We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, July 10, 2010

The Worst of Times, the Best of Times

by Alexander Cockburn from Counterpunch. 

The author looks at the "state of the Union". Of course, it is not pretty, but it seems to be the way the system works. You see, this is just another normal economic cycle. It's the natural state of things. So accept it, and move on. Get a life, if you can. (There doesn't seem to be an emoticon for dripping sarcasm.)