Thoughts about nightmares & dreams

Poemletter I wrote in 2003/4 

I had just moved away from Iceland to New Zealand and wrote this poem to self based on a series of dreams I had. It is uncanny how life imitates art sometimes :) I have slightly altered the poem because my English is slightly better today. Here is a link to the original version.

Well I am still alive,
despite my silence
for all this time.

There are many layers of reasons why.

It has taken a lot of effort to settle here at the other end of the world.
Everything is different:
seasons,
timezone,
the way the water runs in circles the other way around;

internally and externally,
traffic on the other side of the road,
little cultural things,
food,
sport,
art,
words,
stars.

The way the sun comes up
and the moon sets.

Always interesting and
it keeps the fine lines in the brain

tuned and alert.

I however fell out of tune with the cycle of movement 

with the rest of the world,
got local,
living in the small town syndrome.

Now I feel an urgency,

a need to hook back into the surf of the world.

Despite how ugly the world is turning right now,
rotten to the core, 
things coming to the surface,
that are hard to see and experience.

But we need to see and feel,
in order to heal,
to grow new ideas,
for the revolution to take place.

Fear as always,
the fertile soil for oppression.

In the USA and well, in the West at large 
so much freedom
has been gradually chipped away.
And no one really cares,
because they are too busy making sure
they get enough to fuel their need to consume,
and consume more bullshit they do.

When living at such totally unique times
it is important
to maintain an eagle vision
see the whole tapestry
and never, never ask why.

Why is the only thing, really, that drives us into madness.

So I am digging deep;
it is ridiculous and pointless to preach
and even worse when preaching
is not walking the talk of that speech.

I have to admit that I have a tendency to preach.

So I have to dig deeper still
find the cause
the effect
of all those warlike feelings inside;

Why I feel fear
Why I feel anger
and hopelessness.

I am digging
and I am talking to ghosts
of my past,
and I am further more
forgiving myself
for things I never did.

I always used to believe in the power of the individual

and that each and everyone of us can make a difference.

I think I still believe it,

I think I just need some proof.

Everyday I read more, I see more
that makes me truly mad.
Should I pray for the 1%
or should I kick their ass?
I don't know.

I wonder what is needed to force open their blinded eyes
to the misery their greed and power hunger is
causing so many people.
Our planet.

I dreamt last night that I was going into politics

and that I was going to be the first female prime minster in Iceland.

It was a true nightmare,

I mean, if you enter into the seats of power

what is going to happen to you?

Will you, no matter how pure you think you are,

maintain the vision you set out with,

or will you be too bloody busy to be able to maintain it.

I also dreamt in another dream
that my Native American blood was singing.
I dreamt that I was lying really still, 

and talking about eagles

and how they see the far and wide, 

from high above

on the belly of a great warrior,

who had his face painted 

black with bright white stripes.

He said: “Be still

just be still for a moment

and it will all come to you.”

With Rivers of Joy
Argitt

p.s. even if I thought I had adjusted to the world down under, I will move back 
to the top of the world, yes I am really moving back again to the other island of extremes
to face the beasts I had created before I left.

FAQ to MP’s of the Icelandic Pirate Party

The the government of Iceland has reshuffled; The Prime minister has left the stage and the Progressive Party has appointed the Fisheries minister as their new PM. The disgraced leader of the Independence party and our Finance minister will not resign despite calls from the general public for him to do so since he is among the sitting ministers revealed in the Panama-papers.

The leaders of the government said yesterday that they plan to hold snap election next fall. They have threatened the opposition with calling off the snap election if they won’t get fair weather to finish all the bills they have put forward, including the lifting of the capital controls.

The opposition will put forward a fresh resolution of vote of no confidence as soon as the new cabinet has been formally established later on Thursday. The vote of no confidence will be debated tomorrow Friday at 1pm.

Protests will be ongoing in the next few days because the people of Iceland feel that this government has done nothing real to deal with the crisis of ethics. It is not enough just to move heads in the cabinet and have the former PM carry on as the leader of the Progressive party and as shadow minister. The parliamentarians of the Pirate Party are in full support of the protests, freedom of expression and direct democracy are after all some of the core values and policies of our party.

