1 00:00:01,210 --> 00:00:06,615 Understanding The Zeitgeist Movement Critics: Malicious Intent or Innocent Ignorance? 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:11,870 Hello, my name is Peter Joseph and this is a July 15th 2012 video essay. 3 00:00:12,006 --> 00:00:14,713 I haven't done an essay in a while so I decided it would be about time. 4 00:00:15,290 --> 00:00:19,883 This video is going to quickly address some persistent misinterpretations of the Movement 5 00:00:20,129 --> 00:00:22,560 which originate from researchers and reporters 6 00:00:22,676 --> 00:00:24,461 which, frankly, should know better. 7 00:00:25,021 --> 00:00:28,406 Please understand that there are many people out there who oppose or object 8 00:00:28,516 --> 00:00:30,492 to various issues brought up by the Movement. 9 00:00:30,861 --> 00:00:33,800 But at least they do so in a way that actually has some basis 10 00:00:33,913 --> 00:00:36,473 with respect to what the Movement is and does. 11 00:00:36,850 --> 00:00:39,760 I have nothing but respect for those who oppose us with 12 00:00:40,455 --> 00:00:44,012 general consideration and diligence in the process of their criticism. 13 00:00:44,470 --> 00:00:48,276 As the old saying goes: "If we all agreed there would be no progress." 14 00:00:48,990 --> 00:00:52,424 So this essay is not to denounce general critics of the Zeitgeist Movement 15 00:00:52,547 --> 00:00:55,458 who have done basic, fundamental research of the Movement 16 00:00:55,803 --> 00:00:59,778 and communicate their ideas and objections in a mature, respectful way. 17 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:01,556 That's amazing and great. 18 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:05,003 In fact, I want to bring on notable critics of the Movement 19 00:01:05,210 --> 00:01:07,655 to The Zeitgeist Movement's global radio show 20 00:01:07,766 --> 00:01:10,473 to speak with me and others directly about their objections. 21 00:01:10,780 --> 00:01:14,646 Unfortunately a lot of people out there prefer to just criticize from afar. 22 00:01:15,187 --> 00:01:19,286 And I'm sorry to say, if any researcher or reporter is not willing to interact 23 00:01:19,396 --> 00:01:22,092 with those persons or groups they choose to criticize, 24 00:01:22,529 --> 00:01:26,541 being open to change their disposition through new clarifying information, 25 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:28,886 their integrity is instantly void. 26 00:01:29,150 --> 00:01:31,932 We live in a very different world today with the age of the Internet 27 00:01:32,270 --> 00:01:35,000 and now everyone has the ability and freedom to present 28 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:37,390 their ideas and criticisms of the world. 29 00:01:37,790 --> 00:01:41,735 However, as with all freedom comes increased responsibility. 30 00:01:42,203 --> 00:01:46,953 And one-sided closed attacks are simply intellectually unjustifiable, 31 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:48,830 whether intended or not. 32 00:01:49,100 --> 00:01:52,547 At any rate, if you would like to suggest somebody for our global radio show 33 00:01:52,850 --> 00:01:56,055 please email media@thezeitgeistmovement.com 34 00:01:56,276 --> 00:01:59,304 with the subject line 'TZM Objections' 35 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,070 and we will work to bring them on, so we can understand their criticisms better. 36 00:02:03,890 --> 00:02:05,243 Okay, back on point. 37 00:02:05,410 --> 00:02:07,920 The trigger for this essay was my recent discovery 38 00:02:08,030 --> 00:02:12,566 of an apparently peer-review style article published in 2011 39 00:02:12,900 --> 00:02:15,200 in the 'Journal of Contemporary Religion' 40 00:02:15,490 --> 00:02:18,320 called 'The Emergence of Conspirituality' 41 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:21,138 by Charlotte Ward and David Voas. 42 00:02:21,599 --> 00:02:24,300 I discovered this article by stumbling upon the current state 43 00:02:24,412 --> 00:02:26,904 of The Zeitgeist Movement's Wikipedia page 44 00:02:27,300 --> 00:02:31,181 which sadly undergoes constant edit-wars by some very persistent 45 00:02:31,470 --> 00:02:34,670 and clearly anti-Zeitgeist Movement gatekeepers 46 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,443 that subtlely pollute and distort what The Zeitgeist Movement actually does. 47 00:02:38,940 --> 00:02:41,704 You know as much as I appreciate Wikipedia's democratic platform 48 00:02:41,810 --> 00:02:44,036 which is truly amazing in most cases, 49 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:46,400 when it comes to anything controversial 50 00:02:46,510 --> 00:02:48,633 or seemingly subjective in interpretation, 51 00:02:49,009 --> 00:02:51,500 you often end up with ongoing edit-wars, 52 00:02:51,612 --> 00:02:54,252 and only the most persistent and aggressive will win. 53 00:02:54,740 --> 00:02:58,953 In such a context, Wikipedia is not about truth and proper representation, 54 00:02:59,209 --> 00:03:01,200 it is simply about aggression and persistence 55 00:03:01,316 --> 00:03:04,572 and those with the most time, evidently, will win. 56 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:09,163 Anyway, while I never take Wikipedia seriously as a source on that basic level, 57 00:03:09,740 --> 00:03:14,356 I am still very much amused by what surfaces in this sort of entertainment aspect 58 00:03:14,541 --> 00:03:17,938 with respect to the ongoing debasing of The Zeitgeist Movement there 59 00:03:18,227 --> 00:03:22,209 through deliberate misinterpretation and spin by its gatekeepers. 