Show us the law, or arrest us too!

Dear Agents of de facto Illegitimate Government,

I see that you've arrested four men today. What I don't see is that these men have committed any crimes. Who have these men victimized? Who has a claim against them? Who has been threatened, harmed, robbed, or defrauded? Where are and who are the accusers of these men? I want to know -- NOW.

It appears to me that you're digging your graves even deeper. Instead of simply coming out and SHOWING THE LAW that requires specifically Ed and Elaine in their former positions as productive, contributing members of sovereign American society, to pay a TAX on their labor. This would amount to slavery, aka involuntary servitude (unless it were VOLUNTARY). Maybe this is why the IRS always uses the term "voluntary compliance?" After all, something cannot be simultaneously voluntary AND mandatory at the same time.

Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution for the United States of America

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

There isn't much room to debate this particular amendment. There also isn't much room to debate that the 16th Amendment was not ratified properly. Nor is there room to debate the various court rulings which have never been overturned that say the 16th Amendment did NOT confer any new powers of taxation to any new subjects. Nor is there room to debate that even if the previous evidence were flawed, CONGRESS HAS NOT PASSED ANY LAW TO TAX OUR INCOME!!! If such a law exists (and the aforementioned is not applicable or correct), then why can't they simply SHOW US THE LAW? Is this too much to ask? If it's there in the law book somewhere, let's see it and we can all stop arguing.

This thing has been blown wide open by the many people involved -- patriots like Aaron Russo, Sherry Peel Jackson, Irwin Schiff, Bob Schulz, Ed & Elaine Brown, and of course Danny Riley, Bob Wolffe, Cirino Gonzales, and Jason Gerhard -- the four men you arrested today -- among countless others. When more, and more, and ever more men and women across this wonderful land realize the fraud of the income tax, that THERE IS NO LAW, how are you going to justify your actions? "I'm just doing my job," or "I'm just following orders," does not work. The Nazis tried these excuses and they failed miserably. You follow in their footsteps -- committing war crime, after war crime, after war crime. You work for the wealthy, power elite who have declared war on US -- the American People. You're on the wrong side!!!

This is how it was in 1775 and the years before the revolution. We're back at that same point again. As JFK said -- before your employers killed him -- "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." You men and women are our brothers and sisters -- just as the British (and their loyalists) were. Why are you making peaceful revolution impossible? Do you CRAVE war? Is that why you dress up as warriors, in black, in sniper suits, with body armor, masks, face paint, and automatic rifles? We certainly don't. We wish for peaceful revolution.

Ed and Elaine have proposed peaceful resolutions to this whole mess. A) You leave them alone and they will continue their peaceful, productive lives not harming anyone as always or B) You can show them the law that required them to pay the tax, and they'll surrender. You seem to want to choose C) Ignore the Constitution and our laws and arrest, hurt, and kill anyone who goes against you.

Option C is tyranny.

You have admitted to Danny Riley that you folks in your black SUVs and BDUs (battle dress uniforms) are fully aware and acknowledge the nonexistence of this elusive law. So how then can you enforce it? Don't you have a conscience? Didn't your parents teach you right and wrong. Indeed, one doesn't even need parents -- right and wrong comes from the HEART. Have you worn those uniforms so long that they've squashed your hearts? Are your hearts just a few sizes too small like the Grinch?

No, I don't think so. I think you just get paid too well. I think you are mercenaries -- the same type of mercenaries that have been around for many thousands of years. You are hired guns -- willing to commit VIOLENT CRIMES for money. Your paychecks and pensions are all too precious to you. You've sold out that which makes you human to begin with -- a sense of honor, love, kindness, and righteousness. You've sold your families, your kids, your grandkids, and the rest of your country. You've sold US out -- for money.

You make us sick and disgusted. You make us ashamed to call you our countrymen and women.

"May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget ye were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams

I am so saddened that I live in this land with you folks. I'm sure I could find more honor and decency in places all over this globe. But to have been raised in THIS land -- the land of my forefathers -- the land won with the blood of free men, with even the price of the innocent blood of its inhabitants, to have been raised in THIS land and taught the virtues of freedom, and to live and witness these transgressions -- it is unthinkable.

You have arrested four innocent men. As you read this, they are most likely being treated badly -- food and shelter conditions, interrogations, terrible threats such as life in prison, decades in prison, you name it. Perhaps you are even using some of the other torture techniques you commonly employ around the world and in THIS land. You have arrested these men for the ultimate crime: following their hearts. These men were moved by their hearts, from the very depths, to help and assist and older couple whose lives have been turned upside-down by your unwillingness to follow the law.

