John Trudell on the Political System incoherency and voters Interview Oct 2008

Summary

The speaker in this video script discusses the shared responsibility of voters and politicians in the current political climate. They argue that voters often knowingly elect politicians who lie, and then complain about being betrayed. The speaker identifies as a non-voter and suggests that the real issue lies with the voters themselves, not the non-voters. They propose the idea of non-cooperation as a form of protest, questioning the effectiveness of traditional civil disobedience and encouraging a more thoughtful, non-reactive approach to societal issues.

Takeaways

• 🗳️ The speaker believes that voters share responsibility for political outcomes, as they elect politicians knowing they may lie or betray them.
• 🤔 The speaker observes that voters often choose to believe what they want to hear from politicians, rather than what they know to be true.
• 👥 The speaker identifies themselves as a non-voter, part of the 'largest political party in America', implying that non-voters are a significant group.
• 🔍 The speaker suggests that voters should demand clarity and coherence from political representatives, but often fail to do so.
• 💭 The speaker criticizes the emotional reactions of voters, arguing that they lack clear thinking and contribute to the incoherence of the political system.
• 👎 The speaker points out that blaming non-voters is a way for voters to avoid taking responsibility for the politicians they elect.
• 🤝 The speaker questions the effectiveness of civil disobedience, suggesting that it may actually be a form of cooperation with the system being protested.
• 🤯 The speaker proposes the idea of non-cooperation as a means to challenge the status quo, by not feeding energy into the system.
• 💡 The speaker encourages thinking about non-cooperation in various forms, such as economic non-participation or emotional self-control.
• 🎶 The speaker ends the transcript by encouraging others to create visual content for their songs, viewing it as a continuation of the creative process.

Q & A

What is the main point the speaker is making about voters and politicians?

The speaker suggests that voters share the blame for the actions of politicians because they knowingly elect them despite being aware of their tendency to lie and betray trust.

Why does the speaker identify as a non-voter?

The speaker identifies as a non-voter because they believe that voting does not change the system and that non-voters are unfairly blamed for the political situation.

What does the speaker suggest about the role of non-voters in the political system?

The speaker suggests that non-voters are part of the largest political party in America, implying that their non-participation is a form of protest against a system they view as inherently flawed.

What does the speaker believe is the real problem in the political system?

The speaker believes the real problem lies with the voters themselves, who do not hold politicians accountable and instead react emotionally to political promises.

How does the speaker view the concept of civil disobedience?

The speaker views civil disobedience, whether violent or non-violent, as a form of cooperation with the system being protested against, suggesting that it does not truly challenge the status quo.

What alternative to civil disobedience does the speaker propose?

The speaker proposes the concept of non-cooperation as an alternative, suggesting that withholding energy and participation from the system could be a more effective form of protest.

What does the speaker suggest about the emotional reactions of voters?

The speaker suggests that voters' emotional reactions and beliefs are based on insecurities and fears, which they should examine and not let dominate their decision-making.

How does the speaker encourage the use of their music?

The speaker encourages others to create visual content for their songs, viewing it as a continuation of the creative process and a way to further engage with the material.

What does the speaker imply about the nature of political promises?

The speaker implies that political promises are often lies, and that voters are complicit in this dynamic by choosing to believe what they want to hear rather than demanding honesty.

What historical pattern does the speaker refer to in the context of elections?

The speaker refers to a historical pattern of voters electing politicians who do not fulfill their promises, suggesting a cycle of betrayal and disappointment.

What does the speaker mean by 'non-cooperation' in the context of political participation?

The speaker means that instead of engaging in traditional forms of protest or voting, individuals should consider withdrawing their energy and participation from the political system as a form of resistance.

