#babylon system

[denkym]

THEY COME AT NIGHT - Alhambra, California

[thecastleofmyskin]

Happy Birthday, Bob Marley!

I feel like I have posted this song before, but it’s such a classic truth-teller, I can’t resist posting again. “Babylon System”

“We refuse to be what you wanted us to be

we are what we are - that’s the way it’s going to be...”

[boyiwakwambvukuta]

Mare - Night Goat Lyrics | Musixmatch

Lyrics for Night Goat by Mare

[davidwilliammusic]

The Social Trap

Social Media has become a big part of social interaction over the last years, but with it has come a set of rules everybody seems to follow. Some people coming across my accounts may wonder why I have few followers and follow nobody myself… From experience and observation I have learned that these unwritten rules seem to govern who has success on those platforms, and in order to fit in you have to behave accordingly, no matter how individual or unique you see yourself as. I am not anti-social, an introvert or loner, but simply staying true to myself and trying not to get sucked into the unconscious behavioural patterns everybody seems to take for granted. 

A great recent example is the mask wearing, but there are many others, for example, the use of alcohol when socialising. Most people do these things and are surrounded by people who do, but if you choose not to follow those conventions you become a threat to their belief system and they get irritated, fear or resent you. You are left out in more than one way, because, as well as having problems doing your shopping if you don’t wear a mask, you are shunned socially.

Whenever I have tried to connect with people online in the past, it has usually gone the same way. Someone comes upon me and likes me or my art (or vice versa) and naturally an interest develops, maybe opportunities for a friendship arise. But soon it is clear our lifestyles are very different, and if they already have a bunch of friends and acquaintances who live a certain way - the norms of society -  this becomes a problem. How am I going to fit in with their crowd? Because, if I don't behave like them in the fundamental things they take for granted, they are not going to want to be my friend for long. At best, there will be some kind of tension in the relationship. If I ignore all that and  build a network of connections, before too long I will be immersed in their world, the ways they behave will rub off on me and I will succumb to the hive mind rather than maintaining my individuality. The friendship will suffer from our differences because, sticking with the mask example, my choice will become awkward for them. They will want to do things I can’t take part in because I don’t wear a mask and one of us has to compromise. They are unlikely to move towards my lifestyle, because they have too much to lose. They risk career, relationships with family and friends, all the benefits they get for taking part in the system.

This is where I see us stuck as a species.  We've literally built a prison around ourselves, we've invented rules that are not set in stone by an outside agency - they are our own self-created rules - and then we can't free ourselves from those rules because we've built a world out of them and to abandon those rules would see that self-created system fall apart.Yet, we are deeply unhappy within it because our true nature is to be free beings, not living by rules, but by our heart's guidance. When you live from your heart you don't need rules. You will do no wrong. You will not hurt others. The problem is we don't trust this authority within ourselves, so we create a second-rate, artificial version of that authority out there in the world, in the form of governments, royalty, institutions... We live our whole lives caught up in that dichotomy and it is what makes us insane as a species.  It’s the thing that separates us from every other species on this planet. They just live. Right and wrong, morals and beliefs don't come into it for them. So they have no problem, they don't second guess their actions.  We want to live like this but we don't trust ourselves enough. Now, in these times, we seem to be pushing the limits of that, and it's driving us mental, literally. We must have the courage as a species to take that jump into the unknown, trust in our own hearts and not look back. Only then do we have a chance of creating a world of harmony and peace and love.

[davidwilliammusic]

What Is The System?

Over the years when I've spoken of the "System" it has often been misunderstood what I actually mean.

So here is an attempt to clarify...

The system is not a tangible thing like a bank, a shop, public transport, streets, roads, houses, etc.. These are practical man-made things, which we have invented to make life easier.  Often the original inventions can be traced back to an individual's idea - someone discovers something that has potential to make living on Earth as a human being easier and shares that discovery.  These things become part of the system once they are organised in a certain manner.  It is the particular organisation of human resources which makes up the system.

So the idea of a bank, for instance, as a singular location separate from your house to safely store and access your money, is a practical service that is neutral or innocent.  It becomes the system when it is structured and organised a certain way to manipulate and especially when that manipulation benefits a few individuals at the top of such organisations and connects up with the top of other organisations, benefiting those few but at the expense of the majority.  In the case of banks, when you are no longer dealing with tangible, physical money and simply storing it safely for people but are instead dealing with figures on a screen and charging interest etc. for money that doesn't actually exist... This would be an example of when a bank is no longer a bank but part of the "system".

Healthcare no longer is simply healthcare when it is enforced on people, where it is presented as the only option at the expense of other options.  When it makes life harder for people to simply just live their own life minding their own business UNLESS they subscribe to whatever and however the system dictates they use these services.  Then we are past the point of it being simply a service for the benefit of all people to it now being part of the "system".