This help might have meant bringing them food from the grocery store or candles from supporters. It might have meant spending time with them and sharing their love. It matters not how these men supported the Browns. They did it from their hearts. They did it and, to my knowledge, never hurt anyone -- including unlawful mercenaries like you. This means they are not criminals -- as they've harmed no one and violated the rights of no one. Why, then, did you arrest them? Oh yes, your paycheck.

I don't know what the future will hold. I do know that if fate looks unfavorably upon freedom, and our generations are doomed to a tyranny that even surpasses what we have now -- you all will regret your actions deeply. Your paychecks will not buy salvation from your own guilt. You have an opportunity to stop committing unlawful acts of violence against the People, and to utilize your so-called positions of "authority" to SECURE our unalienable rights like the Declaration says. If this is too much to ask -- then arrest me and the others. For we stand with love, freedom, and truth. We follow our hearts, not the paychecks of evil masters. We stand with and support the Browns no matter what you do. So show us the law, or arrest us too.

Sincerely in Love, Freedom, and Truth,

Shaun Allen Kranish©
A Sovereign American Citizen
Co-Founder, MakeTheStand.com

North American Union Amero Coin is REAL!!!

"THE AMERO" IS REAL;
I HAVE ONE TO PROVE IT!

UNITED STATES, CANADA AND MEXICO TO BE MERGED INTO SINGLE NEW ENTITY NAMED NORTH AMERICAN UNION!

By: Hal Turner

Three weeks ago, I published a brief snippet on the front page of my web site reporting the governments of the US Canada and Mexico are conspiring in secret to merge the three nations into a new entity called the North American Union.

There has been much talk of this on various internet blogs for over a year. Most of those blogs have been smeared as "conspiracy theorists" and have been largely ignored by the main stream.

What prompted my interest in the issue was money: I was sent professional images of actual AMERO coins by someone in the US Treasury! The person included a note saying they like my radio show and are frightened by what's been going on in secret within our government.

This Treasury Department person was outraged that our country was beginning to coin money as part of a merger that would do away with our country, via a merger the American public knew nothing about!

When I got the professional images of the AMERO coin, I was finally intrigued enough to make mention of it on my web site. My site has gotten over 20 Million visits in the last couple years and is becoming more popular because of the brutal honesty and timely delivery of news that folks don't find elsewhere. This story about AMERO coins would fit my niche of breaking news, so I ran a snippet of a story.

As part of my report, I included the professional images sent to me by the Treasury person. They appear below:





I also mentioned that very pricey "Collector Proofs" of the coins were also being Minted in Silver and Gold, and I posted an image of one such Silver Proof, shown below:



The story went on to say that the US Government has intentionally overspent itself for the purpose of irreversibly Bankrupting the country. The idea is that they will drive the country into economic failure, then when millions of Americans are panicking at the prospect, offer them a solution of merging the three countries as "the only possible way" to avoid losing everything.

They will force Canada into the merger by telling them the US currency they hold and rely upon will be worthless and the only way Canada can even hope to salvage any of the funds is to join the NAU.

They will sell it to the Mexican people by saying it will instantly improve their buying-power and quality of life.

In reality, the value of the US and Canadian dollars will be significantly reduced to counter the worthless peso being absorbed. People in the US and Canada will suffer great financial loss while Mexicans will see significant gain. In the meantime, the financial elite and the politicians they own will make out like bandits!

That's the reason politicians are doing this: to get rich for themselves and their financial elite pals.

The folks in power within government and their buddies in Banking and finance know that in any currency switch, some lose big while others gain big. Really big! In fact, folks with foreknowledge of such a switch can make hundreds-of-millions, perhaps even billions for themselves overnight. Those without foreknowledge (common folks like you and me) usually end up being wiped out.

INSTANT, FULL BLAST "SPIN"

I published the images and the small story and went to bed. I had no idea what my little story would do.

Within a matter of hours, there was a full blown effort to discredit my story and the images as fake.

I was accused of lying. I was accused of having "photoshopped" the images by creating them in Adobe Photoshop.

Within a couple days, a basic web site for AMERO "FANTASY COINS" was erected on the internet and word of that site was spread quickly. The site contained the same images as I had run on my front page, so clearly whatever "SPIN" was happening was being driven by others who also had the professional images.

