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Inspired Action > Favorite Articles To Inspire Change
What we eat is a really big deal for the planet.
All of us are concerned about, aware of, or affected by extreme weather, fire, drought, heat waves, floods and hurricanes all over the world, but most of us don’t realize how much our diet affects the planetary crises we’re facing.
For example, did you know that raising animals for food produces more greenhouse gas emissions than all the cars, planes and other forms of transportation combined?
Action is needed to reverse global warming and effectively address climate change. I’ve compiled a short list of resources and facts that highlight how our diet impacts Earth’s health and ability to sustain us. They are sobering and important. You care about Earth otherwise you wouldn't be reading this, so I strongly encourage you to take a look and learn more about what a planet-friendly diet looks like.
Read "Talking Turkey, What's Our Beef?" and "At the Table of Change" in my June and July, 2018, Monthly Columns.
Inner Fireworks: Changing How We See
We've all had flashes of inspiration, bright ideas, moments of clarity, realizations that the old way of thinking or seeing something isn't "it" anymore. Sometimes this new insight comes from within; sometimes it comes from hearing or reading someone else’s perspective. I want to focus on two big topics: our economy and violence. The two seem to be separate subjects, but turn out to be very interrelated.
A growth or no-growth economy?
We’ve all been told that our economy is healthy when it grows, ideally in leaps and bounds. But lately we’ve also been hearing people advocate a “no-growth” economy as we realize that we are outstripping our planet’s capacity to sustain life. So which is it going to be? A growth or a no-growth economy?
One of my favorite visionary activists and author is Frances Moore Lappe´ who presents another way of describing our situation that embraces both ideas. She points out in this excellent interview with Conversation Earth, that the idea of growth is usually seen as positive—we want our gardens to grow, our kids to grow, our wisdom to grow. So when folks talk about “no growth,” people can get confused and worried. What’s wrong with growth? Instead of a “growth economy,” Lappe´ would like us to call our present system an “Economy of Waste and Destruction.” She argues that we can have a vibrant economy without the destructive elements like pollution, greenhouse gasses, etc. We have what she terms a “one-rule economy;” that is, the highest return for existing wealth. It leaves a vast majority of people not making any gains in enhancing their lives, or barely getting by. She says, “This brutal form of capitalism creates suffering and deprivation.” The system has to change. We have to change.
Is Consumerism the problem?
We often hear that rampant consumerism is the problem, and indeed it’s essential that we curb our appetite for stuff and to be mindful of the source of our purchases. But we must consider that many people who feel ignored and marginalized and generally unfulfilled in their lives often turn to buying stuff to feel a sense of dignity, to be part of the culture, to not be left behind. People need to express themselves, to feel a sense of connection and acceptance, to feel more security and powerful in a culture that has deprived people of meaning, power and connection. Given such unfavorable conditions who can blame people for wanting and buying more toys and more stuff? Consumerism is a symptom and we’d best address the roots of the “dis-ease” if we are to save our species and save our planet. Lappe´ advocates a system of dispersed power, transparency and mutual accountability. She urges us to resist “the blame game” and acknowledge we have all contributed to the dire state of affairs we find ourselves in. Lappe´ says people have three essential needs: power, meaning and connection. Without meeting these needs we will continue to see more destruction of the planet and more miserable human existence. It will also lead to more violence. Read more of how Lappe´ speaks of what brings out the worst of us, and what brings out the best. "Growing up as a Species, Accepting the Worst, Realizing the Best."
We also must recognize and accept the biophysical limits of our Earth as we consider what we buy. We in wealthier countries can follow Eleanor Roosevelt’s motto, “Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do. Do without,” so that those who have so little can at least have their basic needs met.
How does violence relate to the economy? Injustice begets violence
Our present political and economic systems sow the seeds of violence. It’s easy to see the violence of a gun shooting, a bomb exploding into a crowd, war, rape. We are most horrified, repulsed, shocked and saddened to witness such violence perpetrated by a person or group of people against other people. But we typically don’t think of the harm done by cutting services for the poor or health care for millions, or removing benefits of food and shelter for the needy, or dismantling environmental protections as violence, but many consider these to be acts of institutional violence.
