Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on January 7, 2008 - 1:33pm.
So what are your thoughts? Are we too antagonistic and angry for a bunch of peaceniks? Do we need to engage in the system in more diverse ways? Have you felt left out on a particular campaign before?
Amen to all of the above. I don't think I've ever been more confused about peace and justice issues and how to engage the system than I am right now, and I do feel "left out" or perhaps out of step with like-minded activists. I know the DPC as a group of intelligent, well-meaning people who want to deal with serious, life and death issues like changing US foreign policy in the Middle East, poverty, environment and climate, homelessness, immigration and health care. How does anyone prioritize all these serious challenges? (I'm hoping someone will post a summary of the DPC retreat here for all to see.)
Where I feel out of step with some activists is how we explain how and why American foreign and domestic policies have gone even more insane since 9/11. Global oil production and the US Dollar. For me, this is the Grand Unification Theory that runs through almost all the economic justice and foreign policy issues we face.
We're in the Middle East because corporate America is completely dependent upon foreign countries for 2/3 of all the oil and a lot of the money we use to keep our consumption machine running. Our domestic oil reserves, including ANWR and off-shore, are enough to fuel us for 4 years at today's rate. When that's gone, we'll be completely at the mercy of imports and alternatives. China's rapidly growing economy threatens to suck all the oil the Middle East can produce, and starve the US economy of a growing portion of its oil requirement. And to compound matters, the US is the most indebted country the world. We print money whenever we need it, and foreigners with their own economic problems hold billions in dollar denominated debt. Wall Street is a jungle of mysterious derivatives and opportunists. The economy has become dependent, seriously addicted to both foreign oil and easy credit. And what bothers me the most is that we're all to blame for these conditions,even the "greenies.". As Americans we consume quarter of the worlds energy, but we're only 5% of the worlds population. And activists, even with hybrids and green living, still consume far more energy than most world citizens. This is where I'm trying to focus my energy - reducing fossil energy use. I don't think of myself as a pessimist, but I do think that the United States is headed for a major economic downturn in the next decade, and this downturn will be driven primarily by fuel prices and dollar inflation. And this downturn will only exacerbate all the peace and justice issues I've already listed. I don't think carbon taxes and cap and trade programs really address the core problem of fuel consumption. I think we genuinely have to want to use less and be content with simpler lives. Virtue is its own reward. Our media show us how easy it is to borrow money and buy shiny manufactured things to make us happy. What we don't hear enough is how much fuel and fresh water it takes to make computer chips, or how much dirty coal is burned to power them through their short lives, or how it much it cost to ship all these gadgets from China, or how all the toxic materials leach into the landfills when that two year old cell phone is thrown away for a newer, shinier one.
So, where I'm headed is to buy less, spend less, drive less, make less and pay less taxes to the Military Media Industrial Complex. Starve that beast. Try to make do with what I have. In an economic downturn, we'll be doing the same things involuntarily , so we might as well get a jump on it now, and set an example in the process.
Thanks for blogging, Dreamer. I hope your blog and the Retreat will spark a lot more dialog on this website in the coming year! Artie
What are we doing?
So what are your thoughts? Are we too antagonistic and angry for a bunch of peaceniks? Do we need to engage in the system in more diverse ways? Have you felt left out on a particular campaign before?
Amen to all of the above. I don't think I've ever been more confused about peace and justice issues and how to engage the system than I am right now, and I do feel "left out" or perhaps out of step with like-minded activists. I know the DPC as a group of intelligent, well-meaning people who want to deal with serious, life and death issues like changing US foreign policy in the Middle East, poverty, environment and climate, homelessness, immigration and health care. How does anyone prioritize all these serious challenges? (I'm hoping someone will post a summary of the DPC retreat here for all to see.)
Where I feel out of step with some activists is how we explain how and why American foreign and domestic policies have gone even more insane since 9/11. Global oil production and the US Dollar. For me, this is the Grand Unification Theory that runs through almost all the economic justice and foreign policy issues we face.
We're in the Middle East because corporate America is completely dependent upon foreign countries for 2/3 of all the oil and a lot of the money we use to keep our consumption machine running. Our domestic oil reserves, including ANWR and off-shore, are enough to fuel us for 4 years at today's rate. When that's gone, we'll be completely at the mercy of imports and alternatives. China's rapidly growing economy threatens to suck all the oil the Middle East can produce, and starve the US economy of a growing portion of its oil requirement. And to compound matters, the US is the most indebted country the world. We print money whenever we need it, and foreigners with their own economic problems hold billions in dollar denominated debt. Wall Street is a jungle of mysterious derivatives and opportunists. The economy has become dependent, seriously addicted to both foreign oil and easy credit. And what bothers me the most is that we're all to blame for these conditions,even the "greenies.". As Americans we consume quarter of the worlds energy, but we're only 5% of the worlds population. And activists, even with hybrids and green living, still consume far more energy than most world citizens. This is where I'm trying to focus my energy - reducing fossil energy use. I don't think of myself as a pessimist, but I do think that the United States is headed for a major economic downturn in the next decade, and this downturn will be driven primarily by fuel prices and dollar inflation. And this downturn will only exacerbate all the peace and justice issues I've already listed. I don't think carbon taxes and cap and trade programs really address the core problem of fuel consumption. I think we genuinely have to want to use less and be content with simpler lives. Virtue is its own reward. Our media show us how easy it is to borrow money and buy shiny manufactured things to make us happy. What we don't hear enough is how much fuel and fresh water it takes to make computer chips, or how much dirty coal is burned to power them through their short lives, or how it much it cost to ship all these gadgets from China, or how all the toxic materials leach into the landfills when that two year old cell phone is thrown away for a newer, shinier one.
So, where I'm headed is to buy less, spend less, drive less, make less and pay less taxes to the Military Media Industrial Complex. Starve that beast. Try to make do with what I have. In an economic downturn, we'll be doing the same things involuntarily , so we might as well get a jump on it now, and set an example in the process.
Thanks for blogging, Dreamer. I hope your blog and the Retreat will spark a lot more dialog on this website in the coming year! Artie