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WHY BOTHER?
Why bother to vote?! Why bother to vote when Congress is not listening to We the People, nor is it working for the common good but rather for big money, special interest groups and super wealthy individuals. So voting doesn't appear to make any difference. About two-thirds of eligible voters feel that way and so they don't vote. But just imagine if those two-thirds did vote, and if they voted for candidates that would not take money from special interest groups. Can we not then imagine the restoration of a true democracy?
We can all see our political system is in crisis. Congress is in gridlock. This Red vs. Blue schoolyard game is dooming our democracy, and potentially much more than that. As many are saying, it’s time to pull on one rope. For example, did you know that 80% of us Americans (no matter our party affiliation or whether we consider ourselves liberal, progressive, conservative, or none of the above) think there is too much money in politics? So for starters, why not choose that rope to pull on? Get money out of politics.
There was a time when we thought all we needed to do to have a democracy was vote. Most of us didn’t do more than vote and trusted that our representatives were looking out for our common good. We trusted where we shouldn’t have. We didn’t realize, a) what democracy required, and b) how fragile it is when infiltrated and quietly attacked by big money interests. Most of us have now woken up to the reality that we do not have a democracy anymore. We have a plutocracy or a corporatocracy—government ruled by the wealthy—and this is an extremely hard pill to swallow. So it is no surprise that many have fallen for the promise of our president and his supporters in Congress that they will take care of us. Many are in denial because recognizing the truth is really really painful.
Why bother to vote? Here’s the alternative: If we’re willing to live with the current situation, which can be described as plutocracy or corporatocracy, we have to be willing to accept inadequate health care, voting districts drawn to guarantee partisan (Republican in most cases) dominance in elections, racial injustice, wealth inequality where the three richest people in America have more wealth the 50% of the population. We will continue to have poverty, lack of environmental protection, and an economic system that brings the highest return to existing wealth. Did you know that 10% of the population would be willing to trade in their right to vote for a living wage? (See this article by Frances Moore Lappe´). Our system cares more for a few people acquiring ever more power and money than about caring for people and the planet. As Wendell Berry says, "Our only real wealth is the health of our planet."
More and more people are aware of who and how our government is run. Many people dedicated to a true democracy are emerging and running for office in all levels of government—from school boards, county commissioners, mayors, state legislators and Congressional seats. Many are refusing to take special interest money and opting for public financing where available. And all over the country there are initiatives and ballot measures that will restore a true democracy: Anti-Corruption Acts, Fair and Clean Elections, new redistricting policies, voter rights.
If we want the Democracy Movement to continue to grow and take back our true democracy here is what we can do. In the immediate future we have midterm elections to focus on. We need to get Democrats back in control of Congress in this midterm election. Why? Because Democrats, far from being squeaky clean, are more likely to stand for and act on principles of democracy—fairness, equal rights and opportunities, the common good, environmental protections, caring and justice—than Republicans who now control our government and put profits over people and the Earth.
According to SwingLeft.org, the House will be decided by a small number (78) of Swing Districts, places where the last election was decided by a slim margin. Take a look at their website and if you are moved in any way to support this effort to put Democrats in control of the House I strongly urge you to do so.
Personally I'm not willing to give up my democracy to big money and special interests without a huge fight. What about you?
If we want to live in a democracy, we have to take responsibility for it. These are the words of a New Hampshire citizen joining with others to get money out of politics.
The first truth is that the liberty of the democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism—ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. FDR
Further Worthwhile Readngs and Good Lnks
ARTICLES:
As David Korten says in his article, Who Represents Us When Our Political Parties Represent Only Corporations? “President Trump’s unintended gift to the nation and the world may be to awaken us to the reality that, far from being the global model for democracy and a community-centric market economy, the United States’ political system is fundamentally corrupt and destructive to the common good.”
"It is very hard to see us fixing the climate until we fix our democracy." These are the words of Dr. James Hansen, former NASA climate scientist in a New York Times article.
BOOKS:
These are both outstanding, clear guides to restoring our democracy.
Daring Democracy; Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want, by Frances Moore Lappe´ and Adam Eichen.
Breaking Big Money's Grip on America; Working Together to Revive Our Democracy, by Bruce Berlin.
LINKS:
SwingLeft.org: Find out here where to focus midterm support to elect Democrats.
