politics – The Rumination Compilation

Posted on July 31, 2022October 9, 2025 by The Rumination Compilation

Virtues in a Virtual Reality

I believe, we as modern humans, exist in a virtual reality based upon codes of rulers & the minds of a million writers, dead & alive. Through the use of the written word & other innovations, we have created a “scripted” reality where things begin in the mind & eventually become reality, if allowed by regulatory powers of an ancient, yet ever evolving code.

Academically speaking, a malleable collection of qualities set us apart from the other fauna of Earth:

⁃ abstract thinking

⁃ blade technology

⁃ creating & working with fire

⁃ dancing

⁃ making music

⁃ symbolic behaviors like art or ornamentation.

The malleability arises out of occasional dissenting opinions on theories like the Upper Paleolithic Revolution on either the basis that it is anthropocentric at the foundation & thereby flawed due to examples like the “Stone Age Chimps” or criticized as inherently dismissive of archeological sites across the Middle East & Africa & thereby flawed in relation to timeline construction.

Once one watches enough of those David Attenborough nature documentaries, it becomes clear a few species provide examples of conscious application of musicality, dancing during mating rituals & exhibiting traits of observable grief over death like seen in elephants. To a degree, I agree the consensus is flawed but primarily by simply overlooking the magick of that is the written word.

The first technological advancement that truly separated us from the rest of nature & reality itself was the written word. Though the vocalized form of communication we possess is impactful, for the nature of this post, consider the fact that even though I’m not aware of the exact structure of the language my two cats employ between each other – I am aware it exists solely by observation of their interactions. That said, they possess no ability to transcribe & place ideologies nor information outside of themselves in a physical form for other members of their species – this is where humans are distinctly different & where the focus of this piece lies.

Much like other animals that exist in systems wherein large populations of the species can coexist by self-determined structure (matriarchal bees & ants, lion pride hierarchy, etc) humans have had some form of communication available to them that allowed a level of societal structure. Flimsy as it was, it was/is there.

Summarily, prior to the advent of technologies that accelerate the means of communication, communication itself was solely a tool employed to determine the course of public affairs & sustain order.

The first level by which humans can surpass this simple function is through psychological time travel & plane-jumping – a true culmination of the powers of abstract thinking & language exemplified by the written word. Across the globe we see examples of cultures that in varying degrees live in ways that dismiss time as a concept or overall concern; regardless, they still have social order & essentially confirm the prior statement regarding communication as a function for public affairs. Where there is no consideration of time, a language will not exist around time & this is a necessary aspect of the first level.

As humans began to transcribe ideations from their psyche onto the walls of caves & mountainsides, we were scratching at the surface of the virtual reality. Through art & lexical lacerations in runic & hieroglyphic form, our ancestors were practicing how to properly transcend their personas & perspectives across time & space. Consensual determinations of symbolic choices over generations gave rise to inherited meaning & understanding that exists outside of the present moment – early on we were writing a code for our personas to exist in a fixed virtual plane where our sentiments & ideologies would be catalogued in ways that support maximum fungibility. Not only for self-expression but the continuous regimentation of social order throughout time.

The basis of this premise lies in the assertion that written language was a necessity for continuity of social order by way of coded law & epitomized by the discoveries of the Codes of Ur-Nammu & Hammurabi, two social contracts between masters, free folk & slaves all more or less based around “if, then” statements. These were the first examples of humanity using the written word to design the future & transcend time itself; over time itself, the codified laws would evolve to meet the needs of the preferred social order or limit specific actions in a social setting.

Thousands of years after the reign & coded structures of Sumerian & Mesopotamian design that still solely attempted to sustain order, further coding developed by the Roman counterparts in the gradual formation of the “res publica” (the republic) introduced a new concept that exists in a reimagined fashion today in countries across the globe: the virtue & virtual man.