Outlines

00:00

🗳️ Voter Responsibility and Political Disillusionment

The speaker discusses the shared responsibility of voters and politicians in the current state of the country's political landscape. They argue that voters, who are aware of politicians' tendencies to lie and break promises, are complicit in the situation because they choose to believe what they want to hear rather than demanding transparency and coherence from their representatives. The speaker identifies as a non-voter, highlighting the irony of voters blaming non-voters for political issues while they themselves fail to hold politicians accountable. The paragraph emphasizes the need for voters to exercise their right to vote responsibly and to demand clear plans and actions from their elected officials, suggesting that the historical pattern of electoral behavior is a cycle of irresponsibility that voters perpetuate.

05:00

🤔 The Concept of Non-Cooperation in Society

This paragraph delves into the idea of non-cooperation as a form of resistance against the status quo. The speaker questions the effectiveness of traditional forms of protest, such as demonstrations and civil disobedience, suggesting that these actions are still forms of cooperation with the system being protested against. They propose that true non-cooperation involves a refusal to engage with the system on its terms, including not giving it energy through emotional reactions or participation in economic activities. The speaker encourages the exploration of non-cooperation as a means to challenge the imprinted behaviors that lead to compliance with societal norms and systems. They also touch on the idea of using intelligence and clarity in thought to resist the emotional reactions that often drive participation in the system, advocating for a more thoughtful and less reactive approach to societal issues.

Keywords

💡Voters

Voters are individuals who participate in elections by casting votes for candidates or policies. In the context of the video, voters are portrayed as being complicit in the political system's shortcomings, as they elect politicians knowing they may not be truthful. The script mentions that voters blame politicians for betrayal but acknowledges that they are part of the problem due to their choice to vote for those they believe will lie to them.

💡Politicians

Politicians are individuals who hold or seek political office. The script discusses the common perception that politicians are known to lie and make promises they do not intend to keep. It suggests that politicians are part of the larger issue within the political system, contributing to the dissatisfaction and disillusionment of the voters.

💡Betrayal

Betrayal refers to the act of breaking a promise or violating the trust of others. In the video, the term is used to describe the perceived actions of politicians who do not fulfill their promises to voters, leading to a sense of disappointment and abandonment among the electorate.

💡Complicity

Complicity denotes the state of being involved in a wrongdoing or crime. The script uses this term to argue that voters are not merely victims but active participants in the political process, and thus share responsibility for the outcomes they criticize.

💡Non-voters

Non-voters are individuals who choose not to participate in elections. The speaker identifies as a non-voter and suggests that this group is unfairly blamed by voters for political outcomes. The script implies that non-voters are part of the 'largest political party in America', indicating a significant portion of the population that abstains from voting.

💡Responsibility

Responsibility in the video is discussed in the context of voters exercising their right to vote with a sense of duty and accountability. It is suggested that voters should not only demand honesty from politicians but also hold themselves accountable for the choices they make at the polls.

💡Civil Disobedience

Civil disobedience is the act of peacefully resisting laws or policies through nonviolent means. The script questions the effectiveness of civil disobedience, suggesting that even acts of protest are forms of cooperation with the system being opposed, as they engage with and rely on societal structures.

💡Non-cooperation

Non-cooperation is the concept of refusing to participate in or support a system or process. The video script proposes non-cooperation as a potential strategy for change, arguing that by not engaging with the political or economic systems, individuals can withhold energy and support from structures they oppose.

💡Emotional Reactions

Emotional reactions refer to responses driven by feelings rather than rational thought. The script criticizes voters for reacting emotionally to political issues, suggesting that this leads to incoherent and ineffective political engagement.

💡Coherence

Coherence in the video is used to describe the clarity and logical consistency of thought and action. The speaker argues that a lack of coherence in voters' demands and expectations contributes to the incoherence of the political system.

💡Imprinted Behavior

Imprinted behavior refers to patterns of action that are ingrained through social conditioning. The script suggests that the tendency to protest and demonstrate is an example of imprinted behavior that may not be as effective as non-cooperation in bringing about change.

Highlights

Voters are as responsible as politicians for the state of the country due to their complicity in electing known liars.

