On the tyranny of The Machine and its war on the natural world

by Pavlofox on Pixabay

Activists around the world are fighting the top-down, well-funded, authoritarian, death cult known as industrial civilization. Some call it “The Machine”; others “Moloch”. No matter what we call it, it is waging war on the natural world, and the natural world is losing. Mother Earth is resilient but there is only so much she can take. We must stand with her, and fight. 

These lessons are based on the those from Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny, an essay about fighting authoritarian rule. I have modified them for our battle, one that goes beyond resisting those in power to fighting for the future of life on Earth.

1. Do not obey in advance. We live in a culture that frames nature as “resources” and living beings as “it” rather than “who”. The notion that nature is here for us rather than with us is so pervasive we barely notice. When we absorb these beliefs without question, it’s easy to accept the ongoing, continuous destruction of the natural world as normal and necessary. Those who do are freely giving power to the The Machine that is shattering the natural world and annihilating our future.

2. Defend the natural world. Like all living beings on Earth, we depend on flourishing ecosystems and an intact web of life for our own existence, our own flourishing. The Machine has become so powerful, nature can barely protect herself. Every move The Machine makes is a stab wound in the body we are and the earthly body who nurtures us. Nature will fall, species by species, forest by forest, wetland by wetland, prairie by prairie unless each is defended from the beginning. Choose someone you love—a tree, a small piece of land with intact habitat, a river—take their side, and defend them with your life.

3. Beware the party line. There are countless rationalizations for The Machine, because we have immured ourselves into almost total dependence upon it. Excuse follows excuse justifying the very thing that’s destroying life on Earth, because most can’t imagine it any other way. No matter what group you join, what political party you align with, each will have its shibboleths for business-as-usual. It can feel desperately lonely to think differently from one’s tribe, and even lonelier to act on that. Do it anyway. 

4. Take responsibility for the face of the world. The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow. Notice the ways we speak of nature as “property” and casually wreck her for even the most mundane of extravagances. See the propaganda indoctrinating us to want always and ever more—the bigger house, the expensive car, the new clothes—and the expectations that this is what success means. Do not look away, and do not get used to it. Remove yourself from this way of life. Find joy in less, in solitude, in quiet, and in doing nothing but listening to the sound of the wind in the trees. Set an example for others to do the same.

5. Remember personal ethics. The Machine needs obedient servants, those who will feed it and lubricate it and shove others aside for it. Don’t be a servant of The Machine. Throw rocks in the gears and obstacles everywhere you can. The natural world has the right to exist and flourish, and we humans are part of this natural world, even if we’ve largely forgotten this. Stand and fight with your human community for your natural community because it’s the right thing to do. 

6. Be wary of controlled opposition. Learn to recognize those who have always claimed to be against The Machine when they start marching with The Machine. Some are infiltrators; some are turncoats. Expect them. Be ready and armed to expel them from your team and from your life.

7. Be reflective. Those who say they are defending the natural world may one day find themselves doing irregular things. Recognize if that’s about to be you, and swiftly change course.

8. Stand out. Someone has to. It’s too easy to just follow along. It feels strange to do or say something different, something in defense of the natural world, when everyone around you is entranced by The Machine. Stepping out of the normal and accepted way of doing things is uncomfortable, but there is no freedom from the tyranny of this ecocidal way of life without a great deal of discomfort. Break the spell of the status quo; others will follow. And even if they don’t, you’ll finally be able to live with yourself.

9. Tell the truth with your words. Logging is not “forest health” or “forest management”; it’s exterminating a forest. “Clean energy” isn’t carbon and consequence free; it’s mining; it’s damming and killing rivers; it’s bulldozing fragile desert soils and ridge lines. “Green” products aren’t good for the environment, they are a successful marketing campaign. Your “property” isn’t “yours” and it isn’t “property”, it’s land and habitat, and home for countless wildlife unless you bulldoze it into oblivion. Natural “resources” are living beings and ecosystems being killed for and by The Machine. Learn to see through the euphemisms and justifications for cruelty; find a way of speaking that recognizes that we are just one of 8 million or more species on Earth, no more and no less important than any other. 

