Back In The Saddle Again
Picking up where I left off
You may well wonder where I've been that last 6 months or so. I think I was depressed and unsure of what I wanted to do with myself. I did spend the time working on a pet project with two other elders – the NonPartisan League of Nebraska – which will hopefully see the light of day by early 2025.
I also spent about a week in Ireland, flaunting my brand new Irish passport (I got Irish citizenship in 1997. It took me a while to use it.)
Unfortunately the Ireland trip just convinced me that I was either seriously depressed and/or in no mental shape to be gallivanting around the world. It was a fun trip to Galway but I messed up on so many minor items (and some not so minor, like forgetting my passports – thus delaying the start of the trip by three days); so rather than planning on relocating to Uruguay, I think that when the air raid sirens announce World War III, I will just go to the front door, step out into the yard and watch the fireworks.
I plan on continuing to write two or three times a week since I have a backlog of ideas that stretches back to 2000 or so (more if I consult my notes from prior decades.)
So for your delectation (or annoyance), here is today's effort:
Humanity is part of the natural world. We stand within it, not above it; with it, not against it.
Our current political economy opposes the natural world and tries to shape it to more resemble our political economy – insisting on trying to dominate it. This is a fatal error and is the source of most of our current problems.
The prime directive of humanity is love. Any attempt to subvert, redirect, modify or ignore this principle inevitably results in disaster.
Connection with a Higher Power and with a community that recognizes a Higher Power is encouraged. When we have this connection, even our failures can turn to good (if in no other way, at least as a learning experience). Carefully following the (usually subtle) nudges of our Higher Power results in better outcomes for all.
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We are no longer dealing with global warming. That phase has past. We are now dealing with Global Heating – a situation in which life on earth is imminently threatened here and now.
There are those who consider it alarmist to declare this. This message is for those who recognize the reality.
We have had the solution(s) for decades. The problem is that our social and especially political leaders are paid to lead us into chasing will-o'-the-wisps. Neither set of political "leaders" are willing to take on the obvious problems, but generally content themselves with minor adjustments to the status quo.
The few local leaders who have attempted to tackle the problems head-on (Ernie Chambers, Justin Wayne, Terrell McKinney, Juanita Johnson, Megan Hunt and a few others) are vilified and sabotaged; and their numbers have only been enough to sometimes prevent the most serious damage by the local titans of the economy and their minions.
The other social leaders, mostly well-intentioned, are limited by their funding to dealing with the edges of problems; almost always on an individual, one-on-one basis or with a small "pilot" program that never seems to find its way into actual policy changes.
So!
Solutions?
That will have to wait for another post.
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I'll end this page with a link to Aurelian - I don't always agree with him, but his analysis of Western political parties is dead on – https://aurelien2022.substack.com/p/no-left-turn
Glad you made it back safe and sound. Saw you at the Osborn rally but neglected to say hi. Hope to see you around, and am looking forward to future posts.