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, October 28, 2022

Recommended post of the year: President Putin at the Valdai Discussion Club: “He Who Sows the Wind Will Reap the Whirlwind”

Click here to access an address by Vladimir Putin at the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow and posted on Internationalist 360°. The description of the event is followed by his opening remarks in English. Examine carefully the first words of Putin's address (in English) which is followed by a video of the rest of his address where he addressed specific issues and by a question and answer period (in Russian, but simultaneously translated into English). I wish our country had such an insightful and articulate president who truly represented a leader and not a follower of orders from ruling (capitalist) class.