Politicians are known to lie, and voters knowingly elect them, expecting to hear what they want despite the deception.

Non-voters are part of the largest political party in America, believing their vote holds no power against systemic lies.

Voters blame non-voters without taking responsibility for the political representatives they elect.

Voters should demand clear plans and coherent actions from politicians instead of passively accepting promises.

The real problem lies with voters themselves, not non-voters, as they perpetuate the cycle of electing untrustworthy leaders.

The concept of non-cooperation needs to be explored as a form of protest against the system.

Protests and demonstrations, even when non-violent, are a form of cooperation with the system they oppose.

Non-cooperation can be a powerful tool by withholding energy and participation from the system.

Organizing non-spending days or staying home can be forms of non-cooperation against the economic system.

Non-cooperation involves thinking clearly and coherently before reacting emotionally to societal issues.

Examining and overcoming personal insecurities and fears is a form of non-cooperation with societal control.

Civil disobedience, both violent and non-violent, is inherently cooperative with the state's systems for managing dissent.

The need for thinkers to explore non-cooperation as an alternative to the ineffective romanticized idea of civil disobedience.

Encouragement for individuals to create visual content for songs as a form of creative continuation.

The transformative process from thoughts to words, music, and distribution as an invitation for others to add their creative layer.

Transcripts

well

yeah well you know

I find interesting about the voters the

voters blame the politicians

and Washington for betraying them and I

find this a really interesting

observation

because the voters are as responsible as

the politicians are for what's going on

in this country because the pollen I

mean it's it's common knowledge in

America that what goes on in this

country is that the politi the

politicians are known to lie they lie

they promise everybody knows this is it

just the way that it is and so the

voters that elect these politicians that

they end up complaining about betraying

them we're lying to them from the

beginning and the voters knew it but

they didn't want to accept what they

knew they wanted to believe what they

wanted to hear

so when you look at this overall

situation in the whole political thing

it isn't just the representatives and

the politicians it's the voters they

have a complicity in this too they help

to create the situation

and my attitude is he is like see I'm

not

I'm a non-voter

all right and and I'm a member of the

largest political party in America the

non-voters

all right because the non-voters just

get it hold it what I got to say doesn't

really mean anything it's all a lie

so what I'm going to say so about the

voting thing is that people that want to

vote but and then people who don't who

do vote they blame the non-voters

and see how I mean again somebody to

blame see they blame the non-voters but

they're not but the voters aren't taking

responsibility for saying to the

political Representatives that they vote

for we want you to make sense to us we

want you to do good coherent things we

want to see your plans we want to hear

your plans

but the voters don't say that they don't

demand that what they go to the

politicians and do as they as it promise

me what I want to hear

you know so so if we're going to really

look what's going on in this country the

real problem is the voters themselves

it's not the non-voters

you know I mean you know and I think

that so what I think when people

point at the non-voters when voters

point at the non-voters I look at the

voters and I think well you know

if you Embrace this right to vote and

and you believe in it so much

then you need to you to use and exercise

this right or responsible you need to

exercise this not as a right but as a

responsibility and as a responsibility

you need to be clear and coherent and

make sense about what you're doing

but if the voters aren't making any

sense then how do they expect the

leadership to make any sense if the

voters condone that every political

election year the cycle they've condone

it I mean it's a historical pattern all

one has to do is just go back and look

at the history of the electoral process

in this country

so I think yeah you know so I think uh

so I think the whole everyone in the

political system is participating in is

being completely irresponsible

even though in their hearts they believe

but they're emotionally reacting see

they're not thinking the voters aren't

thinking they react they're reacting out

of emotional beliefs to what they're

afraid of or what they hate or all this

and that you know and there's no

clarency coming out of them either

so therefore there's no coherency coming

out of the system no one's requiring it

you know I think the concept of

non-cooperation really needs to be

uh

thought about

because when I look at you know our our