Represent.Us: "Fixing Corruption Can Fix Everything." A non-partisan organization fighting corruption in America.
BrandNew Congress.org}: A great site that will tell you where campaign money is going to and whom it's from.
We can all see our political system is in crisis. Congress is in gridlock. This Red vs. Blue schoolyard game is dooming our democracy, and potentially much more than that. As many are saying, it’s time to pull on one rope. For example, did you know that 80% of us Americans (no matter our party affiliation or whether we consider ourselves liberal, progressive, conservative, or none of the above) think there is too much money in politics? So for starters, why not choose that rope to pull on? Get money out of politics.
There was a time when we thought all we needed to do to have a democracy was vote. Most of us didn’t do more than vote and trusted that our representatives were looking out for our common good. We trusted where we shouldn’t have. We didn’t realize, a) what democracy required, and b) how fragile it is when infiltrated and quietly attacked by big money interests. Most of us have now woken up to the reality that we do not have a democracy anymore. We have a plutocracy or a corporatocracy—government ruled by the wealthy—and this is an extremely hard pill to swallow. So it is no surprise that many have fallen for the promise of our president and his supporters in Congress that they will take care of us. Many are in denial because recognizing the truth is really really painful.
Why bother to vote? Here’s the alternative: If we’re willing to live with the current situation, which can be described as plutocracy or corporatocracy, we have to be willing to accept inadequate health care, voting districts drawn to guarantee partisan (Republican in most cases) dominance in elections, racial injustice, wealth inequality where the three richest people in America have more wealth the 50% of the population. We will continue to have poverty, lack of environmental protection, and an economic system that brings the highest return to existing wealth. Did you know that 10% of the population would be willing to trade in their right to vote for a living wage? (See this article by Frances Moore Lappe´). Our system cares more for a few people acquiring ever more power and money than about caring for people and the planet. As Wendell Berry says, "Our only real wealth is the health of our planet."
More and more people are aware of who and how our government is run. Many people dedicated to a true democracy are emerging and running for office in all levels of government—from school boards, county commissioners, mayors, state legislators and Congressional seats. Many are refusing to take special interest money and opting for public financing where available. And all over the country there are initiatives and ballot measures that will restore a true democracy: Anti-Corruption Acts, Fair and Clean Elections, new redistricting policies, voter rights.
If we want the Democracy Movement to continue to grow and take back our true democracy here is what we can do. In the immediate future we have midterm elections to focus on. We need to get Democrats back in control of Congress in this midterm election. Why? Because Democrats, far from being squeaky clean, are more likely to stand for and act on principles of democracy—fairness, equal rights and opportunities, the common good, environmental protections, caring and justice—than Republicans who now control our government and put profits over people and the Earth.
According to SwingLeft.org, the House will be decided by a small number (78) of Swing Districts, places where the last election was decided by a slim margin. Take a look at their website and if you are moved in any way to support this effort to put Democrats in control of the House I strongly urge you to do so.
Personally I'm not willing to give up my democracy to big money and special interests without a huge fight. What about you?
If we want to live in a democracy, we have to take responsibility for it. These are the words of a New Hampshire citizen joining with others to get money out of politics.
The first truth is that the liberty of the democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism—ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. FDR
Further Worthwhile Readngs and Good Lnks
ARTICLES:
As David Korten says in his article, Who Represents Us When Our Political Parties Represent Only Corporations? “President Trump’s unintended gift to the nation and the world may be to awaken us to the reality that, far from being the global model for democracy and a community-centric market economy, the United States’ political system is fundamentally corrupt and destructive to the common good.”
"It is very hard to see us fixing the climate until we fix our democracy." These are the words of Dr. James Hansen, former NASA climate scientist in a New York Times article.
BOOKS:
These are both outstanding, clear guides to restoring our democracy.
Daring Democracy; Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want, by Frances Moore Lappe´ and Adam Eichen.
Breaking Big Money's Grip on America; Working Together to Revive Our Democracy, by Bruce Berlin.
LINKS:
SwingLeft.org: Find out here where to focus midterm support to elect Democrats.
Represent.Us: "Fixing Corruption Can Fix Everything." A non-partisan organization fighting corruption in America.
BrandNew Congress.org}: A great site that will tell you where campaign money is going to and whom it's from.