60 00:03:22,530 --> 00:03:25,236 My favorite part is the current Criticism section, 61 00:03:25,730 --> 00:03:29,021 not only because none of the criticisms actually have anything to do 62 00:03:29,144 --> 00:03:31,796 with The Zeitgeist Movement's interests and intents, 63 00:03:32,203 --> 00:03:34,900 but also because of how much it outweighs in focus 64 00:03:35,021 --> 00:03:37,889 the other flimsy statements that appear to express 65 00:03:38,092 --> 00:03:40,030 what The Zeitgeist Movement is, 66 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:43,495 actually providing no real information of relevance at all. 67 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:46,615 Just a hodge-podge of prima facie and trajections 68 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:49,716 that ignore mostly everything the Movement advocates, 69 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,507 harping instead on my personal unrelated artistic expressions, 70 00:03:53,700 --> 00:03:55,212 the Zeitgeist film series, 71 00:03:55,450 --> 00:03:57,206 specifically my first film, 72 00:03:57,556 --> 00:04:00,375 which was made years before the Movement was even realized 73 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:02,818 and has no direct connection at all 74 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:05,046 with respect to the Movement's interests. 75 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:07,821 And for those familiar, it's nothing new, 76 00:04:07,938 --> 00:04:10,849 we have endless 9/11 conspiracy relationships 77 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:12,498 from the first film highlighted, 78 00:04:12,750 --> 00:04:15,230 which of course have nothing to do with anything we promote. 79 00:04:15,692 --> 00:04:18,880 We have this very odd article by Michelle Goldberg 80 00:04:18,990 --> 00:04:22,449 which suggests that the Movement is some type of anti-Semitic cult 81 00:04:22,850 --> 00:04:26,500 along with some dubious claim about this German social network site 82 00:04:26,610 --> 00:04:30,492 that banned evidently one of our groups because of anti-Semitism 83 00:04:30,609 --> 00:04:32,123 which is completely absurd, 84 00:04:32,473 --> 00:04:34,701 since there's no evidence that the group that was banned 85 00:04:34,818 --> 00:04:37,286 had any official connection to our chapter network 86 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:40,461 and was not just some random page using our name 87 00:04:40,578 --> 00:04:42,440 which has been prolific across the Internet. 88 00:04:43,300 --> 00:04:45,932 And not to mention of course, The Zeitgeist Movement clearly 89 00:04:46,049 --> 00:04:48,227 has no racial, religious or class bias, 90 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:51,889 and rather seeks human unification and support in general, not division. 91 00:04:52,410 --> 00:04:55,889 But my real interest here is the noted article in the 'Journal of Contemporary Religion' 92 00:04:55,990 --> 00:05:01,046 and the lapse - complete lapse - of academic integrity put forward by the authors, 93 00:05:01,421 --> 00:05:04,504 which paints not only an incorrect picture of the Movement, 94 00:05:04,806 --> 00:05:06,904 but an offensive and defaming one. 95 00:05:07,650 --> 00:05:09,249 Let me ask you a question: 96 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:13,440 If you were a reporter wanting to learn about The Zeitgeist Movement objectively, 97 00:05:13,778 --> 00:05:16,516 and you wanted to understand what it was, what it did, 98 00:05:16,660 --> 00:05:19,200 what would YOU do? Would you go to Wikipedia? 99 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:23,095 Would you go to some random blog or YouTube video that comes up in a search engine? 100 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,793 Or would you go to the official site that actually made its points very clear 101 00:05:26,900 --> 00:05:28,886 regarding what the organization does, its mission, 102 00:05:29,212 --> 00:05:31,593 and review our official materials and lectures? 103 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,076 The Zeitgeist Movement's website has been up since 2009 104 00:05:35,180 --> 00:05:39,273 with a very concise FAQ and enormous number of lectures by our lecture team. 105 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:43,790 It's very difficult to miss in fact, how obvious, what our mission is. 106 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:47,593 Sadly however, it appears the FAQ, the pdf guides, the lectures, 107 00:05:47,700 --> 00:05:50,301 and the enormous amount of work put into this through radio shows, 108 00:05:50,412 --> 00:05:53,329 and parallel websites, blogs and so forth, 109 00:05:53,907 --> 00:05:57,144 our global event days, our town hall lectures, our media project, 110 00:05:57,427 --> 00:05:59,803 the entire educational method and avocation, 111 00:05:59,930 --> 00:06:01,803 apparently all of that is invalid 112 00:06:02,090 --> 00:06:05,212 when it comes to the interests of some of those that wish to report on us. 113 00:06:05,830 --> 00:06:07,655 Of course, to give credit where credit is due, 114 00:06:07,770 --> 00:06:10,769 the New York Times and the Huffington Post reviews of Z-Day, 115 00:06:11,020 --> 00:06:13,864 along with many live interviews and reports by Russia Today, 116 00:06:14,110 --> 00:06:15,323 mostly got it right. 