Within the field I am in - Music - once it is organised in such a way that it becomes more about upholding and supporting the system and not the actual music, artist or fans then to me it is the "system". If I, as the artist, feel like playing at 11am one day, 5pm another day and 9pm another day that should be possible. If I am an artist connected to the system I am expected to play at 9pm every night for 30 nights and the only thing changing is the venue then that is the "system" and its detrimental to both artists and fans because we are not robots... maybe I don't feel in the mood to play at 9pm on a particular night but I must because there's a lot of people making money from what I do and the pressure is on that they are all paid... Then we are dealing with business and not Music.  In a sane world there would be balance - we would find a way that works for both the artist and the fans so that everybody gets the best experience out of the event. The artist should feel comfortable and free to express and take chances, there should be the possibility of spontaneity always available.  

My two biggest problems with the system are this...

1) Any time something moves from an idea born out of enthusiasm and passion to structured, formal presentation it loses something at the expense of making more money for more people.  Look at the film industry, the computer game industry and the music industry.  In each case, creativity is at its peak when a certain pureness is allowed, when people are simply enthusiastic and passionate about something and doing it purely for the love of it.  In each case, as more money and businessmen got involved, the quality of the creativity went downhill or was stifled or restricted in some way.

2) One obvious sign that something has been "systemised" is when spontaneity is no longer there.  The system, by its very nature, greatly restricts spontaneity.  Having to get permission to do something, having to meet certain criteria (usually involving money) to be allowed to take part or having to watch what you say or do in order to make sure it fits into the group-think mentality of the particular organisation.

As for the argument I hear a lot, that you have to go into the system to make things better: Everybody who has ever tried that has eventually been swallowed up by the system because it is corrupt and rotten at its core.  It is beyond repair.  To me that argument is a cop-out, a convenient excuse for those who are too scared to break away from it because they fear losing the benefits the system gives them.  That's like clinging onto 10 pence when, if you let go of it,  you would find £10 million waiting for you a little further up the road.

I am not advocating turning our backs on modern life and technology and living primitively in nature. For me it’s about remembering and never forgetting that we come from and are a part of nature and allowing choices, ideas and decisions to be informed by that source for the benefit of all - rather than this man-made, artificial construct, which simply benefits the few at the expense of the many. 

[juniousuniverse]

We refuse to be What you wanted us to be We are what we are That's the way it's going to be, if you don't know You can't educate I For no equal opportunity (talkin' 'bout my freedom) Talkin' 'bout my freedom People freedom and liberty! Yeah, we've been trodding on the winepress much too long Rebel, rebel! Yes, we've been trodding on the winepress much too long Rebel, rebel! Babylon system is the vampire, yea! (vampire) Suckin' the children day by day, yeah! Me say de Babylon system is the vampire, falling empire, Suckin' the blood of the sufferers, yeah! Building church and university, wooh, yeah! Deceiving the people continually, yeah! Me say them graduatin' thieves and murderers Look out now they suckin' the blood of the sufferers (sufferers) Yea! (sufferers) Tell the children the truth Tell the children the truth Tell the children the truth right now! Come on and tell the children the truth Tell the children the truth Tell the children the truth Tell the children the truth Come on and tell the children the truth 'Cause, 'cause we've been trodding on ya winepress much too long Rebel, rebel! And we've been takin' for granted much too long Rebel, rebel! Got to rebel, y'all (rebel) We've been trodding on the winepress much too long, yeah! (rebel) Yeah! (rebel) Yeah! Yeah! From the very day we left the shores (trodding on the winepress) Of our Father's land (rebel) We've been trampled on (rebel) Oh now! (takin' for granted) Lord, Lord

Bob Marley- Babylon System

[remso]

Micah 6:10,11. Houses filled with treasure gain by cheating.

Micah 6:10,11. Houses filled with treasure gain by cheating.

When we ended Micah 6:9 we were left with this ominous declaration, “The armies of destruction are coming; the LORD is sending them.”

But why?

Because of the rebellion of Israel—yes, the sins of the whole nation. (Micah 1:5a NLT )

When you want a piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and violence. You cheat a man of his…

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[osmerharris]

Micah 6:10,11. Houses filled with treasure gain by cheating.

Micah 6:10,11. Houses filled with treasure gain by cheating.

When we ended Micah 6:9 we were left with this ominous declaration, “The armies of destruction are coming; the LORD is sending them.”

But why?

Because of the rebellion of Israel—yes, the sins of the whole nation. (Micah 1:5a NLT )

When you want a piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and violence. You cheat a man of his…

View On WordPress