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My name is Erkka Kulmala and

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I'm a semi-active

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member of the Finnish chapter.

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I am part of the local chapter in Turku.

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I joined about a year ago

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when I saw the Zeitgeist documentaries

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At that time there were Zeitgeist:Movie and Zeitgeist:Addendum

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For a long time I have been concerned of society and the state of the world

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and these documentaries

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- even if I didn't agree with everything -

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in any case, they were the best I had seen so far

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and I wanted to take action. This gave me an avenue for just that.

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I support the movement because it's outside

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of party politics and other decision making

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and it includes good self-criticism or at least a chance for it

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of course it doesn't always come true

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I think that in whatever we do

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we should always take into account the underlying humanity.

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We don't always know what affects us

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certain things that we are not always aware of

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and I think in Zeitgeist it is taken into account

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and the knowledge is even disseminated

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about the underlying human behavior

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mechanisms that have such a big effect.

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I also support the fact that at least in principle

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the movement is based on the scientific method

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that prevents a lot of that

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emotion-based action that causes so many problems today.

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In my opinion the biggest achievement in Turku

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- as far as I know -

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is the screening of Moving Forward

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in a movie theater in the very center of the city

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and hundreds of people took part.

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We got support

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without having to give anything in exchange

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- it was a private gift -

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and managed to have a great space and nice equipment

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- equipment in par with such a great documentary.

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As for problems, we've had too few people involved

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Of course it's a problem everywhere

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I'd also say that the fact that there are only guys is a problem

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- for whatever the reason there are too few women -

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and we definitely need women to go along.

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Also a certain group dynamics is called for.

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We are dealing with quite dire issues

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and it would be nice to keep it positive

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because we already have too much negativity in this world.

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I believe we could involve more people with

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positively oriented action.

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Politically we have had big chances

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for instance in the past elections the right wing party got a lot of support

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Personally I'm not very interested in politics

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because when you follow their decision making process

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- it's aired in the public radio

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and accessible for anyone -

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it sounds so appalling, the way they

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try to make decisions.

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It's everything but constructive:

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It's pointing fingers

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and I think it's manipulation,

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and power struggle.

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I remember one session that dealt with unemployment.

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For the first 15 minutes they only talked

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about personal schisms.

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When we are dealing with something

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as serious as unemployment,

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who in their right mind only aims to enhance their own ego?

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It sounds absurd.

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Socially, as much as I've followed,

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it seems that inequality is in rise

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the gap between rich and the poor is widening

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and unemployment is rising.

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Socially, in Finland, we are getting worse and worse

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all the time, as far as I'm concerned.

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Economically... well, the economic situation

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is the same here as it is elsewhere.

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The public debt goes up,

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we commit more and more to support

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the path led by the central banks

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and to support the

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countries that are in crisis.

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The support seems to go to banks, not to people.

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I am not satisfied.

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In my mind, we are going to a worse direction on every area

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which doesn't diminish at all my concern for the future.

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I see the change happens in baby steps.

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We can already see that the sense of community is in the rise

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and we have Non-governmental organizations that

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drive forward a more democratic money system

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that wouldn't be controlled by the select few.

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I can't agree 100% with what is now

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discussed about resource-based economy

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but the direction is more than correct,

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one of the best I've heard of so far.

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I hope it is still being developed

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and that we could be open to new ideas,

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even if they didn't come from us

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and that we would openly discuss and cooperate

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with other organizations and movements.

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One thing that lacks a lot

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especially in my home country Finland

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is courage:

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courage to follow your own feelings and

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continue pushing for what one holds dear,

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courage to be unselfish and not to fear

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because it's fear that directs us...

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It's a means to control us.

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Openness, courage and

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pushing to the same direction.

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Let's listen to our hearts and follow through until the end.

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Remember to be courageous,

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fret not,

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fear stops our development.

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Be courageous

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Don't be afraid

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because it stops our development.