It seems inevitable that the more inequality and injustice there is in the world, the more we destroy and degrade our life support systems the more we will see increasing violence. People who are deprived, depressed and angry will resort to violence if there is no other outlet for their frustration. In his article,"Violence Begets Violence," Rabbi Michael Lerner writes “It is predictable that those who are using violence worldwide to achieve their policy goals and to protect American corporate interests, will face more violence from random individuals incensed by the hypocrisy that they hear from elected officials and media personnel pretending that America is an exception to, rather than a perpetrator of, the violence that is poisoning our world.” As Lerner says, “We also need compassion for the deeply misguided among us who, in moral outrage at the violence of this system, resort to violence.”
Why are more and more people turning to violence? We should condemn all acts of violence—personal and institutional—and do what we can to prevent them. We also urgently need to look more deeply at the roots of violence, at the roots of any dysfunctional and harmful behavior really: alcohol and drug addiction, obesity, suicide, depression and despair, to name a few.
Terrorism grows when there is no other option, and as long as the world economy has at its center the god of money and not the person. This is fundamental terrorism, against all humanity. —Pope Francis
Related Articles and Resources
The Small Planet Institute, Frances Moore Lappe´
Network of Spiritual Progressives, Rabbi Michael Lerner
If you're seeking more understanding of the roots of terrorism and violence, there are several excellent articles listed under Favorite Articles to Inspire Change — "Terrorism" on this website. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
A growth or no-growth economy?
We’ve all been told that our economy is healthy when it grows, ideally in leaps and bounds. But lately we’ve also been hearing people advocate a “no-growth” economy as we realize that we are outstripping our planet’s capacity to sustain life. So which is it going to be? A growth or a no-growth economy?
One of my favorite visionary activists and author is Frances Moore Lappe´ who presents another way of describing our situation that embraces both ideas. She points out in this excellent interview with Conversation Earth, that the idea of growth is usually seen as positive—we want our gardens to grow, our kids to grow, our wisdom to grow. So when folks talk about “no growth,” people can get confused and worried. What’s wrong with growth? Instead of a “growth economy,” Lappe´ would like us to call our present system an “Economy of Waste and Destruction.” She argues that we can have a vibrant economy without the destructive elements like pollution, greenhouse gasses, etc. We have what she terms a “one-rule economy;” that is, the highest return for existing wealth. It leaves a vast majority of people not making any gains in enhancing their lives, or barely getting by. She says, “This brutal form of capitalism creates suffering and deprivation.” The system has to change. We have to change.
Is Consumerism the problem?
We often hear that rampant consumerism is the problem, and indeed it’s essential that we curb our appetite for stuff and to be mindful of the source of our purchases. But we must consider that many people who feel ignored and marginalized and generally unfulfilled in their lives often turn to buying stuff to feel a sense of dignity, to be part of the culture, to not be left behind. People need to express themselves, to feel a sense of connection and acceptance, to feel more security and powerful in a culture that has deprived people of meaning, power and connection. Given such unfavorable conditions who can blame people for wanting and buying more toys and more stuff? Consumerism is a symptom and we’d best address the roots of the “dis-ease” if we are to save our species and save our planet. Lappe´ advocates a system of dispersed power, transparency and mutual accountability. She urges us to resist “the blame game” and acknowledge we have all contributed to the dire state of affairs we find ourselves in. Lappe´ says people have three essential needs: power, meaning and connection. Without meeting these needs we will continue to see more destruction of the planet and more miserable human existence. It will also lead to more violence. Read more of how Lappe´ speaks of what brings out the worst of us, and what brings out the best. "Growing up as a Species, Accepting the Worst, Realizing the Best."
We also must recognize and accept the biophysical limits of our Earth as we consider what we buy. We in wealthier countries can follow Eleanor Roosevelt’s motto, “Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do. Do without,” so that those who have so little can at least have their basic needs met.