In 509 BC, the last king of Rome lost power & out of this vacuum of control eventually came the “Conflict of the Orders” – a political bout between the upper class & the lower class in regards to political equality. One of the first lasting outcomes of this conflict was the creation of the “Laws of the Twelve Tables” in 449 BC which was essentially a formalized documentation of the rights & the duties of the citizens of Rome in the public & private spaces of life posted in the town centers for all to read. In the 60 years between the end of a kingdom & the creation of a republic, ideations of public good & the correlated self began to swirl amongst the populous giving birth to the Latin word “virtus”, the root of both virtue & virtual.

Virtus applies solely to one’s behavior in the public sphere as it relates to political action & the public good; private matters, in Roman society in the context of the republic, had no bearing on one’s social standing & was not a space where one could rise through the ranks of society with conscious efforts. Bearing in mind the basis of all social order thus far in society was economic in nature given all codes related to property rights related to land & slavery or varying allowances afforded by a master class, the concept of virtus was revolutionary & magical all at once. It implied that merit determines the value of an individual, not their heredity; their social standing would be a reflection of their public services or lack thereof & that with enough public conformity to the legalized standards of right, one could achieve a greater status in the public realm.

Ages ago, ideal individuals were imagined & described through engravings on varying mediums; following the proliferation of these virtues, such individuals began to exist in the physical realm. As I mentioned in a long-winded manner throughout “Ramparts & Revolution”, many of the qualities we inherit from our ancestors are remnants of coded determinations of what an amicable member of society is & what our roles/limitations are within the society. The original authors & philosophers that promulgated the concepts of public good & elevated social order may be dead & gone but they are immortalized by their success in time-traveling & plane-jumping as millions still adhere to their written words.

In this realm where ancient code dictates current & future actions & ultimately the nature of our social existence, the authors themselves are the original “avatars” in this virtual reality – they are the first “profiles”. From the base models they described in the manuscripts pertaining to the proper person in relation to politics, we find the framework for not only politicians but all common folk in the scripted reality known as political theater.

With the innovation of mass printing & the gradual expansion of conscious members of the virtuous framework called “the law”, a level even further separated from reality was established by transporting ideologies & codices outside of their original space & time; by removing the need for a centralized space of reception originally required by the likes of Ancient Rome, the “forum” of political discourse is equally tangible & intangible, ultimately blurring the lines between public & private.

Through this degradation of perceived parameters between private & political spaces, a variety of imaginary & borderline disingenuous avenues of political discourse are made available to both common folk & the presiding political parties.

The original, probably the most impactful yet least defined, is the form of doublespeak; by intentionally providing the possibility of misinterpretation on the listener’s end, fraudulent activity is excused & oftentimes conflated with near-successful or fully successful attempts at gaining or maintaining virtue through false honesty or shifting of blame. Though more often utilized by governing bodies or entities within, citizens can parrot talking points or expand upon them at will in their own areas of influence. Through this creation of near-truth, another layer of virtual existence is added to the coded world we already live in.

Another tactic often employed to maintain a public perception of obvious effort to positively impact the public good is the action of donation or charity. In US history, the first observable form of charity as a tactic to maintain social standing was in reaction to the public opinion in 1889-1892 regarding the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, comprised of over 50 wealthy steel, coal & railroad investors/owners like Andrew Carnegie (owner of Carnegie Steel). On May 31st of 1889, a pre-existing public dam that was purchased & hastily redesigned solely for the construction of a private lake resort for the South Fork Club broke & resulted in the deaths of over 2,200 people & property damage of about $17 million (today that’s over half a billion). The dam itself was built by members of the community as they were employed under the monopoly (or “vertically integrated” as the doublspeakers would say) Andrew Carnegie created through Carnegie Steel; to brush aside this obvious conflict of interest & evidence of guilt in legal proceedings that would happen in 1892 (you should research why it was postponed on your own), Andrew Carnegie visited Johnstown on November 28th, 1889 & donated $54,000. Following the donation, Carnegie created multiple foundations, spread philosophical concepts related to philanthropy through self-authored books in libraries he built across New England & sold his companies in 1901 to J.P. Morgan, the business mogul of hell who affects American lives to this day, even in death.