117 00:06:15,606 --> 00:06:18,867 But the vast majority continue to embarrass themselves 118 00:06:19,046 --> 00:06:21,858 with what appears to be simply lazy research, 119 00:06:22,166 --> 00:06:24,603 or even worse, malicious intent. 120 00:06:25,250 --> 00:06:27,938 In fact very quickly, an amusing article, 121 00:06:28,210 --> 00:06:31,809 at least in gesture produced by the London Telegraph a few weeks ago, 122 00:06:32,203 --> 00:06:34,990 without any noted evidence at all, 123 00:06:35,286 --> 00:06:38,000 claims that an unfortunately disillusioned boy, 124 00:06:38,116 --> 00:06:41,230 insensitively labeled as "Forest Boy" by the media, 125 00:06:41,630 --> 00:06:44,307 was quote "inspired by the Zeitgeist Movement" 126 00:06:44,652 --> 00:06:47,403 with the author going on to make some of the most egregious errors 127 00:06:47,526 --> 00:06:48,793 I've ever seen in an article. 128 00:06:49,530 --> 00:06:52,227 It said the boy "was inspired to travel to Germany 129 00:06:52,330 --> 00:06:54,129 by the teachings of the Zeitgeist Movement 130 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:56,910 that aims to destroy market capitalism." 131 00:06:57,690 --> 00:06:59,778 The Zeitgeist Movement has never published anything 132 00:06:59,895 --> 00:07:01,920 about destroying anything, first of all. 133 00:07:02,110 --> 00:07:05,753 Our disposition is simply that capitalism will destroy itself, in fact; 134 00:07:06,050 --> 00:07:09,686 we are simply watching it go down and planning for the future 135 00:07:09,810 --> 00:07:11,796 like any diligent group should. 136 00:07:12,300 --> 00:07:14,535 As far as his traveling to Germany, 137 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:18,313 the author was forced to actually retract and remove 138 00:07:18,620 --> 00:07:21,310 a claimed that I originated from Germany! 139 00:07:21,895 --> 00:07:24,356 I, Peter Joseph apparently am a German citizen, 140 00:07:24,650 --> 00:07:27,064 uh which ... of course I'm not, 141 00:07:27,510 --> 00:07:30,295 amongst many amateur errors, that I guess that might add in well 142 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:32,326 with the argument that apparently I'm anti-Semitic 143 00:07:32,430 --> 00:07:34,412 so I'm sure Michelle Goldberg appreciated that. 144 00:07:34,870 --> 00:07:37,600 Nevertheless, it also refers to things like, it's a 145 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:42,578 "political movement that holds future generations will view Christianity as a fraud." 146 00:07:43,550 --> 00:07:46,289 Actually, no, the Zeitgeist Movement respects all religions equally 147 00:07:46,406 --> 00:07:48,061 as a course of human evolution 148 00:07:48,332 --> 00:07:51,200 and has never published anything making such statements. 149 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:54,086 This is once again a deliberate misinterpretation 150 00:07:54,196 --> 00:07:56,676 coming from my personal 2007 film 151 00:07:56,935 --> 00:07:59,483 which had interests about comparative religion 152 00:07:59,740 --> 00:08:01,511 and has nothing to do with the Movement itself. 153 00:08:02,390 --> 00:08:04,713 If Michael Moore started a social movement, 154 00:08:05,150 --> 00:08:09,372 does that movement mean it's going to have to be about say adolescent violence, 155 00:08:09,513 --> 00:08:13,587 such as what was the context of his film in part for 'Bowling for Columbine?' 156 00:08:14,180 --> 00:08:16,467 What about his movie Fahrenheit 9/11? 157 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,773 Does that mean his movement would have to be about 9/11 issues that was noted in the film? 158 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:22,283 No. 159 00:08:22,660 --> 00:08:27,046 Even the premise that a whole non-profit social movement could be based upon 160 00:08:27,410 --> 00:08:29,612 merely a film series is idiotic. 161 00:08:30,030 --> 00:08:31,101 Anyway, moving on. 162 00:08:31,430 --> 00:08:34,332 The article also refers to us as a protest movement, 163 00:08:34,460 --> 00:08:38,166 which is really odd given that we've never protested anything and do not intend to, 164 00:08:38,290 --> 00:08:41,200 for we don't believe in the efficacy of traditional protest. 165 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:44,627 Instead we work through peaceful educational projects 166 00:08:44,740 --> 00:08:48,453 in the hope to bring about sound logic and reason regarding 167 00:08:48,622 --> 00:08:50,740 new social possibilities. 168 00:08:50,966 --> 00:08:54,726 So the public, once informed, can make up their own mind. 169 00:08:54,890 --> 00:08:56,455 And if we transition we do, 170 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:58,215 if we don't, then we don't. 171 00:08:58,790 --> 00:09:00,492 In the words of Buckminster Fuller, 172 00:09:00,603 --> 00:09:03,064 a strong influence on the Zeitgeist Movement's intent, 173 00:09:03,686 --> 00:09:06,547 "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. 