How does violence relate to the economy? Injustice begets violence
Our present political and economic systems sow the seeds of violence. It’s easy to see the violence of a gun shooting, a bomb exploding into a crowd, war, rape. We are most horrified, repulsed, shocked and saddened to witness such violence perpetrated by a person or group of people against other people. But we typically don’t think of the harm done by cutting services for the poor or health care for millions, or removing benefits of food and shelter for the needy, or dismantling environmental protections as violence, but many consider these to be acts of institutional violence.
It seems inevitable that the more inequality and injustice there is in the world, the more we destroy and degrade our life support systems the more we will see increasing violence. People who are deprived, depressed and angry will resort to violence if there is no other outlet for their frustration. In his article,"Violence Begets Violence," Rabbi Michael Lerner writes “It is predictable that those who are using violence worldwide to achieve their policy goals and to protect American corporate interests, will face more violence from random individuals incensed by the hypocrisy that they hear from elected officials and media personnel pretending that America is an exception to, rather than a perpetrator of, the violence that is poisoning our world.” As Lerner says, “We also need compassion for the deeply misguided among us who, in moral outrage at the violence of this system, resort to violence.”
Why are more and more people turning to violence? We should condemn all acts of violence—personal and institutional—and do what we can to prevent them. We also urgently need to look more deeply at the roots of violence, at the roots of any dysfunctional and harmful behavior really: alcohol and drug addiction, obesity, suicide, depression and despair, to name a few.
Terrorism grows when there is no other option, and as long as the world economy has at its center the god of money and not the person. This is fundamental terrorism, against all humanity. —Pope Francis
Related Articles and Resources
The Small Planet Institute, Frances Moore Lappe´
Network of Spiritual Progressives, Rabbi Michael Lerner
If you're seeking more understanding of the roots of terrorism and violence, there are several excellent articles listed under Favorite Articles to Inspire Change — "Terrorism" on this website. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
GROWTH, THE ECONOMY AND HAPPINESS
We know about growth and the economy, but how does happiness fit into this picture? Is there positive growth and negative growth? What kind of growth do we want? Let’s start with growth and the economy. We’ve always assumed, and been told, that it was good to grow the economy. After World War II cheap energy fueled a super growth spurt. More stuff could be produced at affordable prices. We were told to consume as if there were no tomorrow and that our happiness depended on that activity. We became hooked on more, bigger, faster. The pace, and our appetites for more, hasn’t abated, leading to “planetary overshoot,” the reality that we consume more of the planet’s resources than can be renewed.
Gross Domestic Product: We’ve also come to believe that the way to determine our success as a nation is measured solely by our Gross Domestic Product. GDP is the economic value of goods and services produced by the country no matter how they are generated. The cost of cleaning up air and water pollution counts the same as the price of solar panels or wind turbines. Economic growth and GDP became the sole measures of success, a kind of holy principle to live by.
Limits to growth? We have followed the Growth Bible, until now, when we are smashing into the truth. There ARE limits to growth, a fact known as early as 1975 with the publication of a book by that name, but that report was soundly trashed and rejected because we didn’t want to hear that we couldn’t keep having more. Now we are challenged to fit our lives within Earth Systems rather than ignoring and overriding them.
What kind of growth do we want? Can we still have prosperous, meaningful, happy lives and stay within the means of our home planet? Many people and communities are showing another way of being in the world that demonstrates this can happen. One of the most viable solutions to our current crises—environmental, political, social, psychological, spiritual and economic—can be seen in the movement to rebuild and nourish life in local communities with co-ops, public banks, local businesses and farmers’ markets. Local Futures makes a strong presentation of how this works in “The Economics of Happiness.” Instead of the economic domination by giant, multi-national corporations, we turn our attention and activity to our local communities where the well-being of people and place is the priority. I strongly encourage you to see this 20 min. video, the abridged version of their award-winning documentary. It clearly lays out the problems, and solutions that emerge from “localization,” a solution multiplier.
Are their other ways to measure the success of a country besides GDP?
