I’ve received email recently from old friends over the pond who say they are starting to be afraid of the future, what with all the media coverage of everything that is wrong with the world. My first reaction is to tell them to stop watching CNN. But seriously, I am happy that my friends across the pond are starting to take more of an interest in what´s going on around them. This may sound harsh, but it is not a secret that North Americans tend to resemble ostriches when it comes to global news. My second reaction is to scream, “Finally, you´ve arrived!” Yes, life on Earth is no paradise. It is a fucked up place and it has been for quite a while. And don´t be surprised if over the next few months, the coverage of negative news seems to snowball. The time is rife for change. That´s what the ascension meme is all about.

Just now, the top stories that induce fear and feelings of despair about the world are (in my opinion): The cold war with Russia, possible war with Iran led by Israel, Turkey trying to get NATO to intervene in Syria and how rebels there are being armed by the US, perceived instability in Egypt due to the Muslim Brotherhood winning the election, The Sandusky Trial, The Vatican hiring a PR spokesperson from FOX news to help with its image, Tropical storm Debby, damning toxicology reports on the soil in Tokyo, arrest of Camorra Mafia “godmother” in Napoli , and the Center for Disease Control calling the Swine Flu a “pandemic”. Not to mention Spain´s banks being downgraded by Moody and continued speculations about the Euro´s imminment collapse as the Greek Finance Minister quits. I am sure I have forgotten many other fear-inducing things, but these are the ones I have just read today.

First of all, I recommend you stop watching TV and switch to internet for news. I read internet news because I can get a better overview of what propaganda is being spread (yes, really) and what alternative news outlets are saying, plus I can read cross-sections of the general public´s state of awareness by reader comments. I can also skip those ghastly mind-numbing commercials! There´s also less of a brainwashing effect when you read the news, as opposed to hearing the same sound-clips and seeing the same (manipulated) images over and over. (Remember the same single image of Saddam Hussein´s statue being pulled down over and over on CNN for days?) The BBC is no angel, either.

Nevertheless, the coverage of world events is not equal, even on the internet, and one must always have her wits about her to make sure she isn´t naively swallowing whatever spin a certain paper or network is selling. Remember that news is a profit-driven industry, like any other, and there is no such thing as an unbiased account. Read different media sources, both mainstream and alternative to get a rounder picture. Especially read independent news, whose survival depends on reader donations, and not on Rupert Murdoch´s megalomanic agenda, ahem.

So people, I know it is only human to be concerned with the wrong that is happening in the world. But if there is anything I can tell you now, it´s this: Change is on the horizon. Things need to change and they are going to change, whether we like it or not. But HOW things are going to change is all up to us. We are on the cusp of a world revolution, things are heating up now so quickly. Will we take this chance as a species to demand what we want?

Let me reiterate, it is what we do with this opportunity AS A PEOPLE that is going to determine how we come out the other end. Think of space-time now as a magical input – output machine. Here´s a picture to help you 🙂

We create our own realities by putting our input into the space-time machine! Either we can sit at home staring at the telly, griping and biting our nails or we can get angry, get loud, get together and get active.

If we get active, taking an interest in the things that concern us by grouping together and brainstorming solutions, by having our voices heard by the media, we will manage to get the outcomes we are looking for (eventually). Every crisis presents an opportunity for profound change. By nature destruction of the old leads to space to create something new. As we watch the ship sinking around us, whether it´s the breakdown of the economy or peace talks or society´s health, our moral values, it´s no use being so stunned by the spectacle that we get sucked into the whirlpool. We have to swim away from what is not working and have something ready to fill the vacuum that will be left. Because if we don´t do it, somebody else will (gladly) do it for us. Oh fuck me.

Ghandi is known to have said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. Enough of giving away our power to those who we used to believe knew what was best for us. Do you still believe that the banks, the politicians, the doctors and pharmaceutical companies, NATO and the industrial military complex have our best interest in mind? Do you really believe them when they say you are too stupid to know how to solve your own problems? Do you really want to continue to be so detached from your own lives and politics and laws that you won´t notice until they´ve taken our personal freedom away in the name of the ubiquitous invisible enemy, “terrorism”?

If this is all a bit overwhelming, just go back to the sofa and pop on the .

A better future for our children and grandchildren is what we NOW have the chance to mitigate.This could be our last window of opportunity. Occupy came and went without so much as a peep in the mainstream media. Do you know how much momentum massive media coverage would cause? We need to get louder! Yes, it´s appropriate to start getting worried. The esteemed Noam Chomsky has likened humanity´s behavior with regards to its ecosystem to lemmings walking off a cliff! Lemmings! We can get worried and do nothing, drowning our sorrows in drink or new shoes or work or pornography, or we can get fed up and get smart, pulling our communities together to make our voices heard.

Our governments and agencies have failed us. But as long as we live in a democracy, it is our responsibility to bring attention to our plights. We don´t just elect politicians then do nothing when they become corrupt.

The next time you watch the news and you start to panic about the state of the world, remember your part in it. When your great-grand-kids are complaining about our good-for-nothing generation from their dystopic future, they won´t be wondering if you just sat back and changed the channel or if you got off the couch. They´ll know.