As a previous and potential Democratic voter, I am devastated and horrified to see the campaign of two amazing Democratic candidates descend into the abyss. These two candidates showed so much promise, several months ago, to offer us hope and a way out of the mess Bush has gotten us into. But now the same old politics that places personal gain and advantage over the common good seems to be at work to destroy what otherwise could have been a relatively easy victory for Democrats in November, given the state of the economy and public feelings about the war.
I can hardly believe what once seemed so promising has descended so quickly into a nightmare, and that people like the Clintons and their supporters, as well as some of Obama's advisors, seem not to care what happens in November. They now seem willing to sacrifice the battle against the Republicans in order to win the primary at any cost! Shame, shame, and more shame on the political structure, values, and candidate campaigns that seem to be dedicated to driving all possibility of hope out of our political process.....
Sunday, March 30, 2008
THE CHOICE BEFORE US
How will we face the present?
With resignation or action?
With courage and imagination, or with fear and submission to the status quo?
With honesty, or with deception of self and others?
How we face the present will determine what others have to face in the future.
While no political party is perfect, the fact that the Republican Party represents deception, betrayal, and fundamental disregard for the well-being of most Americans should now be clear after eight years of misrule.
The question is: Will America's citizens have the vision and the will to reject this misrule, and turn the tide so that a different course toward the future may begin?
With resignation or action?
With courage and imagination, or with fear and submission to the status quo?
With honesty, or with deception of self and others?
How we face the present will determine what others have to face in the future.
While no political party is perfect, the fact that the Republican Party represents deception, betrayal, and fundamental disregard for the well-being of most Americans should now be clear after eight years of misrule.
The question is: Will America's citizens have the vision and the will to reject this misrule, and turn the tide so that a different course toward the future may begin?
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Waiting for the End of the World
Why does it feel like we're just waiting for the end of the world?
While some scientists predict that the world might become unlivable by the end of this century due to global warming and the inability of humanity to change its ways, the politics of the US election cycle seems to be dedicated to proving the inevitable correctness of this prediction. The three presidential candidates are carrying out their battle for the election as if there were nothing to be concerned about this year except the usual battle for supremacy at any cost. Bill Clinton said a few days ago that this is what we should expect of politics. And that is the attitude that will one day make us all witnesses to the end of the world.
Unless we act to dramatically transform our politics and the ways we live, work, and run our economies and governments within the next ten years, the climate change tipping point will be reached within the next decade, and we will all be converted into mere spectators with front seats from which to watch the global disaster play itself out, beginning with the present generation, and continuing into the next and the next, which in watching the world come to an end will curse our generation for not having done what was necessary when it was necessary to act to save the world. By 2020, the tipping point will have been reached, and there seems to be little sign that humanity will have the will or the wisdom to turn itself around before its too late.
Meanwhile the leaders and people of the United States are behaving as if this election year-- probably the most important for determining the future of this century and the potential of humanity to turn the tide--were just like any other. As if there is plenty of time to allow Hillary and Obama fight with each other over the scraps of political power, while the Wilkins ice shelf collapses and the conditions of the world climate and economy continue to worsen. If we fail to act within the next ten years to do what is necessary to turn the tide of global carbon dioxide production, history will care little which President won this election. Those around fifty years from now, will care only that our generation, THIS GENERATION betrayed the future of all humanity, and condemned its past to meaninglessness and forgetfulness--as the great libraries in coastal urban centers around the world begin to be swallowed by the rising ocean.
While some scientists predict that the world might become unlivable by the end of this century due to global warming and the inability of humanity to change its ways, the politics of the US election cycle seems to be dedicated to proving the inevitable correctness of this prediction. The three presidential candidates are carrying out their battle for the election as if there were nothing to be concerned about this year except the usual battle for supremacy at any cost. Bill Clinton said a few days ago that this is what we should expect of politics. And that is the attitude that will one day make us all witnesses to the end of the world.
Unless we act to dramatically transform our politics and the ways we live, work, and run our economies and governments within the next ten years, the climate change tipping point will be reached within the next decade, and we will all be converted into mere spectators with front seats from which to watch the global disaster play itself out, beginning with the present generation, and continuing into the next and the next, which in watching the world come to an end will curse our generation for not having done what was necessary when it was necessary to act to save the world. By 2020, the tipping point will have been reached, and there seems to be little sign that humanity will have the will or the wisdom to turn itself around before its too late.
Meanwhile the leaders and people of the United States are behaving as if this election year-- probably the most important for determining the future of this century and the potential of humanity to turn the tide--were just like any other. As if there is plenty of time to allow Hillary and Obama fight with each other over the scraps of political power, while the Wilkins ice shelf collapses and the conditions of the world climate and economy continue to worsen. If we fail to act within the next ten years to do what is necessary to turn the tide of global carbon dioxide production, history will care little which President won this election. Those around fifty years from now, will care only that our generation, THIS GENERATION betrayed the future of all humanity, and condemned its past to meaninglessness and forgetfulness--as the great libraries in coastal urban centers around the world begin to be swallowed by the rising ocean.
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