People want the world to be a better place. We ask each other questions like, “If you were ruler of the universe, what would you do?”
FOLLOW THE MONEY
When I’m asked what I would do, I find myself going back to slogans I’ve used in Green Party campaigns. The first was “Follow the Money.” The long form was “To understand what’s going on, follow the money. To know what to do about it, follow your heart.” We are all uniquely positioned — because of our different gifts and wounds — to make a difference in the world, both as individuals and in solidarity with organized groups.
THERE ARE SOLUTIONS
I also like the reminder that “There Are Solutions.” Specifics include “Tax the Rich” — the SUPER-RICH, please, not you, even if you’re fairly affluent — and “Create Public Banks.” In contrast to the damage caused by huge Wall Street banks, public banks improve local economies. An ancient related solution that makes a lot of sense in modern times is a debt jubilee, as presented by Michael Hudson. He has also suggested a 99% tax on inherited wealth to end a huge contributor to inequality, and he recognizes that the accumulation of money turns into an addiction that harms the addicts and those around them.
WHAT STOPS GREAT SOLUTIONS FROM HAPPENING?
Too much MONEY and therefore too much POWER in the hands of a few. Billionaire individuals and corporations have enough resources to stymie, stall, and even stop any great idea. The problem of their having too much money is not that they buy too many yachts and jets, islands, fancy parties and fancy stuff. The problem is that they buy power.
- They buy POLITICIANS when they can (i.e. candidates from both Democratic and Republican parties, but not the Green Party and the Peace and Freedom Party). It’s terrible, but politicians run pretty cheap, especially when you consider the “return on investment” to campaign contributors in terms of favorable laws, preferential tax treatment, and sweetheart deals, including profitable government contracts for weapons of war.
- They buy MEDIA, in other words, the information that gets inside our heads all our lives. It’s invisible, unacknowledged “propaganda.” It includes not just news but also entertainment in print, TV and internet, and also textbooks at all levels of education, including business and economics at highly respected private and public universities.
BUT…
We won’t stop. We’ll continue to work on the solutions that call to our hearts.
“Great solutions” include many projects we know and love, more than anyone can list. The following examples are from a disorderly, incomplete, and only slightly edited stream of consciousness: community gardens, community supported agriculture, farmer’s markets, eating delicious food that’s lower on the food chain, single-payer healthcare with neighborhood clinics in combination with regional hospitals, public banking, worker coops, all kinds of coops, frequent and cheap mass transit, housing for all, vibrant and meaningful education and work, universal basic income, less packaging, less plastic, less waste of water and energy, entertaining ourselves in ways that are easier on the environment such as more art, music, and dance, participating in sports for fun, citizen councils with decision-making power in the hands of those who are affected by policies, alternative (yes, Margaret Thatcher, there ARE alternatives) political parties and news outlets that are not controlled by corporations and billionaires. There are many more great ideas that you can imagine!
Even if we have not succeeded yet in stopping the destructive military and economic actions of the US government, still people around the world have expressed gratitude for the support they feel from Americans when we oppose those destructive actions. The US could be a land of opportunity not at others’ expense. I continue to have faith in the fact that:
Our individual efforts,
especially when we’re working collectively and in solidarity
toward the world we want,
do make a difference.
As a postscript, I just listened to a short segment of a meeting of the United Nations Security Council — which has been a failure historically, but could be a success at delivering “security” to the people of the world. Author Dan Kovalik presented information from mainstream sources underscoring the need for us — the United States and the United Nations — to end the conflict in Ukraine through a negotiated peace. Dan’s presentation is at minute 8:00 through minute 25:15. (Transcript is HERE, see Dan Kovalik on page 3.) In addition to bringing peace in Ukraine, actions by the US and UN could end the horror happening in Gaza.