NO GOING BACK TO THE WAY THINGS WERE
It’s a no-brainer that we shouldn’t go back to the way things were. The pandemic has made it clear that it’s the whole system—economic, political and social—that is unhealthy and fails to provide for the common good and the health of the planet. Do we need any more evidence that the way we humans live is unsustainable?
A system that is based on extraction, exploitation and waste by advancing consumerism and growth on a finite planet is stupid. A system that only benefits a few cannot and should not last. Not long ago a correspondent said she wanted “evidence” that corporations were not sustainable. Don’t we all see that production of plastic packaging is filling and killing rivers and the ocean? Did I really need to describe how our current industrial agribusiness depletes and poisons our topsoil and pollutes waterways? Did I need to point out that industrial factory farming meat production likewise pollutes the water and adds methane to the atmosphere, which is worse than CO2, and raises animals in inhumane conditions? Doesn’t everyone know that companies destroy forests to raise more beef and to grow food for those cattle when that corn should be /could be feeding hungry people?
No human being should be hungry! On my weekly grocery shopping trip I pass a Lutheran Church in Santa Fe. At 8 in the morning cars are beginning to park along the side streets and by the time I head home an hour and a half later, those streets are full, lined with dozens of cars as they wait for the church to begin distribution of food boxes. This scene is playing out all over this country. It is an outrage that in the wealthiest country in the world people go hungry, not just because of COVID-19, but all the time. One thing that reveals our failed food system is that food has had to be thrown out right now because there is no way to distribute it to people who need it. Read the “Sickness of Our Food Supply.”
Added to the gross social injustice of food insecurity in the U.S. we should look at the extent of other social ills like extreme poverty, addiction, drug abuse, suicide, depression, racial and wealth inequality.
We must also look at life-destroying environmental injustice: climate change, deforestation, toxic pollution of land and waters, loss of topsoil, plastic pollution, excessive greenhouse gas emissions, destruction of species.
Let’s not overlook political injustice while we’re surveying what doesn’t work. There are way too many issues to deal with here but essentially it has to do with corporate and special interest money running our government. And most recently, in dealing with the pandemic, we see how leadership in this country is playing politics with public safety and human lives. It is unconscionable. This article explains.
So if we don’t want to go back to the way things were, where do we go? Here are a few ideas:
Measure economic progress not by GDP and growth, but by well-being, good and useful jobs, environmental sustainability, happiness, good health, inclusion of everyone. A "New Bottom Line" based on caring, generosity, cooperation and responsibility to the good of all and the Earth.
Build a circular economy and follow the Doughnut Model. Many companies are reinventing themselves in this light.
Improve energy efficiency and further develop renewable energy sources.
Practice conscious consumption: Reduce. Reuse. Repair. Recycle.
Reduce food waste and eat less meat.
Reduce our carbon footprint.
GET MONEY OUT OF POLITICS
Adopt a Global Marshall Plan
CLEAN THE FISH TANK: This refers to the analogy of not just saving the sick fish in our fish tank as we are doing with COVID-19 patients, but let’s clean up our environment and how we practice our lives so that the fish don’t get sick in the first place. It’s like watching dead bodies coming down a river and not bothering to go back upstream to find out why they are dying.
I want to conclude this piece with a quote from Bruce Berlin in his blog “The Struggle for the Soul of America:
This time of reflection led me to ask: How are we doing as a society? Why have we gotten so divided? Why can’t we live together? Why are people so driven to get as much as they can for themselves with no or little concern for how the less fortunate among us who are hurting, hungry, some homeless, are getting by or not?
It’s time for us to take a long, hard look at ourselves and our country. How can we inspire our country to live up to its honored values and highest potential for all Americans? We are in the midst of a spiritual crisis, as well as a health crisis and an economic crisis. Our country is at a moral crossroads: Will we take the highway to a better life for all, or the low road where it’s each one out for one’s self? This is the question we will answer in the fall election. But we can’t wait. Now is the time we must pave the way for a brighter, more equitable society. Read "The Struggle for the Soul of America, Going Within," May 22.
