We Are the Leaders We Have Been Waiting For

I recently saw Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author Chris Hedges speak for a third time here in Portland. There are those rare investigative journalists in America who go far beneath the surface of things to expose hard, hard realities which take a great deal of courage to look at. Among those is the truth of how similar the political parties in America are. Yes, there are some differences. And it is also true that these differences do not impact the larger picture with desperately needed positive change. While Romney is so plastic and so dangerous, Obama is, in Chris' words, mediocre. And I will add also dangerous. Obama passed more legislation curtailing decent and whistleblowers than any president. He has stood against critically needed changes addressing climate change. And much more. Obama is aligned with Big Money, which has taken over our democracy. While there do exist some differences, neither party's leadership is working to address the changes needed to save us all. And as Chris Hedges and Bill McKibben and others speak of, if global warming is not addressed Now, it is game over. In Chris' latest book, "Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt", he writes, "Currently greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are at 390 parts per million and climbing, with most climate scientists warning that the level must remain below 350 ppm to sustain life as we know it. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that the measurement could reach 541 to 970 ppm by 2100. At that point, huge parts of the planet, beset with overpopulation, droughts, soil erosion, freak storms, massive crop failures, and rising sea levels, will be unfit for human existence. And yet we retreat into fantasy. The US Senate, in the summer of 2010, refused to take a vote on a watered-down and largely ineffectual climate bill. The House, in April 2011, voted 184 to 240 against legislation asserting that global warming was real." While we know that Romney is not going to save us, neither is Obama. We are the leaders we have been waiting for. Recently Chris Hedges joined Rev. Daniel Berrigan, age 92, and others in being arrested for acts of civil disobedience. They know that we are the leaders we have been waiting for. May more and more of us be inspired by their courage and deep, deep caring for us all.

The Journey 

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice --
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do --
determined to save
the only life you could save. 

~ Mary Oliver ~

(Dream Work)

 http://www.panhala.net/Archive/The_Journey.html

ADDICTION IN AMERICA

This is from my notes from a training I recently attended: In America, $10 million is spent an hour on alcohol; double that for pills. America contains 5% of the world's population, but consumes 25% of the world's resources. America also consumes over 50% of the world's illegal drugs, 60% of the world's prescription drugs, 95% of hydrocodone and 71% of oxycodone. We are a country in a world of pain. For all our wealth, we live in a land where there are extraordinary disparities and distortions, addictions and abuse, aggression and violence, and disconnection from one another and within our own hearts. My deep prayer is for healing and awakening. ♥

WHAT IS NEEDED

I appreciate all sharing which emerges from looking deeply, following the money, moving beyond polarities into larger pictures, expanding beyond one's comfort zone, exposing shadows and illuminating beauty and bravery, having the capacity and commitment to not believe everything one thinks, putting principals before personalities, discerning which resources have integrity and are to be trusted and which are not, and having the courage to know the facts and follow the truth wherever it may lead. In our country, which tops all other developed nations in toxic propaganda, truthtelling is desperately needed. Tag, we are all it!

 "During times of universal deceit, telling the truth is revolutionary." ~ George Orwell