Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
For the labor and climate justice movements to win anything close to a just recovery and a Green New Deal, we need to collectively stand up against market solutions and build on the diverse forms of energy democracy that are already being developed across Europe.
Against the backdrop of the fire and rage in Minneapolis following the police murder of George Floyd, reminiscent of police beating of Rodney King in LA in 1991, nearly 30 years ago, with many black deaths in between, what could possibly be the relationship of financial independence and the FIRE community to the unraveling in our society?
The need for imagination right now is more urgent than ever. We stand to either create a new daring world or stay in old paradigms with some minor fixes that give us the illusion of change.
I wanted to write something useful in these times of lockdown and uncertainty, to share practices from those years that might help others navigate this unknown territory.
“Defund the Police!” has moved from fringe idea to nearly law of the land so fast, pundits have motion sickness. It shows what can happen when progressive ideas are backed by true people power in a kind of “People’s Shock Doctrine.”
Taking up proposals developed collectively in different contexts, we are proposing a Social, Ecological, Economic and Intercultural Pact for Latin America. This Pact is not a list of demands addressed to the governments of the day. Instead, it is an invitation to build collective ideas
Our era is one of profound loneliness, and the proliferation of digital devices is only one of the causes. That emptiness also proceeds from the staggering retreat of nature, a process underway well before screen addiction.
The old word “beauty” speaks to our hearts as more academic or bureaucratic terms cannot. I am especially persuaded by the power of the word to cross lines of political polarization. As, I believe, is the concept of Bread and Roses!
We’re producing a series of films to capture the incredible enthusiasm of people across Bristol for good food. From growing at home to cooking from scratch, stopping food waste to supporting local producers, Bristolians are finding new ways to make our local food system stronger than ever.
So we arrive in 2020, reaping the results of decades of down valuing, sidelining and undermining the imagination. The potential rewards that would emerge from letting the imagination loose are incalculable, but instead we keep it locked in tall tower, protected by the dragon of disimagination. What would it look like if we were to set it free?
Who are we? And where are we going on this tiny planet of ours, this bright sparkle of life in a Universe so ridiculously vast? It’s a question worth exploring, if you have five minutes in your busy COVID day.
I salute every coronavirus gardener, and I dearly hope they will make a permanent habit of it! Because there are some excellent reasons to garden that have nothing to do with food security.