MORE GOOD RESOURCES HERE
A New Bottom Line, by the Network of Spiritual Progressives
Global Marshall Plan, by the Network of Spiritual Progressives
"The Story of Stuff
The Story of Solutions
The Story of Change
A system that is based on extraction, exploitation and waste by advancing consumerism and growth on a finite planet is stupid. A system that only benefits a few cannot and should not last. Not long ago a correspondent said she wanted “evidence” that corporations were not sustainable. Don’t we all see that production of plastic packaging is filling and killing rivers and the ocean? Did I really need to describe how our current industrial agribusiness depletes and poisons our topsoil and pollutes waterways? Did I need to point out that industrial factory farming meat production likewise pollutes the water and adds methane to the atmosphere, which is worse than CO2, and raises animals in inhumane conditions? Doesn’t everyone know that companies destroy forests to raise more beef and to grow food for those cattle when that corn should be /could be feeding hungry people?
No human being should be hungry! On my weekly grocery shopping trip I pass a Lutheran Church in Santa Fe. At 8 in the morning cars are beginning to park along the side streets and by the time I head home an hour and a half later, those streets are full, lined with dozens of cars as they wait for the church to begin distribution of food boxes. This scene is playing out all over this country. It is an outrage that in the wealthiest country in the world people go hungry, not just because of COVID-19, but all the time. One thing that reveals our failed food system is that food has had to be thrown out right now because there is no way to distribute it to people who need it. Read the “Sickness of Our Food Supply.”
Added to the gross social injustice of food insecurity in the U.S. we should look at the extent of other social ills like extreme poverty, addiction, drug abuse, suicide, depression, racial and wealth inequality.
We must also look at life-destroying environmental injustice: climate change, deforestation, toxic pollution of land and waters, loss of topsoil, plastic pollution, excessive greenhouse gas emissions, destruction of species.
Let’s not overlook political injustice while we’re surveying what doesn’t work. There are way too many issues to deal with here but essentially it has to do with corporate and special interest money running our government. And most recently, in dealing with the pandemic, we see how leadership in this country is playing politics with public safety and human lives. It is unconscionable. This article explains.
So if we don’t want to go back to the way things were, where do we go? Here are a few ideas:
Measure economic progress not by GDP and growth, but by well-being, good and useful jobs, environmental sustainability, happiness, good health, inclusion of everyone. A "New Bottom Line" based on caring, generosity, cooperation and responsibility to the good of all and the Earth.
Build a circular economy and follow the Doughnut Model. Many companies are reinventing themselves in this light.
Improve energy efficiency and further develop renewable energy sources.
Practice conscious consumption: Reduce. Reuse. Repair. Recycle.
Reduce food waste and eat less meat.
Reduce our carbon footprint.
GET MONEY OUT OF POLITICS
Adopt a Global Marshall Plan
CLEAN THE FISH TANK: This refers to the analogy of not just saving the sick fish in our fish tank as we are doing with COVID-19 patients, but let’s clean up our environment and how we practice our lives so that the fish don’t get sick in the first place. It’s like watching dead bodies coming down a river and not bothering to go back upstream to find out why they are dying.
I want to conclude this piece with a quote from Bruce Berlin in his blog “The Struggle for the Soul of America:
This time of reflection led me to ask: How are we doing as a society? Why have we gotten so divided? Why can’t we live together? Why are people so driven to get as much as they can for themselves with no or little concern for how the less fortunate among us who are hurting, hungry, some homeless, are getting by or not?
It’s time for us to take a long, hard look at ourselves and our country. How can we inspire our country to live up to its honored values and highest potential for all Americans? We are in the midst of a spiritual crisis, as well as a health crisis and an economic crisis. Our country is at a moral crossroads: Will we take the highway to a better life for all, or the low road where it’s each one out for one’s self? This is the question we will answer in the fall election. But we can’t wait. Now is the time we must pave the way for a brighter, more equitable society. Read "The Struggle for the Soul of America, Going Within," May 22.
MORE GOOD RESOURCES HERE
A New Bottom Line, by the Network of Spiritual Progressives
Global Marshall Plan, by the Network of Spiritual Progressives
"The Story of Stuff
The Story of Solutions
The Story of Change
Democracy, Climate Change and Active Hope
The critical state of American democracy and the climate crisis have many people feeling despair, frustration, outrage and a sense of urgency.
The threat to our democracy and the crisis of climate change are most pressing for me though there are many social problems that are also critical.
