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What Our Leaders and the Media Are Not Telling Us
By Ross McCluney, Posted by Ross McCluney (about the submitter) Page 2 of 3 page(s)
Most of the major issues currently being discussed and heatedly debated in the
media have modest if any relevance to this largest, most serious of problem
facing the human race.
For example, terrorism cannot result in the complete extinction of the human
species, but our global assault on the human life-support system could do just
that. Problems with the social security system""real worries""cannot extinct
humanity. Immigration, by itself, cannot extinct humanity. Problems with the
American health care system, by themselves, cannot extinct humanity. Rising
gasoline prices cannot extinct humanity. Increasing national debt in the U.S.
cannot extinct humanity. But our global assault on the life-support system very
well could""and problems with child and adult education in the U.S. and around
the world certainly don't help any.
The potential extinction of our species is just too scary and too far in the
future for us to take very seriously, so we aren't surprised that our leaders
don't speak in these terms. In the backs of our minds, however, we have this
tiny little worry about it.
When any of us think about these issues in the larger context, it looks like
the industrial world has embarked on a program to systematically take apart the
life-support system for humans. We realize that what is needed is a massive
educational push to alert the public to the dangers, to explain how Earth
systems work, how we all depend on those systems, and how comprehensive any
proposed reforms must be. We realize that it will take more than a little
recycling here, some energy conservation there, and more than even massive
conversion to renewable energy sources. It will require a more fundamental
structuring of the entire global system of commerce, and a rethinking of how we
live, work, recreate, and even worship. But we don't hear about any of
this in the media today. We know that excellent books have been written on this
subject2, but few of us know about these books or take the time to purchase and
read them.
The fact that our leaders are not raising the alarm would normally give us
peace of mind, since we would assume this means that our fears are unrealistic
and of little consequence. However, we can no longer trust our leaders""or
the media supposedly reporting on the important issues of the day""to have our
true interests at heart, so we flounder. We are at a loss to put the
larger picture together ourselves, even though tens of books have been written
on the subject and courses are even being taught about it in our colleges and
universities.
So we are not stupid""just misinformed, poorly led, and caught up in a
materialism-worshiping culture of consumerism and shallowness.
It is not helped that we are less well educated than before, so don't have the
personal tools and habits to enable better self-education. We are instead
the best trained people the Earth has ever seen. We are generally well
prepared for the high tech jobs we now find abundant. We are well trained to pursue
our one or two or even three jobs, needed to maintain our excessively
materialistic lifestyle. But training is no substitute for real
education""about who we are, where we live, where we have been, and were we are
going. Being well trained is not helping us for the long haul. Our
leaders are not helping us either.
If anybody is stupid, it is these supposed leaders who fail to realize that
their lack of true leadership is as bad for them in the long run as it is for
the rest of us. Sure, they can insulate themselves from the worst of the
coming problems with their wealth and power, but this cannot last. In the
bankruptcy of an entire species its leaders will not be spared.
There is a gigantic leadership vacuum in the U.S. today. No one in either
the Republican or Democratic parties is stepping up to the plate, looking at
the big picture, telling us about it, and suggesting a comprehensive strategy
for dealing with the huge connected threats facing us. Instead we hear only
about short-term bandaid quick-fixes that do little to solve the larger issue,
however important most of them may be, as components of the larger
comprehensive plan.
Our only current hope is in the small but growing band of private citizens and
small organizations attempting to break through the media silence, clear the
fog of misinformation, and alert us to the true state of the world in which we
live. Some are even taking the next step, offering a variety of
suggestions for reform, but, apparently because of the death grip hold the giant
corporations have on our media and the politicians, we don't hear about these
positive steps, so don't know how important it is to learn more, get involved,
and help spread the word. There do exist organizations whose goal is to reform
U.S. (and to a great extent the larger industrial world's) political systems
toward true human sustainability but most people don't know of them.
If you are interested in accessing some of the new information and getting in
touch with the new organizations trying to clear the air and provide true
leadership in a time of monumental global crisis, visit the following sample of
web sites and then do an internet search on the terms in the list below. A
couple of new books I wrote and edited on this subject (see below) may also be
of some value in guiding you through the issues.
Organizations pursuing the larger picture
http://www.pachamama.org
http://www.earth-policy.org/ See, in
particular, Lester Brown's book, Plan B
http://www.worldwatch.org/
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/
http://www.ishmael.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Tribal_Revolution
http://www.futureofhumanity.org/SlideShows/index.htm
http://www.npg.org/
http://www.earthethicsinstitute.org/
http://www.carryingcapacity.org/
Organizations targeted to specific parts of the problem
http://www.webdirectory.com/
http://www.naturalstep.org/com/Start/
http://www.newtribalventures.com/NTV/
http://www.envirolink.org/
http://www.ucsusa.org/
Political reform organizations and newsletters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_politics
http://www.answers.com/topic/green-politics
http://www.essex.ac.uk/ECpR/standinggroups/green/newshome.htm
http://www.abc.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=2175
http://www.fpif.org/briefs/vol4/v4n10wbe.html
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/09644016.asp
http://www.environmental-center.com/magazine/mitpress/gep/index.htm
The major environmental organizations in the U.S. are not listed above, because
of their almost unanimously narrow focus on bandaid fixes.
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
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