Have you ever heard of the Gross National Happiness Index? The phrase "gross national happiness" was first coined by the 4th King of Bhutan, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, in 1972 when he declared, “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross Domestic Product.” In 2011, the UN unanimously adopted a General Assembly resolution, introduced by Bhutan with support from 68 member states, calling for a “holistic approach to development” aimed at promoting sustainable happiness and wellbeing. It gives equal importance to the non-economic aspects of a nation.
Gross National Happiness (GNH) is distinguishable from Gross Domestic Product by valuing collective happiness as the goal of governance, by emphasizing harmony with nature and traditional values as expressed in the 9 domains of happiness and 4 pillars of GNH. The four pillars of GNH are 1) sustainable and equitable socio-economic development; 2) environmental conservation, 3) preservation and promotion of culture; and 4) good governance. The nine domains of GNH are psychological well-being, health, time use, education, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity and resilience, and living standards.
Wouldn’t it be great if all nations adopted such an attitude and plan?
Earlier on I asked what kind of growth do we want? At the risk of sounding corny and too “spiritual,” I would like to see us grow in compassion, in understanding our common humanity and our common home. Let us grow in love, generosity, respect, and wisdom. Let us grow in our care for all life and develop a quality of life that undoubtedly would make us all happier.
April Newsletter, "What's the Big (Green New) Deal?"
Gross Domestic Product: We’ve also come to believe that the way to determine our success as a nation is measured solely by our Gross Domestic Product. GDP is the economic value of goods and services produced by the country no matter how they are generated. The cost of cleaning up air and water pollution counts the same as the price of solar panels or wind turbines. Economic growth and GDP became the sole measures of success, a kind of holy principle to live by.
Limits to growth? We have followed the Growth Bible, until now, when we are smashing into the truth. There ARE limits to growth, a fact known as early as 1975 with the publication of a book by that name, but that report was soundly trashed and rejected because we didn’t want to hear that we couldn’t keep having more. Now we are challenged to fit our lives within Earth Systems rather than ignoring and overriding them.
What kind of growth do we want? Can we still have prosperous, meaningful, happy lives and stay within the means of our home planet? Many people and communities are showing another way of being in the world that demonstrates this can happen. One of the most viable solutions to our current crises—environmental, political, social, psychological, spiritual and economic—can be seen in the movement to rebuild and nourish life in local communities with co-ops, public banks, local businesses and farmers’ markets. Local Futures makes a strong presentation of how this works in “The Economics of Happiness.” Instead of the economic domination by giant, multi-national corporations, we turn our attention and activity to our local communities where the well-being of people and place is the priority. I strongly encourage you to see this 20 min. video, the abridged version of their award-winning documentary. It clearly lays out the problems, and solutions that emerge from “localization,” a solution multiplier.
Are their other ways to measure the success of a country besides GDP?
Have you ever heard of the Gross National Happiness Index? The phrase "gross national happiness" was first coined by the 4th King of Bhutan, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, in 1972 when he declared, “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross Domestic Product.” In 2011, the UN unanimously adopted a General Assembly resolution, introduced by Bhutan with support from 68 member states, calling for a “holistic approach to development” aimed at promoting sustainable happiness and wellbeing. It gives equal importance to the non-economic aspects of a nation.
Gross National Happiness (GNH) is distinguishable from Gross Domestic Product by valuing collective happiness as the goal of governance, by emphasizing harmony with nature and traditional values as expressed in the 9 domains of happiness and 4 pillars of GNH. The four pillars of GNH are 1) sustainable and equitable socio-economic development; 2) environmental conservation, 3) preservation and promotion of culture; and 4) good governance. The nine domains of GNH are psychological well-being, health, time use, education, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity and resilience, and living standards.
Wouldn’t it be great if all nations adopted such an attitude and plan?
Earlier on I asked what kind of growth do we want? At the risk of sounding corny and too “spiritual,” I would like to see us grow in compassion, in understanding our common humanity and our common home. Let us grow in love, generosity, respect, and wisdom. Let us grow in our care for all life and develop a quality of life that undoubtedly would make us all happier.
April Newsletter, "What's the Big (Green New) Deal?"
