Economic Profligacy, and Disparity

Economic Profligacy and Disparity

Cultural Transformation

I have posted this before here, but I am posting it again, because I have been thinking about this quote recently.

Here's another MLK quote that I like:

We must accept finite disappointment,
but we must never lose infinite hope.

– Martin Luther King Jr.

see photo larger: Cultural Transformation Shift

May We Examine Our Possessions to Try Whether They Contain the Seeds of War

John Woolman quote

The Story of Cap and Trade Video

This is a great video. A must see.

Here's a comment I left on youtube:

The wealth of developed nations is based not only on ingenuity and hard work. The wealth of developed nations is also critically based on oppression and violence, including slavery and environmental degradation (greenhouse gas pollution very much included.)

The myth of meritocracy runs rampant in American culture.

It's important to realize that much of our material "success" is based not on merit - but instead on oppression and violence, on expropriation and exploitation.

The video:

The Story of Cap and Trade

Shift

I posted this before, but here I am posting it again. I have been thinking about this quote by MLK Jr. a few times today:


"I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

On the Right Side

"I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

The Myth of Scarcity

The myth of scarcity is important to understanding the current global social and political climate.

In some cases, scarcity isn't a myth - for example, where certain mineral resources are concerned.

However, what is a myth, is that there is somehow not enough to go around for everyone.

There is enough. Especially if resources are managed wisely and responsibly. If the resources of the world are managed cooperatively, and distributed equitably, then there is no reason why one man should suffer or starve, while another man eats in abundance.

It is wrong for some to oppress and to exploit others. The right way is to share. To lift each other up, by providing the avenues toward healthy and prosperous lives.

Redistributing the resources of the world equitably would make this possible - and it would serve to explode the myth of scarcity.

I suggest that one of the reasons some grab thirstily and hungrily, even lustfully, for material commodities is that they suffer from a fear of scarcity. There is comfort in securing one's self within thick and luxurious walls. Private aircraft. Etc. But is it true comfort?

For truly, upon death, all that we have, and all that we get to take, is only what exists in our hearts and minds.

Reminds me of the Led Zeppelin song, Stairway to Heaven.

So, again, I suggest that true wealth exists in community, in relationships, in health, in knowledge and wisdom. True wealth is the cultivation of unconditional love and compassion.

Another world is possible. A world of peace, justice, equity, tolerance, sovereignty, dignity, sutainability, and stability. Love, and not fear, is the way toward that better world, a world of truth and light and love.

Peace, Berd

It's Peace!

[cross-posted from flickr]
photo by Bob Ziegler

We declare peace. Not war.

We declare peace instead of war.

Humankind has engaged in war and other acts of violence for centuries, if not millenia. Thus far, neither war nor violence has brought any lasting or true peace to our lives. War isn't working; it has not resulted in peace. War is not the answer.

Do the ends justify the means? I believe that they, the ends, do not justify the means.

Rather, the means inform the ends. The means create the ends. If we want a peaceful end, then we must utilize peaceful means. The means are the ends.

So if we want peace, then we must live peacefully. Peace is, indeed, the way.

Too often war is pursued with the idea of peace as end product. The problem is that war is coercive and violent. War is often times the end product of policies or mindsets that are exploitative and domineering. Throughout human history, war has not brought a truly peaceful condition to society.

So, peace must be understand as not only an end, but also the means to an end. Peace is the way! Declare it! Ask yourself how you can live peacefully - please, for the sake of the health and prosperity of the planet and future generations. Can you do that?

Some questions that we all deserve to ask of ourselves are:

"Do I have peace in my life?"

"Is my lifestyle peaceful?"

"Do my actions promote or inhibit a peaceful society?"

John Woolman, an American Quaker who lived from 1720 to 1772 asked that we may examine our material possessions to determine if they contain nourishment for the seeds of war.

War has not brought peace to our lives. Indeed, violence has not brought peace to our lives.

Peaceful means; practicing peace in daily life; understanding peace not only as and end, but as a means to an end: therein lies hope and possibility.

Living peacefully also feels good. It really does. Being open and honest, looking each other in the eye, making eye contact with strangers, exchanging friendly and warm greetings, demonstrating and exuding positive regards for others, friends, foes, neighbors and strangers - each alike: the path to peace awaits.

We, members of humanity, are connected. All of us are inextricably interconnected. We are connected with each other. And we are connected with the bio-sphere - that thin and relatively fragile layer where life on Earth persists.

We have the power to make, and we have the power to break.

Reverend James Lawson said that violence has not brought peace to our lives. History proves him correct.

But perhaps, now, in the 21st century, there is the possibility to learn from our mistakes and make real substantive changes. Perhaps in the pursuit of truly peaceful and nonviolent means (economic and political) we can find the very real possibility of a genuine outbreak of peace.

Dear friends and neighbors, acquaintances and strangers, have hope. Have hope in the development of peaceful and nonviolent daily modes of operation. Have hope in the creation of social structures, customs and institutions that are based in the wisdom of kindness, moral reciprocity (the Golden Rule), truth, compassion, and nonviolence.

We can reject meanness. For example, we can decide to refuse to say things about other people that we would not say to directly them face to face. We have the power to make real substantive changes in our own lives. And we have the power to change the world. We can create a way of life that respects life. We can heal ourselves. We can heal the world. We can.

It's Peace. I declare it.

With love,
Berd

Let Wisdom Guide Our Lives and Humanity

The following is cross-posted from OlyBlog (i.e. I already published it there and I am re-posting it here):

I want to share some wisdom that was recently shared with me. A friend printed up a couple cards, and the information that they contain really resonates deeply with me. One is some wisdom from Marshall Rosenberg, author of Nonviolent Communication. The other is wisdom from Buddhadasa, a Thai monk.

By the way, there are nonviolent communication courses being offered at locations throughout the Puget Sound region. Northwest Compassionate Communication

Here's the card on Buddhadasa, according to my transcription:

know the heart

know the heart
or essence
of your own
spirituality,
and encourage others
to know theirs.

share with others
at deeper levels,
don't dwell on the
differences,
recognize those things
held in common
and build on that

work together to
"drag humanity out from
under the power of
materialism."

sharings from
buddhadasa

servant of the
buddha

a thai monk

Now for the card based on Marshall Rosenberg's theory of nonviolent communication:

basic

human

needs

marshall roseburg
author
nonviolent communication

"at every moment we have the
power to make life wonderful"

"basic needs are never in conflict,
get past enemy image"

some basic human needs:
sustenance,
protection,
understanding / empathy,
honesty,
celebration,
autonomy,
contribute (meaningfully to life),
power (influence one's space),
fairness,
love,
justice (restorative...)
respect,
belonging / community

"when we interact
on the level of
basic human needs
there is no conflict"

And be sure to watch this video with Marshall Rosenberg:

Celebrate the Life and Work of Martin Luther King Jr.

MLK had a vision for a better world. His vision is no less relevant in today's America than it was in 1967. Today I will be celebrating the life and the courageous work of this civic and spiritual leader, Martin Luther King Jr..

"I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."

~ Martin Luther King Jr., From "Beyond Vietnam," an address delivered to the Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam, at Riverside Church, 4 April 1967 in New York City.