Slovakia - Andrej

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http://amara.org/v/CPLJ/

My name is Andrej, I come from Slovakia

presently, I am the national coordinator of TZM Slovakia and a European TZM coordinator

I am a 24-year old student of law and political science

I've been part of the Zeitgeist movement since the very beginning

when the movie Zeitgeist Addendum came out after which the movement was created

I contacted Peter Joseph, the movie director, and offered him my cooperation and assistance

in a sense that I would like to translate some materials into Slovak language and

if needed to kick-start activities in Slovakia.

This basically means that we were one of the first chapters worldwide

and immediately in that year, in March 2010, we organized the first Z-day in Bratislava

which enjoyed participation of many people, so we were very pleased to have it organized in such a short period of time

I met there some very interesting people from Slovakia who joined TZM and helped me personally

as well as the other TZM members to get the movement off the ground and shape it in the current form

presently, the structure of TZM Slovakia was developed during the last years

it is what we focused on from the very beginning, right when we started to brainstorm about TZM

and its organizational structure and how it should work in Slovakia

we realized all the drawbacks of international organizations

and we wanted to contribute with something new, we wanted to structure the entire movement

so that there would be decision making processes that would reflect expert approaches

scientific approaches and would highlight the tenets on which the movement was created and which fascinated me.

The reasons I joined TZM and establish a chapter in Slovakia were diverse

many people I talked to said that the Zeitgeist movie series opened their eyes

That was not exactly my case. My eyes had been open for some time already

I'd been interested in alternative systems and had been watching documentaries and reading so

by that time I'd been quite aware even after I watched the movies

For me the first movie was an interesting way of documenting

it is a very captivating documentary which, however, only brought up the issues

although it was done in a very interesting form but it did not offer any solutions

After watching Zeitgeist the movie I created my own blog where I published translated news items from alternative media

After watching Zeitgeist Addendum which presents the idea of Resource Based Economy

as well as it presents the issues of our current system, I immediately knew

that this was something different from all the other information on the internet

Basically, what was discussed in the movie, the tenets, values and ideas that underlie the resource based economy

reflected exactly what I was long convinced of and that is that society should be organized in this way, instead of the current way of organization.

...what should be said next...

Similarly to other countries, we had many people who joined our chapter.

In February 2010 we had a large nationwide meeting and we were very surprised those who started the chapter

that there was so much interest among people. Many of them came to Bratislava from far away just to participate,

to find out what was the movement about and to find ways they could contribute.

Similarly to other countries, and we found out about this only after some time, these people wanted to help

but as they, after a few months or even weeks, figured that it takes time to change the world

and that it requires a lot of work and effort and of course all this takes away spare time when people have to invest energy

and as they suddenly found out that this is not a game or a hobby but it is a mission that one really has to take on

once they realized that they had to add their own responsibility and be accountable for their own actions

then they got their hands off.

Later on, I found out that this was the case in many European countries and surely in many chapters across the world

but I take it as it comes. People come and go. Everyone has their own opinions, values and the

alternative spectrum is very wide. In the entire alternative sphere with all the alternatives to be put in place instead of the current system

they are very distinct. So it is perfectly natural that people come and think that TZM is what expresses them

but after a while they simply realize that it is not exactly what they thought.

This is mainly because people are not informed enough about the tenets and values of TZM and as a result they leave.

It is not a tragedy for us. We are very happy and appreciate every single member who joins

and we value their inputs regardless whether they stay for a week or three years.

As far as the history of TZM Slovakia, as I alluded to prior, after the first Z-Day in 2009 we decided,

also in the light of many people leaving the movement without stating concrete reasons, we decided to develop organizational structure.

We were convinced that the movement can only function efficiently there is a need for clear rules

and clear levels of responsibility and people have to have roles as much as it is in every other organization.

TZM is no different. I know that especially within this movement there are many people who think

that everything should be solved loosely, that people should do what they want and when do they want it

I understand this position but if we want to achieve anything, we have to conform to certain common rules

which we will agree upon collectively.

Organizational structure of TZM Slovakia as it exists represents the exact values TZM stands upon

or based on which TZM should work according to our beliefs.

We defined several basic pillars that should support the movement and the organizational structure of TZM Slovakia

these include holistic approach, which recognizes the world as a single organism

and my actions in one part of the world affects other places

I cannot simply expect that my actions won't have effect on something else

therefore, every action must be realized as something influencing many other factors

and I have to work with the feedback, which I get back and further to implement this feedback in the future solutions

Next pillar is humanism. Solutions that TZM is offering should be focused on human beings

Humanism is a very large concept which we tried to define so that people would have a clear picture of our understanding of humanism

Essential component of TZM is the scientific method and its application.

This is perfectly self-evident also in the movies and the teachings of Jacque Fresco and Peter Joseph

and in general in the nature of RBE. The scientific method does not proclaim itself to be the one with the best solutions

The scientific method offers solutions based on the current understanding.

The solutions do not have to be right or wrong because the most interesting property of the scientific method

and at the same time what makes it proportionally different from other methods is

its fallibility.

The scientific method acknowledges that because when we speak about the scientific method

we speak about the system, the processes and mechanisms of discovering unknown.

When I speak about science and the scientific method I speak about the people. And people who apply this method

to acquire understanding of some phenomenon or become able to explain it are and have to be

aware of their discoveries being changeable because science is about probability.

To the contrary of other methods, the scientific method is able to self-correct itself

this means when someone new comes along with a new discovery or a new theory which is accepted

it does not mean that this theory will be accepted dogmatically.