10. Believe in truth. Remember: we are human animals; permeable bodies breathing in and out in the thin, fragile atmosphere of our Mother Earth, connected as if by umbilical cord to the bacteria, the rivers, the oceans, the forests, the soil, the insects, the sky; all the natural communities on Earth. Always stay grounded in this biological and ecological reality, no matter how alluring the spectacle of The Machine. 

11. Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. The Machine lies constantly. Find others who’ve been fighting it, and get their perspectives. Take responsibility for what you communicate with others. Most importantly, build a relationship with the land, the river, the forest, the wild beings you are working to protect. They will always tell the truth if you listen carefully. 

12. Be willing to go deep. Stay connected to the natural world, and those with whom you are fighting to protect her. Understand who you should and should not trust. Be willing to have difficult conversations. Find common ground and put differences aside, even if temporarily, in order to face The Machine together. 

13. Practice corporeal actions on behalf of the natural world. The Machine wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in the natural world. See with your eyes and hear with your ears and smell with your nose and touch with your whole self and remember what it is to be animal. Fall in love with a river, or a mountain, or a whale, and speak for them when they cannot speak for themselves.

14. Establish a private life. Develop a relationship with a tree. Have personal conversations with the tree. Draw the tree; sit under and in the tree; take the time to know the tree. Avoid the temptation to take photos of the tree and post them on your social media. Your relationship with the tree (or the river or the mountain or the blade of grass) is unique and yours alone. Learn the secrets of the natural world and keep them safe.

15. Contribute to effective causes and those who stay true. Whether it’s time, money, or even just some snacks, the warriors fighting for nature will always need replenishing.  

16. Learn from your peers. There is a saying among those who fight for the natural world that “all victories are temporary; all defeats are permanent.” Cultivate friendships with those who keep fighting anyway. Each time we wage battle against The Machine, we learn. We learn where its weak points are and where its armor is impenetrable. We learn about the communities we are fighting to protect and in so doing, we fall in love. Keep learning. Stay in the war. Fall in love again and again. 

17. Listen for dangerous words. Be aware that words like “economic growth” and “jobs” and “national security” are all propaganda for exploiting the natural world. Until we can escape The Machine, we are all bound and gagged by these words because we are all imprisoned by a system that requires us to pay money to live on Earth. As soon as you begin untying the knots that bind you, you’ll hear words like “unrealistic” and “extremism” and even “terrorism”.  Be angry about the treacherous use of words like “pragmatic”, “compromise”, and “sacrifice.” The Machine will use these words to keep you imprisoned. Untie the knots anyway. Remove the gag. Tell your story to anyone who will listen.

18. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. The tyranny of modern techno-industrial civilization is terror management. When The Machine comes for the beings you love and tells you that it needs to sacrifice them in order to feed you, house you, pay your taxes, and give you the good life, remember that The Machine will exploit whatever it must to keep itself going, to make itself bigger, and gather more power. The lie that you need The Machine is the oldest trick in industrial civilization’s book. Do not fall for it. 

19. Be a biocentrist. Center the natural world. Be loyal to the natural world. Set an example of what loving this natural world looks like for the generations to come. They will need it.

20. Be as courageous as you can. Environmental activists are regularly sued, jailed, and even killed for attempting to stop the corporate state when it wants to extract more “resources” for profit and economic growth. We see what happens to those who resist and it scares us, as it should. The law is on the side of those with power who exploit the natural world, both in the courts and in the hands of corporations with the cover of mercenaries. They make fighting for the natural world almost impossible, but we must do it anyway. If none of us is prepared to die to protect our home and the ones we love, then all of us will die from the tyranny of The Machine. Be the one who stands tall. Fling your arms wide and shout, “You shall not pass!”