174 00:09:06,830 --> 00:09:07,827 To change something, 175 00:09:07,987 --> 00:09:11,113 build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." 176 00:09:12,916 --> 00:09:15,286 Sadly, the Telegraph reporter is not alone 177 00:09:15,415 --> 00:09:18,990 and this leads us to the noted article in the Journal of Contemporary Religion. 178 00:09:19,560 --> 00:09:23,113 The context of the Zeitgeist Movement's inclusion in this article is presented 179 00:09:23,230 --> 00:09:26,498 as related to a phenomenon perceived by the authors 180 00:09:27,015 --> 00:09:29,027 called "conspiratuality" 181 00:09:29,470 --> 00:09:33,230 which is defined as "a combination of New Age beliefs 182 00:09:33,530 --> 00:09:35,636 and conspiracy culture" in effect. 183 00:09:36,097 --> 00:09:40,060 Now, it isn't the scope of this essay to discuss the rather abstract linkage 184 00:09:40,184 --> 00:09:41,753 the authors are trying to draw, 185 00:09:42,060 --> 00:09:45,840 but I will say that the entire paper is based upon a series of self-defining 186 00:09:46,098 --> 00:09:51,070 self-referring, extremely subjective, circumstantial presuppositions 187 00:09:51,380 --> 00:09:54,480 that haphazardly and crudely categorize 188 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:58,609 a large number of counter-culture type groups in the world today. 189 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:03,772 Now, in some agreement regarding the subject of conspiracies as a theme 190 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:07,316 I will admit that I personally have lost a lot of patience with those 191 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:12,129 who rather than work to really consider the root causes scientifically of human behavior 192 00:10:12,473 --> 00:10:17,532 oriented in a system like ours that rewards power consolidation and control, 193 00:10:17,860 --> 00:10:20,092 they choose to just harp upon the symptom itself, 194 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:23,427 referencing the unseen "they" as it were. 195 00:10:23,910 --> 00:10:27,366 The human blame game, no matter how exotic and creative, 196 00:10:27,590 --> 00:10:29,126 simply bores me to death 197 00:10:29,420 --> 00:10:32,160 as it actually isn't doing anything progressive. 198 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:33,341 And on that level, 199 00:10:33,526 --> 00:10:36,424 I can share in the frustration of those who believe things 200 00:10:36,610 --> 00:10:39,372 that really don't accomplish anything or could be erroneous 201 00:10:39,895 --> 00:10:42,080 because they're not related directly to causality. 202 00:10:42,620 --> 00:10:44,221 Yet, on the other hand, 203 00:10:44,330 --> 00:10:47,421 to dismiss the very idea that human society historically 204 00:10:47,643 --> 00:10:51,304 is and has been controlled by various power establishments-... 205 00:10:51,860 --> 00:10:54,369 We can talk about traditional ones like kings and monarchs 206 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:57,089 to the age of feudalism; we could also extend that of course 207 00:10:57,409 --> 00:11:00,849 to what the Occupy movement is fighting today with regard to financial power. 208 00:11:02,461 --> 00:11:06,209 Those that seek and to preserve their self-interest over others 209 00:11:06,330 --> 00:11:09,173 manipulating to their advantage dishonestly, 210 00:11:09,342 --> 00:11:15,240 is not a profound, out-there, radical conspiracy nut-job notion, okay? 211 00:11:15,750 --> 00:11:20,978 In a world today where 40% of the wealth is owned by 1% of the world's population, 212 00:11:21,290 --> 00:11:24,443 anyone who thinks there is no structurally-based 213 00:11:24,707 --> 00:11:28,596 self-interest oriented manipulation for upper-class advantage 214 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:31,741 is in an enormous level of denial 215 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:34,000 about the nature of our reality today. 216 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:37,120 And the use of the term "conspiracy theorist" 217 00:11:37,390 --> 00:11:39,796 recently has served those in power quite well 218 00:11:40,129 --> 00:11:43,569 by making all of those who realize such unfair social realities 219 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:46,461 simply appear like irrational lunatics. 220 00:11:47,671 --> 00:11:51,760 So, as expected this article takes the establishment perspective overall, 221 00:11:52,090 --> 00:11:54,498 painting the picture that any such realizations 222 00:11:54,769 --> 00:11:57,507 are all irrational conspiracy theories 223 00:11:57,729 --> 00:12:00,455 and is in turn painted, in their words, 224 00:12:00,680 --> 00:12:04,867 as part of a "politico-spiritual philosophy" 225 00:12:05,286 --> 00:12:07,649 when combined with the "New Age" 226 00:12:08,110 --> 00:12:09,692 which they define as 227 00:12:10,010 --> 00:12:12,313 "mystical individual transformation; 228 00:12:12,570 --> 00:12:15,667 an awareness of new, non-material realities, 229 00:12:15,940 --> 00:12:19,513 the imposition of personal vision into society 230 00:12:19,766 --> 00:12:24,258 and belief in universally invisible but pervasive forms of energy." 