing little to nothing while awaiting the ‘sign’ to engage Plan B, or we execute a living breathing plan of action here and now by changing nearly everything about our lives and begin the process of reclaiming our personal sovereignty one step at a time.
To change the world I must first change myself. To approach this in any other manner is to adopt the techniques and mindset we decry as dishonest, disingenuous and corrupt. I have come to realize the approaching trials are about so much more than just survival.
This is about personal growth and spiritual transformation, of reaching for and achieving a higher plain of existence greater than the lowest common denominator, the heart of the fraud the Empire promotes and which “We the People” are addicted to and dependent upon.
And this, I suspect, is what truly holds so many people back.
For to break from the herd and look squarely in the mirror requires a fearless self examination and assessment, precisely what we are conditioned to avoid at all costs in our mindless pursuit of self absorbed consumerism.
The promoted myth is simple enough; when we exit the education indoctrination system the only remaining items left to pursue are specific skills required to further our ‘career’, which in turn provides the money to pay the debts that support the self destructive consumer lifestyle.
Turning our back on this meme and consciously choosing a life of more focused labor and dedication to self sufficiency and independence is not aligned with the bargain we struck with the system back when we entered grade school all those years ago. I made a deal with the devil in return for a life of leisure when I hit age 65.
To question this fundamental ‘truth’ requires us to question everything, something very few of us are willing to do.
Are you?
Either you position yourself before the skies darken or you are left groping in the dark.
.
