What is needed now,
more than ever, is leadership that steers us away from fear and
fosters greater confidence in the inherent goodness and ingenuity of
humanity.
President Jimmy Carter
President Carter goes on to
say that, in his opinion, the world is at a turning point. I share
that opinion.
In a recent interview
President Carter stated that the United States of America has become
the most warlike nation in the world. That statement in
incontrovertible. It is time that we ask why it is that our nation,
which we describe as the greatest nation on earth and a refuge for
the downtrodden, is that way.
Here, within our own
borders, we have millions who do not have adequate access to health
care, we have food insecurity, violence that we seem to be unable to
stop and a general lack of the comity that once held us together in
the darkest of times. It is not that we lack the resources to meet
these needs but that we lack the political will to make some hard
choices. The divide between the haves and have-nots grows wider by
the day. We know what to do about it but the inherent corruption in
our political system plays to the strongest and wealthiest.
We are the world's largest
manufacturer and vendor of the mightiest and most deadly weapons the
world has ever seen. Once we acquired the corporate power and
technology to develop them then it became necessary for there to be
markets for them to be purveyed.
In a country with less than
1/10th of the worlds population we consume on average 25%
of the world's resources but China is coming on strong. The United
States remains the only global superpower but that does not mean we
are invincible. We would do well to remember that our military
expenditures during the Cold War forced the Soviet Union into
bankruptcy. Depending on who you ask, we spend some 25% to 60% of
our budget in the defense department, a misnomer if ever there was
one. We have not been threatened in any significant manner since
WWII. 9/11 was a blow to the national psyche but from a military and
economic standpoint it did little damage. We have damaged ourselves
much worse than that tragedy did by ill advised military adventures
that accomplished nothing but to engender hatred for us around the
world and now we have insulted and disregarded our allies so that
they have decided they are better off without us.
We have also been one of the
big 3 in contributing to the greenhouse gasses that bring climate
change which has the ability, if left unchecked, to not only destroy
our nation but to bring to an end the human species. We are not
alone. China, Russia and India are also huge contributors to Climate
Change largely due to the use of coal as an industrial fuel and, to a
lesser extent, oil and natural gas. The disturbing thing is that we
possess, right now, the technology to bring those contributions to a
halt. We have to ask ourselves why it is that we do not take
advantage of those technologies to save an Earth for those who will
come after us to reach for horizons we have seen only dimly.
What should we do? The
obstacles seem insurmountable but, as with all things related to our
species, nothing is beyond our reach if we unite in the pursuit of a
common goal. It will take time and things will and must change. The
threat of Climate Change is here and present. We will not be able to
avoid it now that we have wasted the time for reasonable and painless
efforts but we must change our definition of reasonable if we are to
go forward.
Our political system is
corrupt to the point that nothing that is difficult or causes pain
can be done. The influence of money in our system is a cancer that
must be excised or we will have no hope of remaining a republic. We
will degrade into an autocracy that has classes that do not receive
the benefits of our wealth. We must bring to heel our warlike nature
and the machines that provide the instruments of death. This will
require a massive diplomatic effort which we are currently unable to
provide. For it to succeed we must have assurances that those
machines of war will not be required. (I know that many will dismiss
this out of hand but we will do this, one way or the other).
The world must invest in
those technologies that produce energy but do not pollute. There are
small nations and island nations that will require assistance which
should be available from the richer ones. Yes, the economic
disturbance will be significant if we dramatically curtail the
industries that rely on the production of obsolete products. Their
time has come and passed.
We are already seeing the
results of Climate Change in the migration of people. It is expected
to become tens of millions of people moving to find a place they can
survive. Water is becoming a scarce commodity in places that are
home to millions. We are likely to see much of the land that is our
bread basket become arid and non-productive. The Ogallala Aquifer
that waters much of the mid-west is being drawn down at rates that
are unsustainable. We must learn to use our food resources with less
waste. It is estimated that as much as 1/3rd of our food
production is wasted. To have such waste while people are starving
is inhumane.
Most importantly, we must
have leaders who are able to take us to a future in which cooperation
is the norm and strife becomes rare. My Take is that the human
species is at a crossroads where we must decide if we want to be
present for an unlimited future or fall into the geological history
where our existence is known only by the remains in the rock.
You may say that I'm a
dreamer
But I'm not the only
one.
John Lennon
