“At the root cause of our problems is the failure to recognize
that Independence is a man-made concept. The truth of our reality is that
everything is connected to everything and therefore, everything impacts
everything. Every action impacts the whole. Mobilized is firmly rooted in
this natural law.” Chuck Woolery
Every day is a new story of systematic breakdown, of tragedy, a
shooting, a broken system, the election of an incompetent
sociopath, a social media fiasco, or media
companies at war with each other. It’s a
constant struggle to keep up with it all.
We feel like screaming from the roof “What the F%&K is
going on here?” Or, we can go down the
rabbit hole and discover the root cause–the epicenter of most of our inherent,
continual, and seemingly unsolvable problems.
What follows is a blog Mobilized released a few years earlier. It is even more relevant now. Some edits
have been made and a few recently relevant events added. Please share it with others if you
find it useful
The Age of Consequences of Systematic Failure: Our existing
situations are not problems. They are Consequences
By Chuck Woolery, Former Chair, United Nations Assn., Council of
Organizations (not the TV host!) and Steven Jay, Creative Director, Mobilized
Summary: After the Great Depression and the end of
WWII the general sense of the common good generated by these global calamities
gradually disappeared from public discussion. With the exception of some civil
rights activities that did yield important civil progress things have gotten worse. And most agee, things are going to worsen more, before they get better. This is an examination into why things have gotten worse. And how we must change to change things for the better.
America’s success in the world and our fear of Communism helped
fuel individualism, greed, and selfishness (the illusion of individual
separation from the whole). This largely un-examined mindset eclipsed the
‘united we stand’ American character. It was an aberration of logic,
compassion, and empathy that basically steamrolled American politics into the
train wreck we have today. Recently, technology greatly accelerated this
dysfunctional trend. A trend that had been well established by a largely unregulated
capitalist system that had spread the dangerous meme of independence globally
for the past few decades.
The tragic and lethal consequences are now around us everywhere in
the US and abroad. And instead of
recognizing our collective mental flaw that got us here, and confronting it,
many people have doubled down on their narratives. They want to make America Great Again or finance a Green New Deal to bring back the comforts, prosperous conditions, and selfish culture that tragically
nurtured our disconnect from reality. The fundamental truth that “United We
Stand” - still stands. And divided we are going to fall. This time it will be a hard fall. One we may
not recover from.
·
Trump is not the problem. He’s a consequence. …
·
Climate change isn’t the problem. It’s a consequence.
·
Unprecedented obesity rates, opioid deaths, mass shootings, and
suicide rates are not health emergencies. They are consequences.
·
Flint, Michigan’s contaminated water, Honeybees’ Colony Collapse
Disorder, Florida’s red tide... these are not environmental problems. They’re
consequences.
·
The continuing violence in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Syria are all
consequences.
·
The Russian/Ukraine dilemma threatening nuclear Armageddon or the
use of biological/chemical weapons with the potential to spark a hot World War III.
·
Radical extremism, WMD proliferation, and China/Russian cyber hacks
are now top national security threats. Again, the consequences of a poorly engineered global governance system.
·
Growing economic inequality, fake news, and loss of privacy are
not dilemmas.
They are all consequences.
·
These, and most of the other problems we are now encountering at a breakneck pace in newspapers and in our lives are the inevitable consequences
of our thinking and actions. They were
not however inevitable.
They are the result of our
collective failure to do what we know is needed to prevent such problems.
“Human behavior is the
greatest threat to human existence"
Dr. Monty G. Marshall
All Americans have solemnly pledged dozens, if not hundreds of
times, “Liberty and Justice for all”. But our desire for comfort, wealth,
distractions, popularity, and freedom comes with all too real life and death
consequences.
Americans love freedom. It is all we really have. But freedom also comes with
consequences. Some freedoms have
arguably been worth the cost of hundreds of thousands of American lives and
trillions of our tax dollars. But it has been our overindulgence in freedom
without the responsibility that is the fundamental cause of our (and the world’s)
growing list of profoundly dangerous, destructive, unhealthy, increasingly
lethal, and persistent consequences. Unsustainable consequences were
predictable and often warned about. Costly
consequences that were, and remain, related to a simple conceptual flaw within
our mental calculations.
We believe and then act out of that belief that we are
independent. We are not. Yet, as Americans, we reinforce that
sentiment every 4th of July. In reality, it is only a concept that doesn’t exist anywhere in the known universe. And it has zero accurate applications here on
earth. Our Declaration of Independence
should have been titled the Declaration
of Political Separation. Not as
catchy! But powerfully accurate.