There was intense effort to claim the whole idea of these coins was a fantasy and there was absolutely no truth to them whatsoever. That effort to "spin" the story out of existence worked. Folks quickly lost interest. I did not.

Get me the real thing by any means necessary

I reached out to the person in the Treasury who first alerted me to the coins. That person told me "The shit hit the fan around here when your story ran." The person went on to say "They told everyone in all the Mints that anyone revealing information about the AMERO would be fired and perhaps even criminally prosecuted for endangering national security."

Ahhhh yes, the grand old catch-all of national security. When they wheel that one out, you just KNOW they're pissed off about something!

I told the Treasury person that the only way anyone might believe this is happening, is for me to actually get one of the coins. The Treasury guy balked. He said "there's no way to get one without stealing it."

I though about that for a moment. . . . . then decided that if my government is concealing the actual Minting of coins for a new sovereign entity which may end up with power over me, but which I haven't been told about, then that government deserves whatever gets done to it.

I told the Treasury person to get me an Amero by any means necessary - even if that meant stealing it. The Treasury person said it would require them to think about for awhile and if it could be done, I would get one in the mail.

I waited. And waited. Frankly, after about three weeks, I lost track of the story -- until today. A real AMERO coin arrived at my home in the mail this afternoon!

The real thing arrives!

Today, I received a single 20 AMERO coin in the mail. A real coin. Real metal, really MINTED by the US Mint in Denver, CO. The proof that it is being Minted in Denver is that the coin is stamped with the Mint Identity letter "D" on the bottom right of the side with the eagle just like regular US coins already in circulation today!

Click each image to enlarge it, CLICK TWICE TO SUPER ENLARGE IT!!











Please note the letter "D" stamped below and to the right of the Planet earth at the bottom right of the coin in this photo. That "D" stands for the United States Mint at Denver, CO.

VIDEO!

So that you can see this is a real, metal coin, I have made a small video of me holding the coin, turning it, then dropping it on a wooden table top so you can hear what it sounds like when it hits.
Download the Windows Media Video here

I WAS RIGHT!

I stand vindicated. All those who claimed I fabricated the images now owe me an apology. All those who claimed these were "fantasy" coins can now explain why anyone in their right mind would spend Millions of dollars to create the rare and expensive professional dies and plates necessary for minting coins that will not be issued?

The simple truth is, the coins are real. The plan to merge the US, Canada and Mexico is real. Our government is lying about it and the fact they are minting money at the Denver Mint bearing the name of Union of North America is proof.

So America, Canada and Mexico, our governments are betraying us and planning to merge our countries without our knowledge or consent, or by financial disaster they bring-on intentionally. What are we going to do about it?

For my part, the Second Amendment comes to mind.

-- Hal Turner

17 August 2007 22:05 HRS EDT

TV NETWORK CNBC CONFIRMS: U.S. DOLLAR, CANADIAN DOLLAR AND MEXICAN PESO TO BE REPLACED BY THE "AMERO"

THOSE WHO ARE DELUDED INTO THINKING THESE ARE "FANTASY COINS" NEED TO GET THEIR HEADS OUT OF THEIR ASS!

Permission to reproduce this page, in its entirety, is GRANTED on condition that it be reproduced in full with the following credit: "Reproduced with permission of The Hal Turner Show, www.HalTurnerShow.com "

4 September 2007 1959 HRS EDT

CNN's "Lou DObbs" Reports President Bush Signed Formal Agreement to End United States as we know it!

Reports our country will become part of the North American Union including Mexico and Canada!

I TOLD YOU THAT "AMEROS" WERE BEING MINTED; MANY ACCUSED ME OF LYING. . . . .

NOW, A U.S. STATE HAS BEGUN ISSUING "NORTH AMERICAN UNION" DRIVER LICENSES!

North Carolina has become the first U.S. state to place the logo of the yet-to-be-formed "North American Union" on its official state identification. North Carolina has issued a Driver License bearing the logo of the North American Union.

Gee, now all the morons who screamed at me claiming the AMERO coins were a "fantasy coin" can now go scream at WorldNetDaily too! Maybe you can accuse them of reporting about a "fantasy" driver license? Why not; after all, they have photos of the NAU-ready driver license the same way I had photos of the NAU coins.

