dark_age unhinged in my shambhala studies, especially my dedication to the sadhana_of_mahamudra , some members of my community, myself included, see our current state as a dark age of materialism. the point of the sadhana_of_mahamudra is to battle the three lords of materialism with the power and protection of a wrathful deity droje_trolo 'the barbarism of our new dark age will hold out faustian pacts at the expense of others; first the poor in the developing world will be sacrificed, and then the poor at home. communities and communal organizations that manage to break free from the dominant culture will find a correlation between the amount of freedom they enjoy and the amount of independence they attain in a world where access to land, food, and water has become paramount. such communities that she the burdens of a disintegrating society, such as the ad hoc one formed in the wake of hurricane sandy, are our best hope for usstaing in the intellectual and artistic traditions that define the heights of human culture and permit the common good. as those who build these communitarian structures discard the religion of capitalism, their acts of charity and resistance will merge - and they will be condemned by the corporate state.' - chris hedges 171207 what's it to you? who go blather from