Shortly after the election, someone I didn’t even know sent me a copy of the video, The Secret, which describes how our thoughts and words create our reality. Anyone who knows me or was involved in my recent Congressional campaign, knows that I understand the power of positive thinking. Even so, sometimes I need a reminder just how powerful our thoughts and words are, and this video served that purpose. It also reminded me that the words of my fellow activists as well as the media and everyone else around me are also shaping our common future. So it’s not enough to just "think" my future, I’m on a mission to inspire everyone else to envision a world that’s supportive of it.
The moment I awaken each morning, in those seconds before full consciousness, I deliberately extend my dream-state with images of what I expect to achieve in the coming day and what I want our collective future to be like.
That future is full of hope and prosperity. I see an entirely new way of living, where cooperation and compassion permeate every aspect of daily life and governance. Where everyone has enough to eat, a safe and warm place to sleep and an education. Where differences are resolved with diplomacy and creativity. Where our environment is respected and sustainable living is the norm. I fully accept that such a future is already there -- we only have to pass through whatever stands between then and now to get there.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when we look at how pervasive the powers are that seem to be controlling our world. They are like an ugly wall blocking our path to that that future -- a daunting wall that must be either scaled or dismantled before we can get where we want to go. But it’s important that we keep our sights on what lies beyond, because if we put all of our focus on the wall itself, we will only increase its power over us.
I recently went to see the movie, Apocalypto. It had a particular attraction for me because of my interest in the Maya. Ten years ago I wrote about their ancient civilization in my novel, Place of Mirrors. There were things I liked and disliked about the movie, but I’m not going to review it here. I do hope that the movie awakens an interest in the Maya civilization because, like all past attempts at governance, we have a lot to learn from it. Namely, that we cannot take our country, our technology, our democracy or our prosperity for granted. If you define the success of a civilization by its permanence, there has yet to be a successful civilization. Ours is young compared to the Maya’s and our stability is looking pretty shaky right now. We only have to look at the demise of the USSR to know how quickly everything can fall apart.
There are those who predict that the collapse of the United States is inevitable. Too many holes have been punched into it: our occupation of Iraq has completely destabilized the Middle East; the U.S. economy is in crisis; global warming threatens to inundate us with weather-related disasters; nuclear war or accidents loom menacingly on the horizon. How can we hold onto a positive vision of the future with all of these bleak consequences of the military/industrial complex looming over us? It’s all too easy to paint a future that looks more like a horror show than Fantasy Island.
That’s why we can’t loose sight of what’s beyond the wall that stands between where we are now and where we want our world to be. Collapse would be the equivalent of that wall falling quickly, perhaps bringing with it great suffering. The alternative is that we dismantle the wall, brick by brick, stone by stone, which would take a gargantuan cooperative effort but ultimately would be far less painful. In either case, I think it’s important to see this change as a necessary process to get to where we want to go. Rather than fear it, we should prepare for it – not with gloom and doom but with courage and hope. My favorite Buckminster Fuller quote says: "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model which makes the existing model obsolete." I don’t think we can get to that future I envision with our current state of government – the corruption is too extensive.
That doesn’t mean that I think the forces that have our world in their clutches are omnipotent. They are built on greed and money is the mortar that holds their bricks together. But it’s also their Achilles heel. The easiest way to dismantle their wall is to stop supporting it. As conspicuous consumers we are the equivalent of the slaves depicted in Apocalypto, covered in limestone dust and working to death to build worthless temples to greed. I’ll be sharing with you, over the coming weeks, steps that I have personally taken to break free from the grip of consumer enslavement. It’s a way that we, as individuals, can take personal responsibility for creating the world we live in. It’s the "new model that will make the existing model obsolete."
What about impeachment? Shouldn’t we be throwing out the people responsible for this mess? Like many others, I was disheartened to hear Nancy Pelosi and John Conyers say that impeachment is "off the table". We are the ones who sent them to the table and now, before they even get there, they are changing the menu. Worse yet, it seems there is a predisposition in this "new" Congress to approve additional funding for the continuation of the imperial occupation of Iraq.
While I’ll continue to speak out in support of accountability, I think it’s important that we set the tone so that our words are a cry for justice and not revenge. According to the Constitution, impeachment not only removes the offender from office but also results in "disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States." When we realize that most of the parties currently involved in the destruction of our country were also involved in past corruption schemes, such as the Iran Contra Affair, I think there is a strong case for impeachment of not only the President and Vice President, but all civil officers involved in the treason and high crimes and misdemeanors that are bringing down our country – just so we can be assured they will never have positions of power in the future. The important thing is to keep focused on where we want to go. If impeachment will get us there, then impeach we must.
Where our elected officials stand on impeachment and ending the Iraq occupation should serve as a clear indicator for us of the extent of their entanglement with the military/industrial complex ("the existing model").
Over the past few weeks, when I was deliberating whether or not I would campaign for Congress in ‘08 in this lopsided district, I said that if Dennis Kucinich would run for President, I would work for his campaign instead. Kucinich IS running and I’m going to do whatever I can to get him into the White House. Because PEACE IS THE ISSUE and Kucinich is the only one saying unequivocally that it is the will of the American people, as clearly shown in the polls this past November, to end the occupation of Iraq. Because Kucinich opposed going into Iraq and never wavered in his opposition to it. Because we need a leader who hasn’t been bought by special interests. Because Kucinich proved in 1978, when he refused to be bullied into selling out the people of Cleveland with MUNY Light, even though it cost him his political career, that he can’t be bought. Because he knows first-hand what it means to be poor and he’s never forgotten the working people. Because he hawks hope in the face of fear. Because he endured the entire 2004 Primary campaign, even when there was no chance of him getting the nomination, just because he promised to give every voter in every state the opportunity to participate in the Primary process. And finally, because in that vision I have of the way our world will be when we get beyond this godforsaken mess, Dennis Kucinich will be our leader.
So it’s already there, painted into my picture of the future.
My mission now is to convince the majority that this is a future worth working for. This future warrants making some sacrifices. This future is real. We just have to forge through the mire, scale the walls, and overcome the obstacles to get there. It’s going to be a bumpy ride, hold on tight and let’s get going!