Maybe, when everything is in place and you wake up one morning to find America merged into Canada and Mexico, maybe THEN you'll realize I was telling the truth. Until then, stay happy with your head shoved firmly up your ass. You seem to like keeping it there even when the truth is right in front of you.

The Empowering Pleasure of Thinking for Yourself

The Empowering Pleasure of Thinking for Yourself


by Mit Etagniw based upon the collected works of various anonymous authors

“The world can only be repaired by the conscious cooperative activity of those who construct a working theory of why it broke down. Spontaneous rebellion alone is not sufficient. Without adequate advance preparation, the old world will simply reappear after any revolution, since it is embedded in the psyches of those who contrive to come to power. An authentic revolution can only occur if there is a coherent and practical mass movement of self-conscious individuals in which all of the myths and mystifications of the past have been and are being consciously swept away as they fearlessly confront the realities of the use of force with or without physical violence in a defensive and/or retributive reaction to undo the assaultive authoritarian constructs of the few over the many.”

Those who assume (often unconsciously) that it is impossible to achieve their life's desires-and, thus, that it is futile to fight for them--usually end up fighting for an ideal or cause instead. They may appear to engage in self-directed activity, but in reality they have accepted alienation from their desires as a way of life. All subjugations of personal desires to the dictates of a cause or ideology are reactionary no matter how "revolutionary" the actions arising from such subjugations may appear.

Yet, one of the great secrets of our miserable, yet potentially marvelous time, is that thinking can be a pleasure. Despite the suffocating effect of the dominant religious and political ideologies, many individuals do learn to think for themselves; and by doing so--by actively, critically thinking for themselves, rather than by passively accepting pre-digested opinions--they reclaim their minds as their own.

This is a discussion for those who wish to think for themselves, a discussion for creation of a personally (rather than ideologically) constructed body of critical thought for your own use, a body of thought which will help you to understand why your life is the way it is and why the world is the way it is. More importantly, as you construct your own theory, you will also develop a practice: a method to get what you want for your own life. Theory, then, must be either practical--a guide to action--or it will be nothing, nothing but an aquarium of ideas, a contemplative interpretation of the world. The realm of ideas divorced from actions is the eternal waiting room of unrealized desires. Forming your own practical theory, what could be called "self-theory," is intimately connected to achieving the realization of your desires.
Therefore, constructing your self-theory is an empowering pleasure. It is both a destructive and constructive pleasure, because you are creating a practical theory--one tied to action--for the destruction and reconstruction of this society. It is a theory of adventure, because it is based on what you want from life and on devising the means necessary to achieve it. It is as erotic and humorous as an authentic revolution.

Any system of ideas with an abstraction at its center--an abstraction which assigns you a role or duties--is an ideology. An ideology provides those who accept it with a false consciousness, a necessary component of which is other-directedness. This leads those who accept the ideology to behave as "objects" rather than "subjects," to allow themselves to be used rather than to act to attain their own desires. The various ideologies are all structured around different abstractions, yet all serve the interests of a dominant (or aspiring dominant) class by giving individuals (though the term hardly seems appropriate--"members of the herd" is perhaps more accurate) a sense of purpose in sacrifice, suffering, and submission.

Religious ideology is the oldest example: the fantastic projection called "God" is the Supreme Subject of the cosmos, acting on every human being as "His" object.
In the "scientific" and "democratic" ideologies of "free enterprise," capital investment is the "productive" subject directing world history--the "invisible hand" guiding human development. In order to prosper, the early capitalists had to attack and weaken the power that religious ideology once held. They exposed the mystification of the religious world and replaced it with the mystification of technology and commodity capitalism, wherein Profit becomes the Supreme Subject of the cosmos.

The many other varieties of dominant ideologies can be seen daily. The new forms of religious mysticism help to preserve the status quo in a round about way. They provide a cheap and tidy way to obscure the vacuousness of daily life and, like drugs, make it easier to live, or rather exist, with this emptiness--and so prevent us from recognizing our real roles in the functioning of the socio-economic system.

All of these ideologies differ in the specific sacrifices they demand of you, the object, but all are structured in the same way. All demand an inversion of subject and object; things, abstractions, take on the human attributes of power and will, while human beings become things, tools to be used in the service of these abstractions (God, the dictatorship of the proletariat, the fatherland, etc., etc.). Ideology is upside down self-theory. It fosters acceptance of the separation of our narrow, daily lives from a world that appears totally beyond our control. Ideology offers us only a voyeur's relationship with the life of the world.