Following Carnegie’s efforts to shape public opinion in light of wrongdoing using an interplay of legal tender (written money) & the mass media news networks, variations of this tactic described with examples of “greenwashing”, charities outed as tax-havens, etc began to appear with increasing regularity. Today, the tactic is essentially overused as public opinion is now wary of this avenue due to the propensity of tax-free groups being tied to laundering operations or other morally questionable events.

Finally, the most recent, innovative & interactive tactic lies with virtue signaling; clearly defined as: “the action or practice of publicly expressing opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one’s good character or the moral correctness of one’s position on a particular issue” virtue signaling, in my opinion, is the culmination of the written word, doublespeak & the attempt to create charity through commentary to elevate one’s social standing in our coded virtual reality. This is not to say that virtue signaling is the highest level of altered communication in a fabricated system, although some may have made or may eventually make this argument, I’m not aware of such stances nor do I share them.

Though as novel as the concept & action of virtue signaling is, I will admit that the veracity & overall impact of the tactic may evolve & progress either naturally or by design, especially considering it is built upon the framework of digital social media.

I often wonder, given the fact that humanity exists in this state of temporal haziness regarding predetermined valuations of the self & the group, if technology progresses to a point where digital reality is indistinguishable from physical reality, will there be a clashing of digital computer code, ancient legal code & the human lexicon?

Will there be a new level of falsifying & reshaping reality with the spoken & elaborately written word?

Will there be a transparency afforded to the masses for the first time in a situation where cognition & computation intersect & interact on a level we can’t even comprehend at the moment?

Will the concept of virtues, individuality & public good shift to more synthetic attributes as technology & humanity meld into one or will the concepts themselves be completely re-coded?

We all repetitively state that time doesn’t stand still, yet the written word, the essence of a writer, steps outside of this rule & imparts upon readers tales of old, potential futures, present guidelines & creates rules of its own. This act of writing with the intention of transcending space & time is what sets us apart from all other publicly observable beings – the magicks of time-travel & teleportation are available to those fortunate to be literate; those in control of the nature of political discourse are able to simply shape reality by “spelling it out” in coded law. Ultimately, the laws passed under the cover of the night by governing bodies & international committees without public input are the actual occult & dark magicks of the world, the statements & actions thereafter are the added illusions & extra spells to control & contort reality.

Truly, this is why the greatest obsession of any tyrant is the free person’s mind; if they can’t physically restrain or restrict, the next best & admittedly preferred option from the onset of any fear & terror campaign is mental subversion & control.

Be wary of the words you see on the screens & be critical of the means by which a party seeks to achieve your public appreciation. Write with intent & rest assured that even after you begin your eternal rest, an aspect of your self remains in the written world that exists outside of celestial space-time. As a member of the public, it is our duty to determine what are the true values & virtues needed for the public good, not the corporations or some currently prevailing party; should we forfeit the ability & the right to help shape the predetermined best qualities of a citizen of the earth & digital planes we create hereafter, we will be subject to coded terms set by rulers in a virtual reality forevermore.

Thanks for reading

Works cited:

Gibbons, A., 2022. The Chimpanzee Stone Age. [online] Science.org. Available at: <https://www.science.org/content/article/chimpanzee-stone-age> [Accessed 31 July 2022].

Parker, L., 2022. Rare Video Shows Elephants ‘Mourning’ Matriarch’s Death. [online] Animals. Available at: <https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/elephants-mourning-video-animal-grief> [Accessed 31 July 2022].

Mantri, V., 2022. Cultures Without The Concept Of Time – Wanderlust. [online] Oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg. Available at: <https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/vishaka1/cultures-without-the-concept-of-time/> [Accessed 31 July 2022].

