What Can We Do? — Some Thoughts On Ideas, Resources, and Information on Local and National Events

 As We Unite In Revolutionary Love,

We All Can Make a Difference

It is my belief that we live in times which ask of each of us to explore and expand whatever our unique individual and collective roles are in acting to address the injustices and alleviate the suffering which plague our nation and our beautiful hurting world. Each of us holds the potential for ever growing and evolving wisdom, generosity, kindness, compassion, and love. Only we can determine what our part is and how it is that we will contribute to the paradigm shift, the evolutionary leap, the Great Awakening that is unfolding within our nation and all across planet Earth. I am drawn to think of and visualize what connects all this rising up, all these brothers and sisters coming together, all these courageous movements everywhere as, at their core, embodying Revolutionary Love.

*****

Acting on Behalf of All of the Children

of All of the Species Everywhere

This is my son Kevin and our 22 month old grandson Ethan. This video is but a glimpse of what motivates me each and every day to do what I can to heal and transform myself so that I am better able to contribute to the healing and awakening and transformation of our world. My spiritual practice is grounded in acting on behalf of my children and our five grandchildren and all of the children of all of the species everywhere.

*****

Making the Impossible Possible

Everyday in America we are immersed in narratives which essentially tell us that the radicalism of the status quo must be preserved while the radicalism of life-saving dramatic change is not possible. In this regard, Bernie Sanders is especially singled out and delegitimized, dismissed, and demonized — along with the millions of us who are demanding economic, racial, social, and environmental justice. Certainly this was also true of Martin Luther King, Jr. and so many countless others who have fought courageously and tirelessly for a just and caring society.

And this prompts me again and again to pivot away from the propaganda story-line of the mainstream corporate media, and of all the corporate democrats and corporate republicans and oligarchs and predatory capitalists, and instead consciously choose to ask something that I believe is deeply important that we all ask ourselves — namely what the costs are of NOT paying for Bernie Sanders’ major plans?!? Truly what are those costs??

So let's ask ourselves — What is the cost of continuing the status quo of not implementing the Green New Deal and instead continuing to drill baby drill and be complicit with the power of the deadly fossil fuel industry? What do the world's scientists tell us we must do over the these 10 years right now if there's to be any chance of a livable planet by the end of the century? What is the cost if we fail to make this our priority above all else?

What is the cost of the military industrial complex and perpetuating endless wars and worldwide militarism rather than choosing to fund peace and what nourishes life rather than kills — like transforming our economy and caring for our children and the poor and the elderly, providing healthcare and housing for all, and making college and continued education accessible for everyone?

What is the cost of continuing to enable Wall Street and a neoliberal predatory capitalist system that has 43% of Americans living at or below the poverty line and 500,000 human beings — including 30,000 veterans— living on the streets tonight all while 3 people own as much wealth as half the country? What is the cost of enabling and continuing this profoundly immoral and vast redistribution of wealth upwards?

What is the cost of a healthcare system based on profit and greed rather than health and care — and which causes 30,000 deaths and 500,000 bankruptcies every year alongside countless human beings not being able to afford the medications, the mental health treatment, and the treatment for addictions that they desperately need??

What is the cost of continuing with a corporate owned government based in patriarchal neoliberal capitalism with an ideology of domination and violence at its core — rather than partnership, caring, justice, and generosity? What is the cost of continuing with predatory capitalism as our economic system? What is the cost of incarcerating more human beings than anywhere else on Earth?

What is the cost a corporate owned mainstream media that massively brainwashes people into acting against our own best interests over and over and over again? What is the cost of the propaganda of polarization which feeds our fears and separation and encourages us to falsely blame innocent others rather than being informed and empowered to accurately see the root causes of so much suffering, inequality, injustice, and death in America? 

What is the cost of reporting on the status of the stock market and Wall Street every day rather than the state of our environment and this Earth that we depend upon for life? Truly, what is the ultimate catastrophic cost of continuing to deny, minimize, and distract from the climate and ecological crises which has us on a trajectory headed for civilization collapse and extinction by the end of the century?!

WHAT IS THE COST OF ALL THIS?!?

*****

 Understanding How the System

Has Failed Us

Millions of us are coming to understand that the economic ideology shared by Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton, Bush 2, Obama, and Trump has failed us. We are learning that, while the two major political parties in the US have distinguished themselves mostly on social issues, it's what they not-so-secretly agree on — the so-called "bi-partisan' Washington consensus — which represents the greatest threat to American liberty and prosperity and to the well-being of us all worldwide. Forty years of both parties serving elite corporate interests (aka neoliberalism) is what gave us Trump. Anyone who believes another neoliberal "bipartisan" Democrat is the solution to Trump doesn't understand the root problem. Which brings us to why it is so important for us to understand what neoliberalism is. This understanding is one foundational piece to the where we are, how we got here, and what is needed to move forward.

***** 

What Can We Do?

This list is endless. There are so many options which I have been discovering that act as antidotes to the epidemic of disempowerment, the pervasive polarization which separates rather than connects us, and all of the forces which have causes such great harm and brought us to this place of extraordinary national and planetary peril. While I offer these as what has been meaningful to me personally, I recognize and affirm that we  are all on our own journeys and needing to discover and deepen in whatever it is that works best for each of us. This is just a glimpse of what has been helpful to me and what I have witnessed as being helpful to others...

1. Deepening Our Spiritual Practices

Certainly, a deepening in our spiritual practices — whatever that is for each of us — is essential to strengthening our hearts and increasing our capacities for consciousness and wisdom, discernment and truth, integrity and generosity, compassion and love, and acting out of awareness of a higher good for us all. So whatever it is that feeds our hearts, minds, and souls, it's my experience that committing to doing more of that is deeply important. We can't help our world heal if we are neglecting our precious selves and our essential needs — and especially for love and connection.