How do you view the current situation and the PM’s resignation?The people of Iceland are calling for new elections in the wake of the Panama-paper revelations. Two days ago we had the largest protest to date in Iceland where these demands were very prominent. In our capacity as the representatives of the Icelandic people we must listen to them and push for new elections as soon as possible.

It is obvious that we are faced with a serious political crisis. The current situation is extremely uncertain, trust in the government has reached  its lowest point both in Parliament, and with the nation at large.

What needs to happen now in your view?The government has to listen to the people of this country and acknowledge that they have completely lost all trust to run the country.  Not only has the leader of the Progressive party and now former PM lost all credibility, so has, the rest of his cabinet. We are of course aware that there is no tradition for that to be the case here in Iceland.  The last government that lost trust in a similar fashion was the government of Mr. Geir Haarde in the wake of the financial crisis in 2008. They did not have the wisdom to listen until they got seriously scared by the growing intensity of the protests after which they finally resigned with disgrace.

The next logical course of action is for the government to a that they should resign. It is wholly unacceptable for them to shun the will of Parliament; the opposition's motion of a vote of no confidence must be scheduled immediately. New elections are the only acceptable resolution to this crisis.

What would be the next steps to restore the stability in the country?Set a date for new elections, (in a few weeks).  After the election we need to establish a new foundation to build our society  - we have to continue and finalize the adoption of a new constitution: We cannot restore full stability until we have a new constitution. The people have demanded a new constitution since before our last parliamentary elections. The current ambiguity and uncertainty clearly demonstrates the flaws in our old constitution as its processes for dissolving government are wholly unclear. This situation shows us clearer than ever how dire the need for a newer, clearer and more democratic constitution is here in Iceland.

Why is the Pirate Party scoring this high in polls?Like we always say, it's birds in the woods and we can’t count them until we have some in our hands, which would be the results of elections. We are of course still surprised by the popularity of the party – It's the big riddle we're always trying to solve.

One of the many theories why so many of the Icelandic nation trust us in the polls is because people sense that we stand for enacting changes that have to do with reforming the systems, rather than changing minor things that might easily be changed back. Our policies therefore stand in stark contrast to what appears to be the pattern of modern politics; minor changes but always the same dysfunctional system. We do not define ourselves as left or right but rather as a party that focuses on the systems. In other words, we consider ourselves hackers - so to speak - of our current outdated systems of government.

Is the Pirate Party ready for new elections?The Pirate Party is a new political party, it was founded three and a half years ago. We have been through elections twice, first in general elections and then in municipal elections. We can assume that this time will be very different since we are scoring around 40% in the polls. We are often asked if we have enough good people to run for Parliament. The answer is YES we do. We have a lot of great and willing people. Of course it will be tremendous work but in the end we are just as prepared (or unprepared) as all the other political parties in Iceland. Most importantly; we are ready for the tasks ahead and are looking forward to this unique opportunity to help manifest the New Iceland people are calling for. Our goal is to enact meaningful and positive changes in our system and in our society. We will carry on calling for the wisdom of the masses and seek both local and global experts to guide us on this path.

People in Iceland are sick of corruption and nepotism. The Icelandic Pirate Party will not be able to solve all of the ingrown problems in Iceland but it will certainly be able to offer new hardware, complete with a new set of rules based on how we operate as a collective community.

We want to be the Robin Hood of power: We take away the power from the powerful and give it to the general public of Iceland. Our strongest weapons are our plans to enact a new constitution which has great democratic provisions civil engagement tools such as the web platform “Better Iceland.”

Does Birgitta want to be a Prime Minister?
NO. We have horizontal structure within our party. The PM office is not automatic power seat. Birgitta isn't even an official leader. If the Pirates will get enough trust to form a government we might simply ask the nation who they want to be PM. We are still formulating how to delegate responsibility. 

Is Birgitta still working with WikiLeaks?No, but she supports WikiLeaks and other similar organisations. Her IMMI Resolution contains a key to legalise the role of WikiLeaks in the global and local context. Freedom of Information, Expression & Speech with a strong focus on digital privacy is that key. Nothing radical.

Where to find background material about Birgitta and her work?IMMI, TEDx Reykjavík 2015, Iceland Revolution Project, Ask me anything @ The YesMenLab