Gormandy Wright, M., 2022. Examples of Doublespeak. [online] Examples.yourdictionary.com. Available at: <https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-doublespeak.html> [Accessed 31 July 2022].

Photo cred: Photo by Markus Spiske: https://www.pexels.com/photo/green-and-white-line-illustration-225769/

Posted on July 18, 2022October 9, 2025 by The Rumination Compilation · 2 Comments

Market Forces: Foreign Factors & Domestic Actors

Do you see it yet?

Assumptions aside, before progressing any further into this text, I’d recommend reading my post, “Environments & Requirements” – it serves as a backdrop for this discussion of ambiguous terminology employed by myself & others of far greater influence.

Admittedly, I was extremely reductive in my total description of the dissenting Justice’s vague reference to “market forces” that economically enacted the moderation sought to be legislatively achieved through the Clean Power Plan of 2015. I was pressed for time in a number of ways & opted to employ a tone as cryptic as the parties involved & for that I apologize.

Across the United States of America & most nations across the globe, contractually binding agreements focused on the years 2025, 2030 & 2050 are actively being implemented & exercised in ways that, more often than not, circumnavigates a nations domestic legislation & overtly neglects public opinion.

Nonetheless, we’re all pressed for time.

By a design I hope to properly explain henceforth, these contracts are primarily fulfilled through utilization of actors in two distinct groupings:

• individual members of domestic governments on the local or national level, party to, or at the very least aware of the contract & beholden to it’s terms. Throughout this text, we’ll refer to them as “domestic actors”.

• individual members of corporations & non-government organizations party to, or at the very least aware of the contract & beholden to it’s terms. Throughout this text, we’ll refer to them as “foreign factors”. (The video I have linked at the end of “Environments & Requirements” is a documented example of the second scenario.)

This aforementioned contract, oftentimes discussed as though singular in nature, is actually a consortium of contracts contingent upon an original that essentially grows through these compartmentalized amendments.

In 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, described as a treaty of nations, was the foundation of the Conference of the Parties (COP) & the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the latter being an international contract signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 5, 1992 and entered into force at the end of 1993. A majority of the 196 parties signed the contract immediately or soon after; the rest signed later in the early 2000’s with the latest being the nation of Andorra on February 4th, 2015. As simply as it is, nations involved are the Conference of the Parties.

The contract created by the CBD is the foundation of a number of other contracts & compartmentalized sub-organizations – for the sake of time & clarity, I’ll be focusing on overall elements & intermittently addressing specifics that will best discuss the “market forces” alluded to all too often.

The degree of obligation parties to the contract are subject to are clearly stated in Article 5:

Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate, cooperate with other Contracting Parties, directly or, where appropriate, through competent international organizations, in respect of areas beyond national jurisdiction and on other matters of mutual interest, for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.

As well as Article 10:

Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate:

(a) Integrate consideration of the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources into national decision-making;

(e) Encourage cooperation between its governmental authorities and its private sector in developing methods for sustainable use of biological resources.

Frequently, the competent international organizations are subgroups that have been delegated authorities vested by these two Articles – entities like the Wildlife Project, Cities With Nature, & the financial arm of the CBD, the Global Environment Facility, in charge of about $5.33 billion from government & corporate investments, all stem from the contract itself while various organizations like ICLEI (the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, the subject of the linked video) are granted jurisdiction & provided impetus by way of the CBD contract.

Furthermore, through manufactured fragmentation of the UNCCC into the aforementioned subgroups & others I’ve opted to forego in the interest of time, individual members from each of the original UNCCC subgroups bestow upon each other & new subgroups a false sense of authority in the eyes of a subnational government & the general public. This inorganic networking founded upon disingenuous representation serves as a way to also build rapport with a subnational government, often the focus of these UNCCC subgroups, through a multitude of domestic actors.

From the state level to the federal level, most nations have members of government party to the contract by association with one, if not more, of the UNCCC subgroups. By my estimate however, there are more members of commerce in leadership positions party to the contract considering the private sector is where the implementation of the carbon credit cap-and-trade system began.