231 00:12:26,540 --> 00:12:28,929 Okay, all of that denoted let's step back and see how 232 00:12:29,100 --> 00:12:31,324 they fit the Zeitgeist Movement into all of this. 233 00:12:32,110 --> 00:12:33,932 On page 7 of the article extract, 234 00:12:34,090 --> 00:12:37,255 a section entitled "The emergence of conspiratuality," 235 00:12:37,530 --> 00:12:41,058 they begin to discuss the Zeitgeist Movement by sourcing a singular statement, 236 00:12:41,347 --> 00:12:44,880 very much out of context and in a very misleading manner, 237 00:12:45,249 --> 00:12:48,480 from an old obviously cherry-picked introductory essay 238 00:12:48,596 --> 00:12:50,578 called 'The Means is the End' 239 00:12:50,830 --> 00:12:52,853 which can be found archived online. 240 00:12:53,450 --> 00:12:55,840 They partially quote a paragraph which, 241 00:12:56,020 --> 00:12:58,387 to one who is not read anything else in the essay 242 00:12:58,490 --> 00:13:01,870 provides absolutely no info about what the Zeitgeist Movement is, 243 00:13:02,620 --> 00:13:07,193 not to mention opening it up to large-scale semantic misinterpretations 244 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:09,944 obviously fitting their agenda. 245 00:13:10,330 --> 00:13:12,024 The quote is as follows. 246 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:12,972 Open quote. 247 00:13:13,450 --> 00:13:15,883 "The elite power systems are little affected in the long run 248 00:13:15,993 --> 00:13:18,135 by traditional protest and political movements. 249 00:13:18,276 --> 00:13:20,500 We must move beyond these 'establishment rebellions' 250 00:13:20,627 --> 00:13:22,356 and work with a tool much more powerful: 251 00:13:22,830 --> 00:13:25,526 We will stop supporting the system, while constantly advocating 252 00:13:25,630 --> 00:13:27,538 knowledge, peace, unity and compassion. 253 00:13:27,796 --> 00:13:29,347 We cannot 'fight the system.' 254 00:13:29,526 --> 00:13:32,689 Hate, anger and 'war' mentalities are failed means for change, 255 00:13:32,970 --> 00:13:35,200 for they perpetuate the same tools the corrupt 256 00:13:35,470 --> 00:13:38,375 established power systems use to maintain control with. 257 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:42,350 This could be called a 'spiritual' awakening." (unquote) 258 00:13:43,563 --> 00:13:46,941 First, the end statement "this could be called a spiritual awakening" 259 00:13:47,058 --> 00:13:50,326 appears nowhere in the noted section and is completely out of context, 260 00:13:50,660 --> 00:13:53,476 only placed because they felt it was convenient. 261 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:57,107 Not to mention that the entire context of the quote 262 00:13:57,570 --> 00:14:00,806 has nothing to do with New Age free thought 263 00:14:00,910 --> 00:14:05,046 and certainly devoid of anything suggesting conspiracy theory, 264 00:14:05,490 --> 00:14:08,387 outside of the obvious acknowledgment I've already stated 265 00:14:08,621 --> 00:14:11,089 with respect to abuse in power 266 00:14:11,243 --> 00:14:13,741 which has been rampant since the beginning of time. 267 00:14:14,620 --> 00:14:16,486 Also, since I stated that quote, 268 00:14:16,756 --> 00:14:19,698 for those that don't understand it given my comments earlier, 269 00:14:19,809 --> 00:14:23,926 this is depicting a Martin Luther King, Gandhi-style non-participation 270 00:14:24,221 --> 00:14:29,113 which is probably the strongest form of peaceful activism anyone can be a part of. 271 00:14:29,470 --> 00:14:32,073 And for those that don't understand that please get out your history books 272 00:14:32,190 --> 00:14:34,030 and understand what non-violent 273 00:14:34,260 --> 00:14:37,532 non-participation activism actually is; it's extremely important. 274 00:14:37,950 --> 00:14:41,827 I suspect by the circumstances presented here that Martin Luther King and Gandhi, 275 00:14:42,210 --> 00:14:46,406 given their recognition of abuse from power and oppression from power, 276 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:49,513 coupled with their interest to see humanity work together, 277 00:14:49,710 --> 00:14:53,786 I guess they would also be considered "conspiratualitists" as well. 278 00:14:54,780 --> 00:14:57,950 So given the nature of the quote being truly absent of anything 279 00:14:58,070 --> 00:15:00,252 New Age or conspiracy oriented, 280 00:15:00,660 --> 00:15:03,772 they circumvent this problem with the preceding paragraph, 281 00:15:04,090 --> 00:15:07,735 stating the erroneous and long-debunked intent association 282 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:11,003 regarding my 2007 film, Zeitgeist, 283 00:15:11,292 --> 00:15:13,470 which again has nothing to do with the Zeitgeist Movement. 284 00:15:13,820 --> 00:15:14,984 They state quote: 285 00:15:15,750 --> 00:15:19,452 "The second quote is weighted towards conspiracy theory." 286 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:22,024 (This is by the way what they're referring to, the quote I just read.) 287 00:15:22,455 --> 00:15:26,726 "It was taken from the Zeitgeist Movement, a website promoting global activism 288 00:15:26,830 --> 00:15:30,566 connected to Zeitgeist the Movie, a 2007 web movie. 