Introduction:
Change....
The
notion that
We the People can change the way we do things as a society, can
actually progress and better our lives as a country....has become a
difficult argument to
make, especially so with the last election. We've grown deeply
disillusioned with our system, our politics, and rightly so. While we
agree that much has improved, from technology to human rights, too many
of us have become convinced that when it comes to real social or
economic progress, it's impossible: we're at the 'end of history' with
nowhere
to go from here. Too many have been convinced that the present system,
Capitalism- with its basis in competition, greed and
agression- isn't perfect but the best we can do given our 'human
nature'. We're told endlessly that 'co-operation' is for
dreamers, idealists and while it sounds nice, at best it's a utopian
fantasy. Our instincts tell us our present road is
leading to disaster, that we must change. But with all evidence in
front of us, the question has actually come down to 'Can We?'
We should know better. In fact, much recent
research now supports the fact that our 'human
nature', our survival and success as a species, has depended on more
than "agression and the
dominant alpha'. As much as any other, the so-called 'kindness gene'
has been
shown to be the basis for the well-being and survival of the
social network and an indisputable factor in our human evolution and
adaptation
mechanisms. In fact, we have survived over the eons by living in
groups, cooperating and working together- not thru isolated, individual
effort or skill. Our human history shows that anything which weakens or
threatens a group's well-being eventually causes it to recognize the
danger, seek its cause, consider the
choices, respond and act accordingly. Not 'fixed' or simplistic by any
means, our 'human nature' is mutable, changeable, a complex balance.
Indeed, we are as 'hard-wired' to co-ooperate for our
survival as to be aggressive. Recognizing that, our 'human nature' has
become expressed in our
ethical, legal, philosophical and religious codes.....A global version
of "do unto others as you would do unto yourself' is 'seeing yourself
in others'.
Rather than the conviction that "greed, aggression and competition are
what makes us tick", we need to be aware that these are behaviors that
have
been overstated as 'natural' to survival because they supported an
'engine', a system, that up til now has brought progress and betterment
in many ways. Capitalism may have
used those traits with success so far, especially for the few; but the
tipping
point has been reached for the well-being and health of both the planet
and its inhabitants. Our very survival is now being
threatened by too much insistence on competition and individualism and
thoughtless disregard for the future. Seeing that all life is
interconnected and co-dependent, as the dominant species we need to
create ways to a more constructive and sustainable path. The point is, we can.
We can begin by looking at the way our economy and politics actually
work. We have an economic force, an economic system that is
causing tremendous pain, lost jobs, lost homes, lost futures....and
posing a threat to the future of this
country and the planet. Worried about our losses- civic, moral,
environmental and economic- many are
awakening to the
fact that our needs are not represented nor protected by our political
parties, nor the candidates we are 'given'
to vote for. We see the corruption and collusion between corporations,
and that so-called reforms are a sham. The uprising brewing amongst
voters, "the independents" and yes, even the Tea Baggers indicate one
thing: many Americans feel powerless, angry, fearful and frustrated.
Misled, divided and confused, we rail against each other, or against
'government' or whichever political party is currently in power, but
miss the real cause of our grievances. Our problems go deep into the
ECONOMIC system itself and far beyond its
political representatives or party label. Or the latest corruption, or
the question of taxes or bail-outs. Until we recognize the basic
relationships and framework of our society are causing the problems and
finally admit that regulations or reforms cannot 'tweak them away', we
will not solve our problems but only put off the inevitable. Yet, We do
have very real options, real and achievable. We can make peaceful,
profound, positive change. We have the vote.
Most importantly, we have the Constitution. Amazingly, our forefathers
and foremothers provided for that. It is Article 5 of the Constitution-
called the Amendment Clause- and it allows for peaceful change.
And Lincoln said: "Any
people anywhere being inclined (have) the right to rise up and
shake off the existing
government and form a new one that suits them better. This is a
most valuable, a most
sacred right which we hope and believe is to liberate the world."
Through our Constitution, just as we have enacted labor laws, extended
civil rights and protections, we also ended Slavery & ushered in a
new era of greater freedom and prosperity. Using our Constitution,
representives in Congress can vote to make public, cooperative
control & ownership of natural resources, utilities, social
services, banking, production, distribution& allocation, the law of
the land. What is becoming more and more clear is the need to change to
an economy based on human wants and needs rather than profit and
competition and the only way to end the tyranny and power of the very
few, over the lives of us all. Rather than profit as the 'bottom line'
in a system based on division and so much inequity...ours would become
focused on solving social questions and providing for the welfare and safety, the
best health, education and child-care, more leisure and discretionary
time, time for creative and recreational pursuits, for community and
personal activities and
a rich diversity of life- styles and opportunities. Just as Slavery and
bondage was made unConstitutional, so We -the majority- would make
profit, job-loss, exploitation & wages, Private
ownership of production, distribution, banking & credit, education
&
transportation, healthcare & natural resources, likewise illegal.
Our
system would be based on People, not Profit.