In your own time, pay attention to the prevalence of corporate commitments to sustainability efforts related to the years 2025, 2030 & 2050; it is more than likely that the board of directors, in part or full, are aware of the CBD contract, specifically Article 11:

Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate, adopt economically and socially sound measures that act as incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of components of biological diversity.

In no clearer terms, this is the foundation of the cap-and-trade system in relation to carbon emissions & other economic sustainability tools like Sustainable Aviation Fuel being spearhead by Shell Corp & Boeing. The actions taken by corporate interests & universities that mirror the SDGs set forth by the UNCCC are in summation the market forces the Justices briefly mentioned – the individuals working in government (e.g. mayors, city council members, directors/chancellors of state universities) while also representing these extrajudicial entities are the domestic actors.

For a few examples, here in the United States of America, since 06/21/22 the point of contact (domestic actor) between the GEF & the U.S. Department of the Treasury is Ms. Abigail Mary Demopulos who has worked as an economist for the Department since 2004, as far as public record states.

For a more local example, Scott Tess is a Sustainability & Resilience Officer at the City of Urbana, Illinois (a noted Cities With Nature city member) who contributed to the 2020 Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP), created by the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) at the University of Illinois on the Urbana-Champaign campus. iSEE gets most of its funding from students through increased costs of attendance & an organization called the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) who seek “to scale up climate actions by both state and non-state actors to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda” across the United States, Mexico & Canada. Both the Paris Agreement & the 2030 Agenda are creations of the UNCCC & CBD. (I’ll be doing a few posts on the Precision Consumer aspects of the 2030 Agenda in due time.)

If one hyper-focuses on the iCAP objectives (or any of the other versions at USA state universities), it is clear that they essentially copied the framework of essentially every other UNCCC-derived economic climate plan:

Objective 2.2.1: Improve efficiency of space use by minimizing the square footage per person and updating the Space Policy in the Campus Administrative Manual (CAM) by FY23.

Objective 3.3: Establish an Electric Vehicle Task Force to identify key goals for supporting the use of electric vehicles on and off campus by FY22.

Objective 8.1: Develop a coordinated urban bio- diversity master plan by FY24 to make the Champaign, Urbana, Savoy, and campus metro area a model for biodiversity.

In light of this exceedingly shrouded information, to what degree, if at all, can you be certain that your representatives in government are observing only the constitutional laws of your nation? To what degree are markets truly free?

Again, I’d like to apologize for my preference to discuss these matters from an American/North American standpoint – please do not misconstrue omissions of other nations as indications of absence of this schematic, to reiterate, all nations of the globe are party to the contract as of 2015; from that point forward, all nations were essentially operating in a form of lockstep that is founded upon external influence & market manipulation by way of self-imposed fossil fuel/carbon emission restrictions well before advent of constitutionally observed legislation & incentivized programs for entities that opt to follow the 2030 Agenda.

Essentially, since 1992, even prior depending on the length of research of done, the events & the lifestyles of 2025, 2030 & 2050, regardless of the country, were being planned for precise results. Predetermined forms of economics & reimagined realities await us; in just 3 years from now, our lives will begin to bear greater resemblance across national borders & social groups as our restrictions become unified under a global framework centered around carbon emissions.

Over the next few weeks, I hope to discuss this concept of market forces in further detail & with more focused points of discussion; this post itself, I imagine, has a bit too many links for most readers & still has a bit of ambiguity plaguing it, thus we’ll be returning to this topic numerous times.

In the meantime, research your local entities – determine their unspoken goals & decide for yourself if they are the same goals you & yours seek to achieve.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or anecdotes regarding this text.

Thanks for reading.

Photo credit: https://globalforestcoalition.org/who-makes-decisions-at-the-cbd-the-increasing-power-of-business-in-biodiversity-protection/