HEADLINES AS I WRITE:
14 troops killed in IRAQ today; 71 in last 21 days; 978 Iraqi security and civilians in last 21 days; millions displaced from their homes by BUSH's continuing war; war profits at an all time high.
I would not classify myself as an activist ,as I've mentioned before. I am a humanitarian. However, these times we live in certainly come with a call-to-action for all of us to THINK, QUESTION, EXPLORE NEW IDEAS and GET INFORMED enough to be the shapers of our future. We must be willing to let go of our party loyalties and do some fresh thinking "outside the box" of politics for the good of all people --- for the survival of our world. There is time, but it is ticking away. In futurist and filmmaker, Joel Barker's pioneering work on the Five Regions of the Future, he again reminds us of a very important TRUTH:
"We can and should shape your own future, because if you don't, someone else surely will." --- Joel Barker, futurist
Every day we are watching our futures be shaped by government officials that have lied, cheated and worked as terrorists in their own right. This shames me to admit it. I grew up with pride in my country and belief in its leaders. HOWEVER, the situation in IRAQ and other miseries we have caused or ignored in recent years, has fostered a wake-up call for my consciousness. How about you? Current affairs have been a catalyst for seeing how much of our current system of government is deeply broken and how much each of us plays into it through our desires for more and more, our consumerism, our indifference, our inattention ---- perhaps, most of all, how much we take it for granted, never thinking about what impact how much of what we have has had on others in the world or that in an instant, we could lose what most of us treasure. It makes me ache, knowing I too am a contributing part of our brokenness.
I have to ask again, WHAT HAVE WE BECOME?
There are many to blame, but lets acknowledge the role of the most powerful leader in the world. We have a President that wants to defend a "human embryo" for reasons that defy science, but doesn't mind having his own hands dripping in the blood of tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers of his ill-conceived war without conscience. He apparently has no care about the countries he destroys and the millions that are displaced by his pig-headed right to power. ...and what about us? Why do we turn a blind eye? I heard President Bush talk in the last couple days, wagging his finger at the extremists, while seemingly describing his own actions too, never acknowledging how the terrorists have gotten so desperate in our escalating use of military might and force at his command. Is it not extreme to go to war on false pretenses, recognize the flaw, defy all sound military counsel, ignore the will of the people in our democratic country and insist failed policies must continue not with sacrifice from your family, but with the sacrifice of other people's children, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. Isn't this extreme? Isn't it extreme that no one questions or holds him accountability for any of his failings? He gets way too much credit for the few times he rhetorically takes responsibility --- but there are no consequences. How does our system allow this kind of incompetence and the array of public blunders in nearly every aspect of foreign and domestic policy with out consequences. In business, he would have been removed immediately --- in the military justice, wouldn't he been removed from his command? In domestic justice --- the kind you and I receive --- he would be locked up for eternity or sentenced to death. It is clear that all of us and the future of our children is being not only mortgaged by the ongoing saga of failed policies with no end in sight ----- our future is also being shaped by the actions, inattention and inaction.
WAKE-UP Everyone! The KEY INGREDIENT
The last of man's freedoms as Viktor Frankl told us in his classic, Man's Search for Meaning is to choice our attitude...to choice our way. It is time, my friends, to wake-up! How do we get started waking-up --- get informed. Look at your own span of influence. Look at what you can do right where you are. Here are is a valuable resource you may find helpful in your own personal awakening:
Moments of Insight at the Global Dialogue Center...
(Free to the world - no charge)
OUR GEO-POLITICAL CRISIS and YOU with John Perkins, New York Times Bestselling Author, The Secret History of the American Empire (Buy the book) and Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (Buy the book). John's new book hit the NY Times its first week out. This 6- episode mini-podcast series is a primer to world affairs, highlighting "pearls and gems" from The Secret History... It is informative and also hopeful with lots of ideas about what you can do no matter where you are in the world. He talks of about lessons from ASIA, LATIN AMERICA, MIDDLE EAST and AFRICA and helps us think through how we can change the dream of our future and change our world. It is designed for "instant one-touch play" or you can download it as an MP3 to share with family and friends.
Today, as I write, I grieve with the world for 12 more US soldiers lives gone and the millions of civilians that are dead, maimed or displaced from their homes. How scared the women and children must be, yes?
Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
www.globaldialoguecenter.com