Where do we find hope? How do we keep going? Jane Goodall has always been an inspiration to me and here are parts of an interview with her that help keep me going. The interviewer comments on the prevalence of negative stories that bring out fear and anger. He asks Jane if those are useful emotions to tap into. She replies, "No. It’s one of my big complaints when I talk to the media: Yes, we absolutely need to know all the doom and gloom because we are approaching a crossroads, and if we don’t take action it could be too late. But traveling the world I’d see so many projects of restoration, animal and plant species being rescued from the brink of extinction, people tackling what seemed impossible and not giving up. Those are the stories that should have equal time, because they’re what gives people hope. If you don’t have hope, why bother? Why should I bother to think about my ecological footprint if I don’t think that what I do is going to make a difference? Why not eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die?"
When asked about "retiring," she replies, "I have to go on doing [my work] because I care passionately about nature. I care passionately about children. If I didn’t make a difference, I wouldn’t do it. I don’t say that to brag. It’s just that every day people say: 'I read your book and I changed. I heard your lecture and I changed.' So if I care, then I can’t stop."
Clearly she knows we each make a difference. Whatever problem we address we can make a difference. As someone has said, "Despair is not an option."
Another inspiring teacher and activist, Joanna Macy, author of Active Hope, puts it this way: "Active Hope is a practice; it is something we do rather than have. First, we take a clear view of reality; second, we identify what we hope for in terms of the direction we'd like things to move; and third, we take steps to move ourselves or our situation in that direction. An action that might seem inconsequential by itself adds to and interfaces with other actions in ways that contribute to a much bigger picture of change."
As planetary citizens we are each called to some action and work that contributes to the common good. Our task is to follow our heart to the action that fits for us, and then engage.
To help myself out of a time of depression and despair I often imagine myself on my deathbed. I want to be able to feel that I have done everything I can to help create a better world. And then even if I am feeling gloomy I get up and go about my day with as much good cheer and balance as I can muster. Doing something usually makes me feel better.
Remember Margaret Meade's famous quote: "NEVER DOUBT that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Here's an excellent blog by author Bruce Berlin which addresses the "monumental challenges" we face, and how we can engage without losing "our health or our minds." "The Struggle for the Soul of America
Here's my newsletter on Active Hope for more on this topic
The threat to our democracy and the crisis of climate change are most pressing for me though there are many social problems that are also critical.
Where do we find hope? How do we keep going? Jane Goodall has always been an inspiration to me and here are parts of an interview with her that help keep me going. The interviewer comments on the prevalence of negative stories that bring out fear and anger. He asks Jane if those are useful emotions to tap into. She replies, "No. It’s one of my big complaints when I talk to the media: Yes, we absolutely need to know all the doom and gloom because we are approaching a crossroads, and if we don’t take action it could be too late. But traveling the world I’d see so many projects of restoration, animal and plant species being rescued from the brink of extinction, people tackling what seemed impossible and not giving up. Those are the stories that should have equal time, because they’re what gives people hope. If you don’t have hope, why bother? Why should I bother to think about my ecological footprint if I don’t think that what I do is going to make a difference? Why not eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die?"
When asked about "retiring," she replies, "I have to go on doing [my work] because I care passionately about nature. I care passionately about children. If I didn’t make a difference, I wouldn’t do it. I don’t say that to brag. It’s just that every day people say: 'I read your book and I changed. I heard your lecture and I changed.' So if I care, then I can’t stop."
Clearly she knows we each make a difference. Whatever problem we address we can make a difference. As someone has said, "Despair is not an option."
Another inspiring teacher and activist, Joanna Macy, author of Active Hope, puts it this way: "Active Hope is a practice; it is something we do rather than have. First, we take a clear view of reality; second, we identify what we hope for in terms of the direction we'd like things to move; and third, we take steps to move ourselves or our situation in that direction. An action that might seem inconsequential by itself adds to and interfaces with other actions in ways that contribute to a much bigger picture of change."
As planetary citizens we are each called to some action and work that contributes to the common good. Our task is to follow our heart to the action that fits for us, and then engage.
To help myself out of a time of depression and despair I often imagine myself on my deathbed. I want to be able to feel that I have done everything I can to help create a better world. And then even if I am feeling gloomy I get up and go about my day with as much good cheer and balance as I can muster. Doing something usually makes me feel better.
Remember Margaret Meade's famous quote: "NEVER DOUBT that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Here's an excellent blog by author Bruce Berlin which addresses the "monumental challenges" we face, and how we can engage without losing "our health or our minds." "The Struggle for the Soul of America
Here's my newsletter on Active Hope for more on this topic