289 00:15:30,904 --> 00:15:34,824 Zeitgeist alleges among other things, that organized religion is about social control 290 00:15:35,060 --> 00:15:37,920 and that 9/11 was an inside job." (unquote) 291 00:15:38,860 --> 00:15:41,790 And then that's when they actually have the quote that I just read. 292 00:15:42,553 --> 00:15:44,073 So you can see how this is framed. 293 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:47,410 You know I would like the authors of this article to provide one piece of evidence 294 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:49,181 that the Zeitgeist Movement officially promotes 295 00:15:49,304 --> 00:15:51,747 anything denoted in my film Zeitgeist the Movie. 296 00:15:52,418 --> 00:15:53,766 How lazy can you be? 297 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:58,184 The 40+ hours of lectures, endless Q&A's, townhalls, Zdays, media festivals. 298 00:15:58,980 --> 00:16:03,913 Is there one official publication, lecture, about 9/11 conspiracies that we denote? 299 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:04,941 9/11 truth? 300 00:16:05,130 --> 00:16:08,953 by myself or other prominent individuals representing the Zeitgeist Movement in talks? 301 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:11,150 Is it in any of our guides and pdfs? 302 00:16:11,575 --> 00:16:14,440 And while the belief systems in religion and their values 303 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:17,944 are always going to be subject to scrutiny and interest 304 00:16:18,086 --> 00:16:21,052 of any group that's thinking about the broad ordering of society, 305 00:16:21,500 --> 00:16:25,181 nothing in my film, the first film, has anything to do with those contexts 306 00:16:25,300 --> 00:16:26,572 regarding the Zeitgeist Movement, 307 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,449 which is extremely passive, and we have always denoted being completely open 308 00:16:30,550 --> 00:16:34,344 to all religions, seeing them as evolutionary consequences. 309 00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:36,455 Nevertheless, I do find it amusing that 310 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:39,156 in one of the sources they have for those statements, 311 00:16:39,458 --> 00:16:42,609 it goes back to my zeitgeistmovie.com website, 312 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:44,910 which in the Q&A they source, 313 00:16:45,130 --> 00:16:48,412 actually has the following statement a few paragraphs down. 314 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:52,966 It says "The relationship of the films is mainly in gesture to the Zeitgeist Movement. 315 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:55,975 While the films have served as an inspiration for The Movement, 316 00:16:56,172 --> 00:16:58,603 the subject matter in the films is not to be confused 317 00:16:58,713 --> 00:17:01,396 with the main materials/interests of The Zeitgeist Movement itself, 318 00:17:01,740 --> 00:17:05,261 which focus on values, resource economics and sustainability. 319 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:08,756 For example, TZM is not about 9/11, comparative religion, 320 00:17:08,867 --> 00:17:11,009 central banking, financial reform or the like. 321 00:17:11,460 --> 00:17:14,360 In the world today, many are active in these areas and work to resolve them 322 00:17:14,473 --> 00:17:15,649 on a per case basis. 323 00:17:15,830 --> 00:17:18,073 The Zeitgeist Movement is not interested in this. 324 00:17:18,233 --> 00:17:22,080 Its function is to find the source of problematic social phenomenon 325 00:17:22,289 --> 00:17:24,116 and act to resolve it at its core. 326 00:17:24,340 --> 00:17:28,676 This is why a completely new social system is expressed in the Movement's materials." 327 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:33,009 Obviously they read that and ignored it. Nevertheless. 328 00:17:33,210 --> 00:17:36,320 The article then goes on in general to lump a number of subcultures 329 00:17:36,443 --> 00:17:40,941 into this new obviously pejoratively-angled conspirituality institution, 330 00:17:41,330 --> 00:17:44,073 then leading up to a final indication of the exceptional 331 00:17:44,184 --> 00:17:46,049 academic fallibility of the authors. 332 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:48,516 It states, quotes: 333 00:17:48,695 --> 00:17:51,569 "Providers have credentials and appear credible to many 334 00:17:51,673 --> 00:17:55,858 despite promoting beliefs that often seem bizarre to non-subscribers. 335 00:17:56,340 --> 00:18:00,523 Jacque Fresco, inventor of 'Zeitgeist the Movie' and the movement, 336 00:18:00,790 --> 00:18:02,190 is an architect." 337 00:18:03,540 --> 00:18:06,707 Hmm-... Does anyone else see something wrong with this statement? 338 00:18:07,144 --> 00:18:12,430 How could the authors, even visiting my personal film project website, 339 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:14,196 zeitgeistmovie.com, 340 00:18:14,460 --> 00:18:17,950 made by the director, ME! I mean, how do you mess that up? 341 00:18:18,470 --> 00:18:20,640 It sounds to me like they took a bunch of stuff 342 00:18:21,170 --> 00:18:23,273 and they didn't bother to fact check anything, 343 00:18:23,380 --> 00:18:25,981 and they probably had some really bad intern or somebody 344 00:18:26,190 --> 00:18:29,230 compile this conglomerate of subcultures, 345 00:18:29,421 --> 00:18:31,907 and they just went in and just threw this thing together 346 00:18:32,100 --> 00:18:33,809 and it's really, really pathetic. 