Activism

The Degeneration of Politics

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One of the richest ironies of the crisis of contemporary America is the number of problems it currently faces that are the direct result of much-ballyhooed reforms. As the United States trudges wearily through yet another vacuous presidential election in which substantive issues are the last thing either candidate wants to talk about, it may be worth talking about one of the major examples of that wry reality. Brandishing an old straw hat with a red-white-and-blue Truman in ’48 hatband, the Archdruid explains.

Small town Sebastopol – frontline battle against big-time developer

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Small town Sebastopol residents in Northern California have been waging a fierce David vs. Goliath struggle against the powerful Chase Bank, CVS Pharmacy, and Armstrong Development for over two years. The implications of this struggle extend beyond this one town, as big business continues to seek to expand its wealth.

Massacres, droughts, and a society unraveling

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In the anger phase of societal unraveling, we must not only be aware of its perils but prepare ourselves with great intention to navigate it. One of the first issues we must grapple with is the reality of trauma. Increasing dissolution of the fabric of the culture is by definition traumatic for those who rely on it for basic necessities, identity, lifestyle, distraction, and sense of well being.

The Next American Revolution Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century

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Grace Lee Boggs, a legendary figure in the struggle for justice in America, shrewdly assesses the current crisis—political, economical, and environmental—and shows how to create the radical social change we need to confront new realities. A vibrant, inspirational force, Boggs has participated in all of the twentieth century’s major social movements—for civil rights, women’s rights, workers’ rights, and more. She draws from seven decades of activist experience, and a rigorous commitment to critical thinking, to redefine “revolution” for our times. The daughter of Chinese immigrants, she is 95 years old.
[Her ideas sound remarkably like Transition and similar movements.]

Ordeal – mulling the meaning of Rio+20

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Brown rice diets, asceticism and vows of silence and/or poverty have much in common with marathons, martial arts, the Aboriginal walkabout, and boot camp. The common theme is ordeal.

Each time we resolve to “never again” punish ourselves with such sacrifice, pain, fatigue and sweat, we wipe all that resolution away in the instant that we reach our goal, when we have our moment of light and love and ecstatic remembrance that this is what life is all about.

Perhaps the pain and disappointment of Rio+20 and all the other conferences that promised so much and delivered so little are mere ordeal, the prelude to the ultimate awakening.

Stuffed and Starved round two: Raj Patel talks to Jonny Gordon-Farleigh about our crazy global food system

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With the announcement of the surprising and remarkable fact that the obese now outnumber the hungry — both forms of malnourishment — we need to be looking deeper into our food system and the industry that has created a world that is stuffed and starved. In his recent books Raj Patel looks at this open secret and the battle between an increasingly aggressive industry and the social movements who are responding to this assault by reclaiming food sovereignty for their communities.