Very few of us make changes easily. We like our routines. We find it easier to stay where we are even if it’s uncomfortable or self-destructive. It’s hard to get out of a rut, whether positive or negative.
Sometimes change is forced on us by circumstances beyond our control: illness, injury, death of a loved one, relationship breakup or environmental disaster,
Sometimes change can be triggered by something we are given: an object (we receive a watercolor set and get into painting); or a book (my sister gave me Frances Moore Lappe’s book, Diet for a Small Planet, when I was 24), and we find ourselves setting off on a new path.
Maybe we fall into change when we fall in love.
We might have to change by necessity: a personal health issue or a planetary health issue.
The latter—an environmental health issue is what I am most focused on now. The absolute, indisputable need for change in the way we do things: the way we think about ourselves, each other, and the Earth. We must change the way we eat, shop, get around. We must change how our economy and government are run. We must make these changes very quickly, within a number of years, if we are to have a healthy future for living beings and the Earth.
We naturally resist making change. But what if we envisioned a future that was good for all of us, not just for the very wealthy few? What if we envisioned a future where the values of generosity, mutual respect, care, justice, equal opportunities and the well-being of all prevailed? What if people, and all life, were more important than power and monetary gain? Wouldn’t we like to go there? Wouldn’t we like to make that happen?
Such a vision is now before us, and before our Congress, in the form of the Green New Deal. If you want our country to support well-paid jobs, investment in infrastructure and clean energy, healthy food and environment, equity and justice for all, a true democracy, then look at the Green New Deal. It’s a vision to get behind and demand that our politicians, our corporate leaders, our small businesses, our cities and communities enact policies and practices that advance the ideas in this vision. Yes, we would have to make big changes in our lives, but wouldn’t it be worth it to have a healthy and sustainable life now and in the future?
To learn more of this vision here are a number of links to inform—and inspire—you.
Summary Page for the Green New Deal
House Resolution
Financing the Green New Deal
The Green New Deal is Not a Choice, by Frances Moore Lappe´
The Green New Deal Opponents are Stuck in the Past, by David Korten
The Sunrise Movement
A Synopsis of the Green New Deal, by Clifford Burke
Sometimes change is forced on us by circumstances beyond our control: illness, injury, death of a loved one, relationship breakup or environmental disaster,
Sometimes change can be triggered by something we are given: an object (we receive a watercolor set and get into painting); or a book (my sister gave me Frances Moore Lappe’s book, Diet for a Small Planet, when I was 24), and we find ourselves setting off on a new path.
Maybe we fall into change when we fall in love.
We might have to change by necessity: a personal health issue or a planetary health issue.
The latter—an environmental health issue is what I am most focused on now. The absolute, indisputable need for change in the way we do things: the way we think about ourselves, each other, and the Earth. We must change the way we eat, shop, get around. We must change how our economy and government are run. We must make these changes very quickly, within a number of years, if we are to have a healthy future for living beings and the Earth.
We naturally resist making change. But what if we envisioned a future that was good for all of us, not just for the very wealthy few? What if we envisioned a future where the values of generosity, mutual respect, care, justice, equal opportunities and the well-being of all prevailed? What if people, and all life, were more important than power and monetary gain? Wouldn’t we like to go there? Wouldn’t we like to make that happen?
Such a vision is now before us, and before our Congress, in the form of the Green New Deal. If you want our country to support well-paid jobs, investment in infrastructure and clean energy, healthy food and environment, equity and justice for all, a true democracy, then look at the Green New Deal. It’s a vision to get behind and demand that our politicians, our corporate leaders, our small businesses, our cities and communities enact policies and practices that advance the ideas in this vision. Yes, we would have to make big changes in our lives, but wouldn’t it be worth it to have a healthy and sustainable life now and in the future?
To learn more of this vision here are a number of links to inform—and inspire—you.
Summary Page for the Green New Deal
House Resolution
Financing the Green New Deal
The Green New Deal is Not a Choice, by Frances Moore Lappe´
The Green New Deal Opponents are Stuck in the Past, by David Korten
The Sunrise Movement
A Synopsis of the Green New Deal, by Clifford Burke
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