347 00:18:34,049 --> 00:18:37,680 And by the way for those that don't know, Jacque Fresco is the director of the Venus Project. 348 00:18:37,890 --> 00:18:41,563 I have to tell you though, if this is the state of our academia today, 349 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:44,178 peer review academia, I am terrified. 350 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:45,950 Okay, in conclusion. 351 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:49,027 If The Zeitgeist Movement embodies this conspiratuality, 352 00:18:49,410 --> 00:18:50,738 taking this seriously still, 353 00:18:51,120 --> 00:18:53,612 it would have to fit the criteria that they have denoted, 354 00:18:53,735 --> 00:18:55,563 which is on page three of the extract, 355 00:18:56,289 --> 00:18:58,036 or page 104 for the whole journal. 356 00:18:58,420 --> 00:18:59,169 It says 357 00:18:59,790 --> 00:19:04,080 "We argue that conspiratuality is a politico-spiritual philosophy 358 00:19:04,196 --> 00:19:06,578 based on two core convictions, the first 359 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:11,433 traditional to conspiracy theory and the second rooted in the New Age: 360 00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:18,141 (1) a secret group covertly controls, or is trying to control, the political and social order, 361 00:19:18,470 --> 00:19:23,476 and (2) humanity is undergoing a paradigm shift in consciousness, or awareness, 362 00:19:23,913 --> 00:19:28,018 so solutions to (1) (that denoted, the secret group) 363 00:19:28,215 --> 00:19:33,292 lie in acting in accordance with an awakened new paradigm worldview." 364 00:19:34,036 --> 00:19:34,818 Okay! 365 00:19:35,341 --> 00:19:37,987 Criteria number 1: Does the Zeitgeist Movement promote 366 00:19:38,110 --> 00:19:41,784 that a secret group is covertly trying to control, 367 00:19:42,326 --> 00:19:45,058 or is controlling the political and social order? 368 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:46,240 Not at all. 369 00:19:46,500 --> 00:19:48,596 The Zeitgeist Movement expresses in part 370 00:19:48,726 --> 00:19:52,092 the social system supports the creation of power establishments 371 00:19:52,412 --> 00:19:55,581 and those establishments have a tendency to operate for their own 372 00:19:55,690 --> 00:19:59,809 self-interest often in a dishonest way against others. 373 00:20:00,270 --> 00:20:03,329 And that is not a far-fetched conspiracy theory 374 00:20:03,433 --> 00:20:06,283 even though there might be conspiracy-oriented by definition. 375 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,187 This is common knowledge, commonly understood, 376 00:20:09,649 --> 00:20:13,659 and our legal system today prosecutes such active figures and institutions 377 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:15,280 almost on a daily basis. 378 00:20:15,690 --> 00:20:16,855 There is no mystery. 379 00:20:17,170 --> 00:20:20,190 Second criteria: does the Zeitgeist Movement believe that quote 380 00:20:20,332 --> 00:20:24,295 "humanity is undergoing a paradigm shift in consciousness or awareness, 381 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:28,664 and solutions to the first issue lie in acting in accordance with an 382 00:20:29,060 --> 00:20:31,895 awakened 'new paradigm' worldview?" 383 00:20:32,355 --> 00:20:35,290 Well. I don't know what the hell that even means frankly 384 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,006 but the Zeitgeist Movement simply recognizes and as 385 00:20:38,153 --> 00:20:39,770 throughout all of our materials again, 386 00:20:39,950 --> 00:20:41,261 that everything undergoes change 387 00:20:41,580 --> 00:20:43,433 including our social system. 388 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,972 We promote tangible scientifically-based proven solutions 389 00:20:47,083 --> 00:20:50,178 to help solve current problems and create prosperity; that's it. 390 00:20:50,707 --> 00:20:53,698 Buzzwords like paradigm shift or consciousness 391 00:20:54,170 --> 00:20:57,698 means virtually anything frankly to those who read it based on their background. 392 00:20:57,950 --> 00:21:01,993 The Zeitgeist Movement does not promote spacey intuitive etherial shifts, 393 00:21:02,270 --> 00:21:04,578 indescriptive consciousness ideals, 394 00:21:05,540 --> 00:21:08,504 that affect the ether and change the world in some metaphysical way 395 00:21:08,615 --> 00:21:12,547 which appears to be the nature of the New Age argument by the definition 396 00:21:12,690 --> 00:21:13,975 that the authors are choosing. 397 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:19,409 Now, I will admit that because of the vast popularity of the Zeitgeist film, 398 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,080 the Zeitgeist movie and the whole film series, excuse me, 399 00:21:23,050 --> 00:21:25,827 you do have people that see this and then through the grapevine 400 00:21:25,944 --> 00:21:29,009 they hear about the Zeitgeist Movement and they do instantly think 401 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:33,083 that there's some connection which is obviously the point of this entire 402 00:21:33,427 --> 00:21:34,990 video essay that I'm doing. 