Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Ask a Sudanese or a Syrian or an Egyptian or an Afghan what it’s like to live under autocracy. Then ask marginalized Americans what it’s like to live on the outskirts of democracy. For the latter, democracy is like Sudan’s gold and the Congo’s cobalt. There may be a lot of it, but very few get any.
As the Great Unraveling deepens, we need as many people as possible to wake from the false, destructive dream of infinite growth and techno-utopian progress and embrace a different, deeper way of knowing and being.
Whatever is coming will be as historically unique as our present circumstances. The ever-louder rumblings from just over the horizon suggest that, whatever it is, it’s not far off.
In a new CAP that largely maintains the status quo, social conditionality emerges as one of the few truly innovative elements. But is it going to be a real game-changer?
Will we continue to condemn tens of millions of us to cruel and unnecessary poverty, while feeding the drive to authoritarianism or even an all-American version of fascism, or will we move swiftly and compassionately to begin lifting the load of poverty and so strengthen the very foundation of our democracy?
Dominating politics this week is the war in the Middle East between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas, in which thousands have died and many more have been wounded.
In general terms, we ought to expand our consideration to value the whole. It’s not we humans that matter, but WE, the community of life. Now let’s act like it.
Is it possible to build a civilization that flies? (Metaphorically speaking of course.) How did we first learn to fly in the first place? It wasn’t by defying gravity and disobeying aerodynamics but by learning how to work with them. This is an episode of short stories, cinematic sound effects, and wacky voices. Strap in for liftoff.
Maybe we could spend some time today learning how indigenous peoples the world over have managed to create cultures and communities that have lasted for millennia, successfully adapting to all sorts of changes — except the advent of colonialism.
In this Frankly, Nate refers to a favorite timeless book series, “The Lord of the Rings”, to describe ‘the nine rings for mortal men’ -evolutionary behavioral tendencies that are common among humans but become counterproductive within the context of our modern culture.
In our world today, seemingly locked in a momentum towards climate breakdown, social conflict, and global war, it’s more important than ever to imagine the world as it might be, to inspire action to make it.
More than ever before, it is grossly obvious that the western industrialized extractivist mindset is the root cause of the multiple crises besieging the planet today. I couldn’t think of a better person to speak with about this than Dr. Anne Poelina in Australia.