imprinted Behavior pattern is to protest

and demonstrate

against whatever it is that we're

opposing in a political Society type of

sense and to organize

people and energy to do this protesting

and is demonstrating

but when you really look at it

would we're cooperating with the system

that we're protesting against

because if you do it

civil so when I look at like Civil

Disobedience whether it's violent or

non-violent

it's cooperating

all right it's cooperating with the

system itself

so so if you're protesting and you get

the permits you're cooperating all right

and I'm not judging this is you're

cooperating

and you're cooperating when you buy

magic markers to make the signs the

protest signs you're cooperating when

you buy water the little bottles of

water your pro you're cooperating when

you organize the people mass movements

of people and by the get the logistics

if you're non-violently Civil

Disobedience I mean if it's violent

Civil Disobedience you're cooperating

you're doing you're still doing the same

thing you're getting whatever it is for

your demonstration and you're

cooperating in the economic system and

then when you clash with the state

you're cooperating with the state's

little war games and how it works out is

a little it's little processes to

contain these kinds of demonstrations

see so the whole thing is based upon

cooperation

and I think that you know we and and

obviously

I I think well anyway I just think that

needs to be thought about so it seems

like if everything we're doing is

cooperating with them then we need to

really examine and think about

non-cooperation because if we're

cooperating with them we're giving them

our energy

so it's really becomes to me a matter of

well how do we not cooperate with them

how do we not give them that energy and

we can only not give them that energy by

not cooperating with them

and I figure well that's all based upon

how we've been imprinted to perceive

reality

you know and how do I and you know and

if I'm not using my intelligence to

think as clearly and coherently about

the issues that I'm confronted with

personally or Society wise right if I'm

if I'm just being incoherent emotional

reactionary reactionary emotional

believer then I'm cooperating with them

it doesn't matter how much I protest it

doesn't matter what else I do I'm

cooperating with them

see so we need to be thinking in terms

of how do we not give them the energy

how do we not cooperate with them

you know what does it mean you know I

mean yeah so I really think this is

something that the thinkers need to

explore how do I mean on you know on one

level you can say well organize

try to organize 30 percent of the

population not to spend any money on the

same day as a as an economic statement

and you're not cooperating with them

because you're not feeding into the

monetary system so that's one way of

non-cooperation all right where people

can stay at home and keep their

identities and do all the stuff that's

one way of non-cooperation all right

another way of non-cooperation

another way of non-cooperation is to not

emotionally react to think things out

before we Act

you know so you know it's like uh

another way of non-cooperation is you

know if our lives are dominated if the

basically how we participate in this

reality and perceive this reality is

based upon our own insecurities and

fears but then obviously we should we

should examine those insecurities and

fears and recognize where they come from

all right and and not let them dominate

our lives anymore

that's a way of not cooperating so

non-cooperation I think really needs to

be explored

versus this romanticized civil

disobedience

thing because it's not working

but about the music stuff

yeah anybody that wants to take and put

make any kind of images to anywhere in

any of the songs

I I highly encourage you I would like it

all right so if you if I've got songs

out there and people want to put video

make it to video stuff they have I

encourage it go for it do it you know

um

because in a way

the lines that that started all this the

lines that became the lines that became

thoughts that became words that became

put down on paper that became recorded

that became put down on paper and it

became uh bonded to music from the lines

and it became recorded so you know and

put out and distributed so if someone

wants to break come along and put images

to these lines as a part of this

continuation of the lines then yes I

would appreciate it I like it I am you

know it would be very good

so if somebody wants to do it I'm on for

it

[Music]

I've done some dying in this life I'm in

life I'm in

trying to do good but getting lost

getting lost

moments of Happiness are fleeing things

fleeing things

[Music]

I've done some crying when the moon said

so

we said so

[Music]

I've done some crying when the moon said

so the

the soul

always running when pain begins

pain begins I forgot this sadness that's

got to end

got to win

got to end

I've done some crying when the moon said

so

when the moon said soul

oh