403 00:21:35,260 --> 00:21:38,547 However the moment those people begin to interact with anyone in the Zeitgeist Movement, 404 00:21:38,695 --> 00:21:41,895 if they're trying to promote 9/11 truth, comparative religious awareness, 405 00:21:42,098 --> 00:21:44,732 or New Age things if you will, whatever, 406 00:21:45,210 --> 00:21:46,873 they will find out very rapidly 407 00:21:46,996 --> 00:21:49,243 that the Zeitgeist Movement has nothing to do with any of them. 408 00:21:49,630 --> 00:21:52,420 Doesn't mean that there aren't people that might claim such things that are 409 00:21:52,535 --> 00:21:55,320 in complete ignorance, but we have no control over that. 410 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:59,396 The Zeitgeist Movement is one of most open non-institutions on the face of the Earth. 411 00:21:59,550 --> 00:22:02,873 Anyone can subscribe to these ideas and claim to be a part of it, 412 00:22:03,030 --> 00:22:06,566 which on one side is quite dangerous as we're constantly being misrepresented, 413 00:22:06,690 --> 00:22:09,360 as anybody and their mother can go out and do whatever, 414 00:22:09,470 --> 00:22:12,720 and then claim they're a part of the Zeitgeist Movement; all they have to do is say it. 415 00:22:12,990 --> 00:22:14,529 Of course the media loves that. 416 00:22:15,170 --> 00:22:18,880 But the alternative is far too restrictive and against the ethic of the Movement. 417 00:22:19,655 --> 00:22:22,000 If you agree with the Movement, and you understand it, 418 00:22:22,258 --> 00:22:24,572 come into a group that supports it, and our chapters, 419 00:22:24,701 --> 00:22:26,953 and help make change. If you don't agree with it 420 00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:29,600 then don't agree with it and don't volunteer. 421 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:32,553 However the Zeitgeist Movement is the ultimate anti-institution, 422 00:22:32,670 --> 00:22:36,258 it's based only on the train of thought, no group identification. 423 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:40,116 We only use the group model because we have to have something in structure 424 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:43,433 to keep some type of process when it comes to our activities. 425 00:22:44,660 --> 00:22:48,100 Now, in closing let me just express a certain amount of frustration because 426 00:22:48,215 --> 00:22:51,384 when these articles come out or when they're recognized, people contact me 427 00:22:51,500 --> 00:22:54,510 and they sent me this stuff and they expect me to always be there to respond 428 00:22:54,621 --> 00:22:59,150 as though I'm in that role of representation when I'm really not. 429 00:22:59,410 --> 00:23:02,707 And the more time goes on the less I'm going to be representing the Movement, 430 00:23:02,940 --> 00:23:04,861 expecting others to step forward. 431 00:23:05,050 --> 00:23:07,661 Because I have other things I have to do in my professional life, 432 00:23:07,926 --> 00:23:10,492 the Movement exists on its own as the train of thought. 433 00:23:10,710 --> 00:23:12,203 I'm not leading anything 434 00:23:12,326 --> 00:23:14,393 so you have to take it upon yourselves 435 00:23:14,707 --> 00:23:16,375 but I will make some suggestions. 436 00:23:16,590 --> 00:23:19,249 If you want to promote the Zeitgeist Movement correctly on the Internet 437 00:23:19,353 --> 00:23:22,153 (amongst all the noise) there are four things you can do 438 00:23:22,264 --> 00:23:25,636 which interconnect very easily and easy to maintain, and they're all free. 439 00:23:26,030 --> 00:23:28,043 1. Get a Word Press blog. 440 00:23:28,420 --> 00:23:30,043 2. Get a twitter account. 441 00:23:30,300 --> 00:23:33,396 3. Get a face book page only for your representation of the Movement. 442 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:34,886 4. and get a YouTube account. 443 00:23:35,169 --> 00:23:37,993 And post amongst all of these, interconnecting them. 444 00:23:38,220 --> 00:23:41,261 You can promote our articles, you duplicate them, 445 00:23:41,410 --> 00:23:44,929 you bring up conversations, you invite other bloggers, and do something. 446 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:51,095 It does not take a lot of effort everyday to maintain simple Internet activism 447 00:23:51,390 --> 00:23:53,981 so when people come to the Internet they actually understand 448 00:23:54,098 --> 00:23:56,424 what we're doing in the general sphere. 449 00:23:56,670 --> 00:23:59,027 Since as denoted in this article, 450 00:23:59,249 --> 00:24:02,492 it appears a lot of our supposed academic researchers 451 00:24:02,730 --> 00:24:05,852 actually don't do any tangible research at all; 452 00:24:06,100 --> 00:24:07,751 they're sourcing bullshit. 453 00:24:08,050 --> 00:24:10,689 And if you want to stop the bullshit you're gonna have to come in 454 00:24:10,867 --> 00:24:12,104 and begin to counter it. 455 00:24:12,471 --> 00:24:15,720 So, that's all I have to say, this is Peter Joseph, thank you for listening.