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

Friday, June 15, 2012

Lebanon’s Beaches: Sand Castles for the Rich

Click here to access article by Rasha Abouzaki from Al Akhbar. 

I am posting this article to illustrate the kind of world we are descending into: a world where the best it has to offer is secured for the enjoyment of only the One Percent. 
Summer has arrived, and with it a rise in the entry fees to beach clubs. Lebanon’s coastline, which is publicly owned, is now the reserve of a wealthy few. Its patrons are increasingly restricted to those who can pay an exorbitant $30 just to park and enter.
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