All abstraction-based ideologies demand duty, sacrifice for the cause; and every such ideology serves to protect the dominant social order. Authorities whose power depends upon docility must deny us our subjectivity, our conscious will to act for our own desires. Such denial comes in the form of demands for sacrifices for "the common good," "the national interest," "the war effort," "the revolution," etc.

We rid ourselves of the blinders of ideology by constantly asking ourselves: Who am I? What do I mean when I say I? How's my life? What do I want? Am I getting what I want? If not, why not? This is being conscious of the commonplace, being aware of your everyday routine. That real life exists--life in which you are active, a subject acting to achieve your desires--is a public secret that becomes less secret every day, as the breakdown of daily life constructed around abstraction-based ideologies becomes more and more obvious.

The creation of self-theory is based on thinking for yourself, on being fully conscious of your existence, desires and of their validity. Authentic "consciousness raising" can only be the "raising" of people's thinking to the level of positive (non-guilty) self-consciousness, free of imposed morality in all its forms. This type of consciousness can be termed "radical subjectivity."
Conversely, what many provocateurs, therapy mongers, racism awareness trainers, and consciousness gurus term "consciousness raising" is the practice of beating people into unconsciousness with guilt-inducing, ideological billy-clubs by calling them names, insulting them, using language as an incitement of reactionary dialogue through which the abuser continues to abuse.

The path from self-negation to self-affirmation passes through point zero, the capital city of nihilism.

Nihilists reverse their perspectives on their lives and the world. Nothing is true for them but their desires, their will to be. They reject all ideology in their hatred for the miserable social relations in modern society. From this reversed perspective they clearly see the upside-down world of commodity capitalism in which subject and object are inverted, and people and abstract concepts are converted into things, commodities to be sold. They see daily life as a theatrical landscape in which "everyone has their price," God (via televangelism) and happiness become commodities, radio stations say they love you, and detergents have compassion for your hands.
Daily conversation offers sedatives such as, "You can't always get what you want," "Life has its ups and downs," and other clichés of the secular religion of survival. "Common sense" is just the non-sense of common alienation. Every day people are denied (and deny themselves) an authentic life and are sold back its representation.

Nihilists constantly feel the urge to destroy the system which destroys them. They cannot go on living as they are. Soon, most realize that they must devise a coherent set of tactics in order to transform the world. However, if a nihilist does not recognize the possibility for the transformation of the world, his or her subjective rage will ossify into a role: the suicide, the solitary murderer, the street hoodlum-vandal, the neo-dadaist, the professional mental patient, the self absorbed angry guru, the philosophical procurator in denial of his projectionism, all seeking compensation for a life of dead time. The nihilists' mistake is that they do not realize that there are other nihilists with whom they can work. Consequently, they assume that participation in a collective project of self-realization is impossible and denigrate all attempts to move them beyond their self-imposed exile.

This project of collective self-realization, the changing of life itself through the transformation of social relations, can properly be termed "politics." Politics, however, also signifies a mystified, separate category of human activity, an isolated interest with its own specialists--politicians, political consultants, etc. It is possible to be interested (or not) in this type of politics just as it is possible to be interested (or not) in football, stamp collecting, music, or fashion. What people see as "politics" today is the social falsification of the project of collective self-realization; it has become a spectacle and a parody. And that suits those in power just fine.

Authentic collective self-realization in the anarchic harmonious mode is the revolutionary politics. It is the collective transformation of social relations and the natural world according to the desires of all participants. It is the development of actual anarchic harmony.
Similarly, "therapy" at present usually refers to attempts to "help" individuals "adjust" to their restrictive social roles and to the banality of daily life. Authentic therapy involves changing one's own life (cognitive realization) first, then by changing the nature of social life, which in turn changes one's own life. Therapy must be social if it is to be of any real consequence. Social therapy (the healing of society) and individual therapy (the healing of the individual) are linked together: each requires the other; each is a necessary part of the other.

For example, in present day society we are expected to repress our real feelings and play a role. This is called "playing a part in society" (how revealing that phrase is). Individuals put on "character armor" --a steel-like suit comprised of role playing, posing, and concealing one's desires as a defense against other individuals. Transforming social relations and surpassing the role-playing game requires the conscious decision of most if not all individuals to shed these roles and truly communicate; therefore, the end of individual role playing is directly related to the end of social role playing.

