An epidemic of courage

For doing what saves humanity

Courage is contagious. That’s a new refrain. Hey, we are all connected. And, as Trump is killing what we care about, he’s also killing our complacency.

His role, if humanity can successfully navigate these dangerous waters, will be to have sunk a system that was headed for apocalypse. What the United States has evolved to necessitates a re-do, and that’s the scenario in my sights. So, at this juncture, when helplessness is giving way to activation, here’s a cut-to-the-chase mapping of two years of my Substack mind that is uniquely devoted to how we-the-people could save ourselves.

URGENCIES

• Understanding the challenge – no infinite growth on a finite planet

• Feeling our oats – feistiness from understanding the privilege of being human

• To act together – creating a coalition as our vessel

• Guidance – for how to steer our boat

• Local activity – the rise of community

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PART ONE: Our Situation

I found Marc Nevas hitting the highlights of the challenges we face:

Because our economy is an economy of consumerism, and because soon we will not be able to consume in the way we did, I believe it is the economy that will cause the true downfall of Trump and his cohorts. We will then have an opportunity to build something better from the ground up, so what would that be? Communism has proven itself to be a failed system. Pure socialism cannot be successful either for the centralized planning inherent in socialism will kill creativeness, inventiveness and incentive. We need an economic system that ensures everyone has their basic needs met, and then rewards those of merit with additional opportunities to gain purchasing power. If we do not take care of everyone, then the system will not succeed and the planet now is a very small place. The gutting of USAID is causing suffering the world over. The intention of that program is to do something to alleviate that suffering, but it does not address the causes, of such inequity of wealth. Pure democracy, as it was conceived of in the 1770s, was a good solid approach when our country was small and the population was small. It had its problems, but it worked. Currently democracy has so many holes in it that it looks like Swiss cheese that was overdone with holes and no longer has any strength in its structure.

PART TWO: Who are we?

Changed people make a changed world. It’s only since we looked through the Hubble telescope, in 1990, that science confirmed the interconnection of humanity in an evolving universe that mystics have perceived, and a new story that gives rise to, of not being sinners needing redemption but of being the glory of the universe, would get us all feeling differently.

The science-based new creation story, with us as saints rather than sinners, is what physicist Brian Swimme calls The Universe Story. This is a charming 2-minute animation about it: A New Story For Humanity.

PART THREE: Getting wised up about the danger we are in

Here’s what Marc Nevas prescribes: The first task in front of us is a unified campaign of education of what is going on in a large overview. Substack, TikTok, and all the different ways of communicating about our terrible situation are scattered. We need the best of minds and hearts to put forward a cogent picture of what is occurring and what will occur if we do not act now.

You can’t change the world if you don’t understand it, and everyone needs a tune-in to how endangered we are. Get “the best of minds and hearts,” who are thinking separately now, to think together about how to wise up humanity and about actions for humanity to take.

PART FOUR: Humanity running the world we want

We need massive sign-ups to a Coalition for the Good. Then we’d need a Wisdom Council to guide it. One person would volunteer to start that. Say Marianne Williamson. She picks someone. Say Cory Booker. Marianne and Cory pick a third person, the three of them pick a fourth, and so on, all respected figures people would listen to, who would guide the coalition for what it should do. Add a Suggestion Box for ideas that go to the Wisdom Council, and you have an ad hoc way for we-the-people to move the world.

Here’s where to get creative. Last week I posted Using the internet to unite a force of people for the good. Putting our thinking caps on for what we-the-people can do, that featured one idea about flooding the net with inspirational stories. These are some other ideas, big and small, that I’ve put out for what we-the-people could get behind:

• PEP TALKS FOR HUMANITY – Think MLK Jr. calling us to our finest, where celebrities to unknowns flood the internet with videos to get the human family charged up for action.

• OUTLAW BILLIONAIRES – It is stifling for an oligarchy to hold sway.

• NO DRUG COMMERCIALS for diseases most people don’t have.

• NO ADS PRODUCED FOR CANDIDATES – They talk to the camera or to audiences, and debates are unmoderated conversations.

• NO BIG LAWNS – Only plant edible or medicinal things.

• MODEL GUN LAWS AFTER JAPAN – They have no schools shootings.

• MODEL JUSTICE AND JAIL AFTER NORWAY – A 20% recidivism rate compares to 75% in the U.S.

• CIRCLES OF TRUST for everyone, where 8 people help each other.

• EDUCATE FOR HUMANNESS – Teach children real-world things, like mindfulness, parenting, and kindness.

• AN AD CAMPAIGN “to make humanity great again.” Get billionaires to fund making us loving and united.

• HOW WAS YOUR DAY, President _______? – An informal report that the President gives online every day.

And just a mention here of the change that’s most vital for the world to make, to create some form of UBI. That’s Universal Basic Income so everyone in the civilized world gets food, shelter, education, and health care. With survival covered, we all can be in the game of working on the world that gets us out from under the tyranny of the oligarchs that keeps us subjugated and apart.

PART FIVE: Our future

Activities that are local and regional, which are of the sort we need for that world of degrowth where caring about each another replaces just caring about ourselves, are springing up even now. What we haven’t got is a different operating system.

Here’s the rest of what Marc Nevas posted:

We need a vision that we are fighting for and not simply a movement against what is. If we want to motivate a broad base of citizens, we must create a strong vision that appeals to all. So the second point is that we need a vision of what it is that we want after we are successful. Just getting rid of Trump and his cohorts is not enough. The system that permitted him to get in this position of power and to allow the ultra-wealthy to amass so much money while so many are suffering must be addressed. We need a golden vision of what we expect society to look like when we have triumphed. To just say that we will go back to business as usual is not enough for we see that over and over again those with money are now buying their way through politics. Even if we were to use a general strike, such as David Brooks of all people suggest, what is our goal? What is it we want to have should we cause enough havoc to make it impossible for Trump‘s government to govern? Stopping Trump is not enough. We need a vision that is appealing to all sectors of society.

We could stimulate thinking with an essay contest for what that vision could be. Here’s a contest I held last year, to get ideas for what would get the world to work. (My favorites are 8, 9, and 21.) The new contest would be Dreams of the Future, for how the new world would operate, and I’d see our billionaires getting us a flood of entries by giving out big-money prizes!

Our vision will take some working on, but the floor is open in Comments for any things to add to my ideas, big and small for what we-the-people could get behind.

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Here’s me in Substack Notes. I urge you to have a look at comments I’ve made to get immersed in the unique point of view I argue for.

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This Substack is looking to a revolution. You could say an evolution, to a next phase of consciousness where we act from our interconnection as one humanity. Stay informed and be alert for how you can be contributory.

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