When people were talking about defunding the police, older individuals were obsessed with encouraging people to “reimagine” the police. In their minds, there was nothing wrong with police departments that could not be fixed with reform or reengagement, keeping society functioning as it has been. As can be seen with the militarization of Washington, D.C. and the ridiculous violence of ICE, there is no way to reforming how police institutions work because it means a fundamental restructure of imperial society and how we view “crime.” Police extremism is one example of how clinging to dying institutions makes them more fervent in fighting to preserve the wrong values. Watching all the heads grasp for power makes it all the more clear that everyone is exceedingly exhausted from trying to sustain the delusions that keep any institutions alive.
I have become so annoyed with hearing that the problem is who is in power, rather than the power structures themselves. Take elections for example, since so many people believe that only elections have the power to make real change. With the battle of redistricting, people can see that all the voting areas consist of manipulation of whomever is power, which means that there is no “purity” or real opportunity to see “the will of the people.” Over two centuries have proven that the electoral college is a nightmare that ensures that liars can succeed as long as they sustain enough charisma. By insisting that the problem depends on the participants, people are stubbornly examining the basic structure in how the institution exists, and replicating it as if it were gospel, instead of an esoteric contraption created by human beings.
Homeownership has always been hailed as the great equalizer, and by worshipping the real estate industry, there is a general belief that if people wait long enough, they, too will benefit. For Black people, homeownership has been arbitrary, especially if developers, cities, and obnoxious business owners can just decide that they want to have the place where Black people live instead of the residents. Indigenous people also would have more than a library to offer about how claims over land can repeatedly be ignored or neglected, as well as the treaties in which the empire lied about its intentions. To the average imperial resident, they simply view the idea that everyone should want to own property, but when the truth of what ownership means evolves, this institution was never any more sacred for anyone except beneficiaries and sycophants within the dominant narrative.
Throughout my writing, I have evolved from believing that there is a chance for true reform to understanding that there is no real way to protect both humanity and institutions. The delusion that institutions will evolve into helpful structures instead of barriers to innovation is a strong belief system, ranging from churches to universities to governments. An author even coined the phrase “capitalism realism” because he understood how powerful the propaganda was that helped maintain the neoliberal dominant narrative. No one understands life without the “grind,” “hustle,” and relentless competition between people who should be uniting against the powers that be. In all honesty, the imperial institutions are little more than cogs within a death cult, and there is no way for them to create a better, more sustainable society that can live and keep us all alive.
Institutions exist to perpetuate themselves, not to be challenged or to bring about the betterment of those who fail to be accepted within the dominant narrative. There is nothing powerful about clinging to the past, whatever perspective one is bringing, because everyone has to live in the present with present resources. Empires cannot be saved if they are already collapsing because by definition, they depend on obsolete ideals and mechanisms that are in the process of being seen as ineffective. Going to college, financing lifestyles, and obsessing about careers within a dying socioecosystem is not going to bring about any kind of liberation. It is past time to start engaging in critical thought and problem-solving instead of validating institutions that rely on self aggrandizement to survive.
Chasing A Dying Empire 