To think actively, critically, is to make your life--as it is now, and as you want it to be--the center of your thinking. This positive self-centering is accomplished by a continuous assault on externals, on the false issues ("support our troops"), false conflicts (e.g., those arising from notions of racial "superiority"), false identities ("American," "patriot," "Catholic," "white Christian"), and false dichotomies ("economic survival" versus "a clean environment") which permeate social life.

People are kept from analyzing the basic nature, the totality, of everyday life by the media focus--including "consumer" surveys and public opinion polls--on mere details: the spectacular trifles, the phony controversies, and ridiculous scandals. Are you for or against trade unions, cruise missiles, identity cards? What's your opinion of drug legalization, global warming, UFOs, progressive taxation, Congresses latest peccadilloes, the royal family's sexual relations, presidential politics?

These are diversions, false issues. The only issue for us is how we live. There's an old saying, "If you have only two alternatives, then choose the third." It impels people to search for new perspectives. We can see the artificiality of false dichotomies by searching for that "third choice."
Being conscious that there is a third choice allows us to refuse to choose between two supposedly opposite, but equally repulsive, possibilities which are presented to us as the only possible choices. In its simplest form, this "third choice" consciousness is expressed by the person brought to trial for armed robbery and asked, "Do you plead guilty or not guilty?" "I'm hungry and unemployed," she replies. A more theoretical, but equally classic, illustration of this consciousness is the refusal to choose between the corporate-capitalist ruling classes of the West and the state-capitalist ruling classes of what's left of “Communism.” All we need to do is to look at the basic social relations of production in the USA and Europe on the one hand, and China, North Korea, and Cuba on the other, to see that they are essentially the same: over there, as here, the vast majority work for a wage or salary in exchange for giving up control over their life's work, control over both what they produce and how they produce it. And, of course, what they produce in both is then sold back to them as commodities.

In the West, the surplus value, or the value produced over and above the value of the workers' wages, is the property of the corporate management and stockholders, who keep up a show of domestic competition. In the others, the surplus value is the property of the state bureaucracy, which does not permit domestic competition. Big difference.

Like the false issues and false conflicts cited above, false questions are used to distract us from living in the present, from seeing the totality of existence. One example is the stupid conversational question, "What's your philosophy of life?" It poses an abstract concept of "life" that has nothing to do with real life because it ignores the fact that "living" is exactly what we are doing at the present moment, and our "philosophy of life" is clearly revealed by our actions.
False identities are perhaps an even more potent form of mystification. In the absence of real community, people cling to all kinds of phony social identities--they contemplate and attempt to emulate a huge variety of roles presented to them in school, church, and, especially, the "entertainment" media. These social identities can be ethnic ("Italian- American"), residential ("New Yorker"), nationalistic ("patriot"), sexual ("gay"), cultural ("Giants fan"), and so on; but all are rooted in a common desire for affiliation, for belonging.

Obviously being "black" is a much more real identification than being a "Giants fan," but beyond a certain point, such an identification only serves to mask one's real position in society; and in order to recognize that real position, you have to reject the false identities, false conflicts, and false dichotomies, and begin with yourself as the center. From there you can examine the material basis of your life, stripped of mystification.

An example: Suppose that you want a cup of coffee from the vending machine at work. First, there is the cup of coffee itself: that involves the workers on the coffee plantation, the ones on the sugar plantation and in the refineries, the ones in the paper mill, and so on. Then you have the workers who made the different parts of the vending machine and the ones who assembled it. Then the ones who extracted the iron ore and bauxite, smelted the steel, and work for the electric utility which supplies power to the machine. Then all the workers who transported the coffee, cups, and machine. Then the clerks, typists, and communication workers who coordinated the production and transportation. Finally, you have all the workers who produced all the other things necessary for the other ones to survive. That gives you a direct material relationship to several million people, in fact, to the immense majority of the world's population. They produce your life, and you help to produce theirs.

In this light, all artificial group identities and special group interests fade into insignificance. Imagine the potential enrichment of your life that at present is locked up in the frustrated creativity of these millions of workers, held back by obsolete and exhausting methods of production, strangled by lack of control over their own productivity, warped by the insane rationale of capital-accumulation which pits one against all and makes life a mad scramble for economic survival. Here we begin to discover a real social identity--in people all over the world who are fighting to win control over their own lives we find ourselves.

"We must be the change we wish to see in others to see ourselves in them."