2. Seeking Wise, Truthful, and Loving Resources

These are among the many excellent books out there that I have found helpful and enlightening and which you might also find valuable:

— Rabbi Michael Lerner, Revolutionary Love: A Political Manifesto To Heal and Transform the World — https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520304505/revolutionary-love

— Francis Weller: The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief — http://www.wisdombridge.net/the-wild-edge-of-sorrow.html

— Naomi Klein, On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal — https://naomiklein.org/on-fire/  

— Bill McKibben, Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out — http://billmckibben.com/falter.html 

— Riane Eisler, Nurturing Our Humanity: How Domination and Partnership Shape Our Brains, Lives, and Future — https://rianeeisler.com/ 

— Dahr Jamail, The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption — https://www.dahrjamail.net/the-end-of-ice/ 

— Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate — https://thischangeseverything.org/book/ 

3. Support Those Who Are Supporting and Working On Behalf of Us All

Donate. Phone bank. Canvas. Research and share what we are learning that is often missed or misrepresented in American mainstream media. There is so much that we all can do. And my husband and I are looking forward to canvassing for Bernie Sanders this Saturday near our Vancouver, WA home.

4. Activism

— Participate in rallies. There are many rallies and marches occurring nationwide related to the climate and ecological crises, immigrants and refugees, women and Black Lives Matter and Indigenous rights and protecting the Earth, and more. Here in Portland, there are two rallies occurring on Sunday, March 1st — (1) The Women's March and Rally beginning at 12:00 on 3/1 at the PSU south park blocks: https://womxnsmarchpdx.com/. And, very importantly, (2) there will be a Wet'suwet'en Solidarity Rally on 3/1, beginning at 3:15 at the northern side of Tom McCall Park to "connect as a unified community presence in solidarity for Indigenous resistance, sovereignty, and the ongoing struggle to protect the land, air, and water which we all share to survive." I will be participating in both rallies (following my oldest grandson's 5th birthday party.❤)

— "Thawing Ice Walking Meditation" which occurs in Portland every second Thursday of the month between 12-1:00. I will be out of town for the one in March, but plan to attend the walking meditation on April 9th. This is a monthly mindful protest at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention Center at 4310 SW Macadam — "We walk to show support for all beings detained, all beings seeking asylum, all who are refugees, all who flee violence and seek to migrate and are met with violence, with walls, with cages. We walk because we wish all beings to be free. Whether or not the walking meditation changes the balance of power, it changes those who walk: it gives us one hour every month in which we think deeply and quietly about migration, about longing, about separation from the places we were born, and about those who prohibit entry to others. There is power in walking together, in meditating together. At the end of the walk we have brief small-group discussions and we distribute information about what we can do THIS MONTH to support immigrants and immigrant families. We have been walking peacefully around the ICE Building at noon on the second Thursday of each month for over two years. Our event takes one hour. Those who prefer not to circle the building may sit peacefully at the trolley stop, and if they wish, they may ring bells at intervals of their choosing. Children are welcome. We have a few signs people can carry if they are walking, and if they wish. You may also bring your own signs."

— Actively Support Marginalized People

There are many ways in which people are standing up nationwide for those who are dehumanized, oppressed, and victimized. I have participated in many events in the Portland area and beyond, and plan to attend this next event in Portland — Portlanders Stand With Immigrants and Refugees — which will be on Thursday, March 19th from 6-8:30pm at the Southwest Community Center located at 6820 SW 45th Avenue in Portland. This is a link: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/article/750233.

— Explore civil disobedience.

Non-violent civil disobedience is a key tool in the toolbox of any social  movement. Civil disobedience takes many forms. The next upcoming Civil Disobedience Workshops in Portland will be on Saturday, March 28th. 10:00AM - 3:00PM, and on Saturday, April 11th. 10:00AM - 3:00PM. They are sponsored through 350PDX and also nationwide. (Please contact me if you would like more information on Portland's workshops or go to 350PDX or 350.org.) These free workshops are for people considering risking arrest, those who want to support others risking arrest, or for those who want a greater understanding of why civil disobedience is an effective tactic. My husband and I plan to attend the workshop in Portland on March 28th.

 *****

This post reflects my intention to share my experience, strength, and hope. This is but a small glimpse into what I have found helpful and — if we already haven't — how we might get more informed, more involved, more connected, and more active in working together to create a just, peaceful, and caring society that increasingly works for all of us. 

It is my belief that we are all needed in this effort. So I ask you, my sisters and brothers, to join me in the commitment to exploring and deepening in whatever it is that we can do individually and together to heal, awaken, and transform ourselves and our world. Yes, many are not retired as I am, may be raising young children, may be incredibly tired after a long day at work, and might be otherwise very limited in time and energy. That said, there is no action that is too small. Whatever pebbles we throw, whatever ripples we create, all matters and matters deeply. Truly, we're all in this together. We're all related and all family. Any separation that tells us that your suffering is not also mine is but an illusion. It is time to fight for, not just our loved ones, but also for those we do not know. My deep prayer for myself and for us all is that we each find our ways individually and collectively of choosing Love again and again and again. Because, bottom line, this is what it's all about — love, Revolutionary Love.

Bless us all, no exceptions...

Molly

*****

People say, "What is the sense of our small effort?" They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words, and deeds is like that. No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless.There is too much work to be done.... An act of love, a voluntary taking on oneself of the pain of the world, increases the courage and love and hope of all.  

— Dorothy Day

 

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.... Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.... A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life's highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.  

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. 

— Paulo Freire  

 

What do we most need to do to save our world? What we most need to do is to hear within us the sounds of the Earth crying.

 — Thích Nhất Hạnh