It is the current state of affairs but that does not mean that someone in the future cannot

question the established, prove his/her own truth, come up with new discoveries, new facts

and simply explain the matter better than the previous person

and that is, according to me, the most important aspect differentiating the scientific method from other methods.

A lot of people, and this is something a lot of people experience on a daily basis, discover that when I

argue with someone about something or when I am having a discussion and that person

in the majority of cases perceives the discourse as something negative

especially when I try to persuade him/her about something which he or she thinks it's the truth.

When I try to derail his or her worldview, it is perceived as personal attack.

This is a mindset that should be changed because the fact that I am convinced of something does not mean it's the truth.

Likewise, we have learn how to respect and be open to the opinions of the other people.

Because if I allow my worldview to block my own acceptance of any other worldviews

then from the epistemic standpoint I am simply finished.

I cannot go on, I cannot further develop myself when every time someone questions my opinions

I begin to think I am being attacked.

A "loss" in a discussion should not be understood as a failure or a personal attack

when someone persuades me about something it does not imply I am stupid

it is not about trying to prove I was the stupid one who believed in something because I had limited amount of information

when I am persuaded by someone about something I should perceive it positively

it is about broadening the horizon and acquiring new information

the more information once receives, the more open one is, the more of human he or she becomes

on the other hand it is important to remark that it is not needed to be fully open to anything

we should always find the balance. This is something I always underline.

Everything requires a balanced approach. So when I say it's important to be open to new ideas

I also mean it is necessary to question the current structures and the contemporary truth that is accepted almost universally

and that is also one of the tenets of the scientific method according to my interpretation

Critical thinking is the only thing that can move us forward

because when people stop questioning and start to believe the current society is the best there will ever be

then, at that moment, it is as if we stopped the evolutionary process of the society

Society evolves through evolution just like there is biological evolution, there is societal evolution, which must always continue

we cannot live in an illusion of reaching a peak.

And when we speak about the RBE, as an alternative to the current model, we do not speak about RBE

as the final stage which will bring salvation. No, RBE is simply better than what we have now that is something to be stressed

it is not about pushing RBE as the final global system, it is about RBE offering a better life for all the people.

You can cut this out if you think it's not good enough :)))

Questions?...

How does the socio-political-economic situation look like in Slovakia?

The current socio-political-economic situation in Slovakia is not very different from other countries in Europe or Western world

We have the same problems in Slovakia as they have in other countries.

Many people like to blame the politicians that the do not govern the society well

Tomas: This sentence was not finished, I did not translate it.

My opinion is that the basis of any society are three pillars

1) politics

2) economy

3) culture

These three pillars can be found in different form in every social system.

In the current political establishment, economy has a prevailing position

the political and cultural systems are derived from the economic system

the current economic system in any of the countries is based on egoism, exploitation of other people and on greed

these principles of the economic system to some extent penetrate the political and cultural systems

if we have a system that incites greed, egoism and competitiveness at the expense of

cooperation, creativity and symbiosis how can we expect that people living in that very system will behave differently?

or how should they change the system?

It is basically a vicious circle.

Tomas: I am not translating this...he's going to rephrase it...

In Slovakia, we were able, coincidentally, to get together a bunch of people from the same city who lived close to each other

and therefore had an opportunity to meet regularly and better organize the movement

...it's not my best day today...

Tomas the Translator: Don't worry Andrej, you're doing great!

When we speak about RBE, we could spend hours discussing how the future will look like

how different things will be compared to the current system

but when we stop talking about this, the first question asked is: "How to get there?"

We believe that TZM does not have a concrete blueprint for the transition period

this means how to get from point A to point B, from the current monetary system to RBE

that is why we've concentrated on this question from the very beginning

we wanted to offer to TZM Global, a certain step-by-step methodology of transitioning by means of evolution, not revolution

into RBE

Tomas is taking a break here...

One of the rudimentary problems we encountered in Slovakia was

that despite the willingness of many people to contribute and participate in the projects

they simply do not have time. The current system has them by the balls and coerces them to work to survive

and they can only be activists in their spare time and of course we cannot expect from everyone

that they will invest 90% of their time in TZM

of course it would be great if we found more people who put their hearts in it

who are convinced enough and who are willing to invest the majority of their spare time in TZM

but that not how the reality looks like. Many are dependent on the system

and are not willing, or sometimes are willing but cannot be active at the expense of their jobs

when a person should make a decision between going to work to earn living, pay mortgage, and have the basic human needs met

or to come to us to talk about some projects and to attempt to change the world

then the decision is always to make ends meet

so when we speak about the transition period, we've been thinking as follows -

we are now elaborating a concept which would allow the members and supporters to become active

and invest all the time and creativity in the projects, which would lay a groundwork for a transition into RBE

a tentative title of the concept is an Organization of a new type

such an organization should provide TZM members a possibility to get a job, be active in what they know the best

simply do what they have expertise in because when people work in a field they know well

they like the job and produce high-quality outcomes

and that is what the foundations should be

What the movement can do is derived from the knowledge of its members

this means individual competencies, skills, knowledge of its members

the movement should capitalize on this to the largest extent possible

and by doing so try to lay the groundwork for RBE.

brainstorming....

My message to the people of the world

first of all, people should realize their own responsibility and not to rely on

someone else solving the world's problems whether it is a supernatural entity, a guru or an organization

which offers salvation. It is always about people and every single one has to feel this individual responsibility

and do the maximum for the change to be achieved

change will not come by if we wait around and meditate for things to change miraculously

we have to put in all our efforts based on our own skills, potential and capabilities

it is also about humility, we should not perceive ourselves as the best there is...

I would suggest you cut this out and replace me because I cannot simply organize my thoughts right now

replace this part with someone else, OK? I haven't done enough of preparation for this.