Taking Back Our Power
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We Have A Problem Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the things that are going on in the world. Researching the Environmental News column for each issue of the magazine can be a bit depressing as we continually do more to hurt the environment than to save it. It's not difficult to predict that if we continue on our present course we may well destroy ourselves in the next hundred years. It is widely acknowledged that the United States has become a plutocracy (government by the wealthy) with our political and regulatory system dominated by corporations. As corporations become more multinational their power and influence grows. Corporations are organisms with a life of their own and like any other organism needs to survive and grow larger - but corporations have no conscience and like parasites they don't realize that when they kill the host they die too. There are many grassroots organizations that do make some difference as does the alternative press, but increasingly our daily papers, magazines and television are owned by fewer and fewer corporations who have a vested interest in keeping us fat, dumb and happy. Up against opponents like this we feel overwhelmed and powerless and most just pretend the problems are minor and of no concern to them. Receiving A Solution In September of 1999 my wife and I spent two weeks vacationing in Oregon. We covered as much of the state as possible and spent our last few days at a small village on the Oregon coast called Yachats. In the off-season it is a quiet, but beautiful area. Long ago lava from a nearby volcano met the sea forming a rough and porous seascape. The waves crash over and through the rocks spraying water, making great noises and beautiful patterns. Late each day I would walk alone on the rocks in a silent meditation thinking whatever thoughts might bubble up. One such day I was pondering the terrible shape the world seemed to be in and as I walked I asked the Universe for a solution - not really expecting anything. But in the next ten minutes I received the complete plan for how we could take back our power. And it seemed feasible. When I say 'received' I don't mean the sky parted, or an angel descended or there was a voice in my head. For me it is like a gate opens in my mind and new ideas flood in and as soon as I see what seems to be a flaw or I have a question the answer appears. The language I like is being totally in the flow of the Universe. By the time I arrived back in Connecticut I was well out of the flow and not sure what to do with the ideas I had been given. Although they still seemed feasible they were not something that could be done at a state level or with people that I knew. So I've sat on it waiting for the right moment. I knew there must be a reason for George Bush being in the White House and perhaps he is the catalyst that can make an idea like this happen. So it's time to release them and see if they fly. The Solution To change the country and eventually the world we need four things: a base of concerned people, financial muscle, political organization and an independent communications network. Although the establishment has the money and power we are still technically a democracy and politicians still need our votes to get elected. The problem is there isn't much difference between candidates and they control the media. The keys are a common vision, the belief that we can achieve it and organization. The Base of Concerned People: This initially will come from environmental organizations. There are many groups with large memberships, but they seem to often be in competition with each other. The leaders have experience with organization, fund raising and lobbying. As the movement grows social responsibility groups, labor unions and perhaps some churches would join us. The key is unite these groups into an Organization Council to coordinate priorities and activities, exchange information and work with the other councils. The Financial Muscle: One of the fastest growing and most successful forms of investment are social responsibility funds. Each fund sets screening procedures for what corporations they will invest in. The larger they get the more influence they will have on corporate policy. A Financial Council of fund managers would coordinate goals, share information and work with the other councils. There are probably legal limitations on how closely they can work together but corporations with common interests find ways to work together. The Political Organization: The Green Party in America is new with little power and few credible candidates at this point, but they did put a scare into the Democrats last November. The Democrats are using their media to vilify Nader in hopes of destroying the party before the next election. In Europe, where the Green Party has been in existence for a longer period, it has more influence and shares power in government. With the proper backing the Greens could become a party to be reckoned with and their ten principles are a good base that most of us can agree with. The organization is effectively the Political Council. The Communications Network: An independent national daily publication like USA Today would tell the stories that corporate publications don't want us to hear. It must be of high quality with balanced stories, not fear based. This publication would tie all the elements of the movement together. There would also be a television network and Internet communication. Perhaps the paper would be delivered by e-mail. In the beginning a Communications Council made up of independent alternative publications could get the ball rolling by coordinating information and publicizing the effort. There are already many excellent publications from which to draw publishers and editors. The Overall Coordination: Over the four councils would be a national Coordination Council to coordinate, run and manage at the national level. The members might be selected by the four councils. There are already good coordinating organizations like Coop America. How It All Comes Together: The national level organization would be a membership organization creating a source of funding. People unhappy with the direction the country is going would now have a home. As the organization grows, drawing members from the roles of environmental and social organizations, the members would begin to feel empowered. The Communication Council would help focus and direct this energy. Members will learn about socially responsible investing and be encouraged to put there money there. Members will learn about the Green Party and its candidates and be encouraged to support them and as the size of the organization grows the Green Party will attract better candidates. Members will learn more about environmental and social problems and be taught how to work together to solve them. The Results: Each group or organization retains its autonomy. The Sierra Club, the Calvert Group and the Green Party still keep doing their thing. But now the Sierra Club has a lot more political clout (although it may have to compromise its priorities), the Calvert Group gets a lot more investors, the Green Party wins a lot more elections and the alternative press gets a lot more readers. And members feel part of a community that can change the world. Everyone wins! The Roadblocks: The corporations will fight back through the government and it will get ugly, but if we stand together, resist the divide and conquer tactics and never lose sight of our vision we will prevail. As I said at the beginning, corporations are organisms that need to survive and if that means becoming green and socially responsible they'll adapt. Obviously there is no reason this can't be expanded to other countries and work at a world level. The United Nations organization is already in place. All the elements for this concept exist now. We don't have to invent anything new, just better organize what is already there. And nothing needs to be eliminated, just better utilized. It will take some compromising but the results will be worth it. With a little more organization, a common vision and a little sacrifice we can change the world. Our biggest opponent won't be the corporations, but our egos - as always. If we can get past them we will change the world; if we can't maybe we don't deserve to. The Next Step: To find a Champion with national stature, who can bring together the people who will bring this concept or some variation of it to life. A Champion who is more eloquent than I and who has the respect and ear of those now running our alternative organizations. My role may be done and that is okay. Who I Am For the past 15 years I've published The Door Opener, a networking magazine covering the holistic health and metaphysical fields in the state of Connecticut. Through the magazine I've worked with holistic health and alternative groups in the state as my contribution to making the world a better place. I view myself as a communication facilitator providing ways for people in the state with common interests in these fields to communicate with each other. I also worked for 32 years as an aeronautical engineer at a large corporation. From that experience I bring to my current work the ability to plan, organize and analyze. I'm currently 61 and am optimistic enough to believe that we can indeed change the world and that each of us and our contributions matter. Jon Roe - Publisher/Editor - The Door Opener 70 Valley Falls Road, Vernon, CT 06066 Phone/Fax: (860) 875-4101 E-mail: AnOpenDoor@aol.com This idea was published as an editorial in the Summer 2001 issue of The Door Opener. Permission granted to share, reprint, rewrite or do whatever is necessary to help it fly. |