An Ordinary View of Extra-Ordinary Times

steppinig back to ponder the "big picture," this author offers some insights on the current situation as well as some hope for the future . . . found it an interesting read . . .

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article6774.htm

An Ordinary View of Extra-Ordinary Times
By Wanda Fish
Information Clearing House
August 19, 2004

(snip)

Your history has probably recorded this time as a dark and chaotic age, characterized by brutal terrorism, wars, fear, starvation and exploitation. Money has become more important than human life, and we continue to systematically pollute and destroy the environment that sustains our life. We are confused after centuries of mistakes, wrong choices, and misplaced trust. We have only ourselves to blame for the leaders we allow to wage war, for the banks we allow to own us, for the corporations we allow to destroy our planet, and for the fundamental religions we allow to lead us away from God and from who we are.

(snip)

Three billion people, half our world’s population, live on less than $2 a day. By contrast, the five hundred wealthiest people possess greater wealth than the combined incomes of the poorest half of humanity. Poverty and homelessness is not restricted to the third world. The divide between rich and poor Americans sees the richest one percent owning more wealth than the bottom 95%.

Those of us who live in industrialized countries encourage the banks to ruin our lives with mortgages, debt and credit cards. We buy products and services from corporations that pay their top executives more in an annual bonus than their lowest paid workers earn in a lifetime. We consume more than 80% of the world’s resources and grow fat while nearly two million children die in poverty every year. We would like to change that, but most of us are too busy trying to survive, to find or keep jobs, to pay mounting bills, and to educate our children.

(snip)

Our world today is polarized by the obscene wealth of a few hundred individuals and the extreme poverty of three billion people. Yet the inequity in numbers may be part of the solution, as history has already shown us what happens when a few people brutalize a lot of people. Understandably, some of these oppressed people now react with desperate acts of violent terrorism. The wealthy and well-armed countries respond with their own brand of “legal terrorism” where the murder of civilians is sanctioned as “collateral damage”. The ordinary people who live in countries without bombing raids, with clean water, and with good standards of living, allow our leaders to imprison refugees from the impoverished and war-torn countries. We have protested about the treatment of these refugees, who are homeless because our military has helped to destroy their homes and countries. Our governments ignore our protests and deny us the right to share our fortune with those who have nothing. In other words, our governments deny us our humanity. Perhaps it is time we govern ourselves.

- more . . . good read . . .

But extraordinarily true. Quite an amazing read.

A call to arms! The utterly disgusting behavior that leads all of us to produce these ugly and depressing results that this story details are something we can all fight against.

A few in power feel they are entitled to it ALL.

They brutally try to claim ALL.

They are defeated by "Good" people who want everyone to have a decent life.

The cycle starts again.....

But progress. Frustrating but real.

make that mighty difficult. How can there be REAL PROGRESS when people don't even VALUE values?

Gotta look at the longer term. Questions about human rights and how foreign policy impacts those were NEVER a part of the picture in western history, as far as I know. Now, thanks to many people, including I think notably Jimmy Carter, it is a part of the discussion. Mainstream, as it were. Many example out there.

I guess I am an optimist.