Bill Moyers Final Words on PBS
I have to admit that I’ve never really watched Bill Moyers. I’ve caught segments of his show here and there and I’ve heard kudos about his work for some time.
But his sign off on PBS last week was epic.
He pulled no punches in his analysis about the current state of our government and the economic, social, and political reality we live in: that a very small percentage (around 1% of our people) control the majority of our wealth as well as our government.
Not only do they control it, they meticulously plan their moves. To the ruling class, the average person is a ‘mark.’ To use the word ‘pawn’ would be too kind, as they plan their every move to ensure that the people at the bottom have little to no economic mobility. Yes, they’re capitalizing on us.
You could say that the American Dream is dead. Or that it never existed. I would argue that it existed but that the dream was intermittent – partially sleeping, partially awake – and inherently flawed. Dreams built on economic systems which are unsustainable and which capitalize on the underclass to benefit the rich are not dreams at all. In fact, they are nightmares for most.
While conservatives have the country believing that wealth is a means to an end, and the top social strata of liberals behave more and more like the bourgeoisie everyday, Moyers signs off with a stark reminder that “Democracy only works when we claim it as our own.”
Good Bye Bill, I hardly knew ye.
Earth Day Manifesto!
As most of you know, I’ve been much quieter this year as we approach Earth Day.
Manifesto and Identify have been taking up a lot of my time.
But the world moves on regardless.
The World People’s Climate Conference in Bolivia is turning out to be pretty amazing from the reports coming in. The people there are approaching the Conference as a starting point for some real discussions about the planet and the unsustainable economic systems which are fueling our decline. Sure, many of the world’s leaders are not present. The corporate mouthpieces are nowhere to be seen. And for the most part that’s a good thing. As long as we can make them listen.
They’re taking a different approach. This is a discussion amongst the people. People who have been disenfranchised in many ways. Bolivia is the home of the largest silver mine in the world, where serious environmental issues haunt the area, and the mine workers are currently on strike. The people of Bolivia have some major hurdles to cross.
The World People's Climate Conference in Bolivia
They believe that the earth has rights. That ecosystems have rights. Earth Rights. The Democracy School, an amazing organization that helps people take power back in local communities, prescribes this approach. If you can assign rights to an entity, you can legally protect it.
The people of Bolivia and many other cultures are celebrating Earth Day and establishing a starting point which is likely to lead them down the right path.
What are you doing for earth day? We want to know! Tell us on the Manifesto Facebook Page.
Buy Nothing Day 2009
On the day after Thanksgiving, I’m pausing to celebrate an annual holiday I’d like more people to get involved with.
This year they’ve badged it the “Wildcat General Strike” and while I like the badge, the original name says it all. Buy. Nothing. Today, skip the BS, skip the gas stations, skip the convenience store, skip the mall, skip the ___, skip it ALL.
I don’t have to tell you the power that the consumer holds in a capitalist society. The corporatocracy. But more important than our power to affect those who rule us, is our power to affect the future health of our planet. To do that, we must consume less. Less shopping, less fast food (none would be best), less consumption of products – a simpler, healthier way of life.
So today I’m sitting back with friends and family to reflect on what matters in the present. Happy BND!