It has been and remains our unyielding faith in, allegiance to,
and reflexive defense of this flawed human principle that has mentally
disconnected us from much of our personal, civil, environmental, social, health,
and economic responsibilities. Like Neo in the Matrix, we all sense something
isn’t right… but can’t see the truth;
Every aspect of our lives is dependent on other people, the
environment, our nation’s laws, other nation’s laws, and most importantly, the
“Laws of Nature and Nature’s God” which is expressed in the first paragraph of
the Declaration of Independence.
“Everything is connected, everything is interdependent, so
everything is vulnerable”... “this has to be a more than whole of government, a
more than whole of nation [action]. It really has to be a global effort.” CISA (the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security
Agency) Director Jen Easterly
(Oct. 29, 2021)
The growing mass of undesirable consequences that threaten our
freedom, security, and prosperity were as inevitable as they were unintentional.
But they are only self-evident when we are honest with ourselves about reality.
Our Founding Fathers understood reality as “Truths to be Self-Evident”
based on the “Laws of Nature and Nature’s God”. Their catastrophic error was
failing to codify this wisdom into their new government blueprint — the U.S.
Constitution. The consequence was a civil war that killed more Americans than
all the wars our nation has fought in since then, combined. And some of those
consequences remain with us today.
Far more Americans will die from preventable causes in the years
ahead related to global factors SUCH AS terrorism, pandemics, climate change,
wars, and poverty because the systems and structures that our Constitution
protects today on both the national and international levels still fail to
codify the wisdom of “liberty and justice for all” in a world of irrefutable
and irreversible interdependence.
Interdependence is accelerating due to the advances in technology that
are accelerating exponentially. During
the same time, our government’s capacity for change (or adaptation to change)
has virtually stopped. And in some
areas, it has actually reversed.
Even before Trump was elected a survey of US national security
experts put our own nation’s “government dysfunction” as the second greatest
threat to our national security. Just
behind terrorism. It was higher than,
China, Russia, Iran, N. Korea, and Climate Change. Pandemics were not on the list.
The illusion of Independence underlies most of our short-term thinking,
long-term planning, slow policymaking, and reactive actions.
We assume without question our personal, budgetary, institutional,
and national independence. The endless war against terrorism (a tactic that
cannot be defeated) has only accelerated our loss of freedoms (including
privacy) and security. Our modern world of unprecedented and increasingly
powerful, affordable, and ubiquitous technological capacity for WMD creation –
and the increasing difficulty in accurately attributing the identity of the
attacker, put everything increasingly at risk.
Imagine the loss of lives, freedom, and prosperity from a
bioterrorist attack or global pandemic far worse than Covid19 or the 1918 Flu
epidemic. Unlike nuclear war, such a
biosecurity threat is inevitable. Yet we remain lethally unprepared for a
catastrophe that will NEGATIVELY affect every system and structure in our
bodies, our homes, our economies, and the world.
We have based our policies on our illusion of independence - instead of obeying
nature’s fundamental principles that are used in science and technology to
engineer things that work like magic.
Medicine, instant global communications, electrical appliances, and tools
that work to save and protect life, while making our lives more comfortable,
profitable, and secure.
It is our flawed human assumption of independence that leads us to abuse or misuse many of these amazing science and technology tools -- that results
in the creation and exacerbation of many of our current health and
environmental problems. Sometimes with
catastrophic results. But easily preventable
problems if we had followed the laws of nature and nature’s God.
If
you doubt this read the preamble of the U.S. Constitution. As you do, offer a school grade to each of
the five clearly stated intentions to form “a more perfect Union.”
Then
consider the fact that Abraham Lincoln wrote that our “Declaration of
Independence” is our “Apple of Gold” and our “Constitution” is its ‘frame of
silver’. Yet our elected officials swear
an oath to protect the Constitution believing without reservation that it will
protect our freedoms and security. How’s
that working out?
Now imagine a government that is engineered on the fundamental principles
offered in the Declaration of Independence. A government that … soundly
embraces and promotes the responsibility of inclusion with ‘liberty and justice
for all’, globally.
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Some have asserted that the primary fundamental principle in both
the laws of nature and nature’s God is justice. Note that the foundation of
every major religion is the Golden Rule.
To do unto others as you would have them do to you. Anyone experiencing an injustice doesn’t need
to be a religious believer to understand the supreme value of this. Our US Justice Department offers two quotes
engraved in its exterior stone.
“Justice is found in the rights bestowed by nature upon man.
Liberty is maintained in security of justice.” And “Justice is the great interest of man on earth. Wherever her
temple stands, there is a foundation for social security, general happiness and
the improvement and progress of our race.”
Yet our federal (and lower) systems and structures of justice are
profoundly unjust. They are in fact “legal” systems in which it is better to be
guilty and rich than innocent and poor. Many of our laws are simply unjust. And unacceptable injustices can also be found
in our nation’s economic, electoral, education, healthcare, agriculture,
military, foreign policy, and intelligence systems.
Is it really any wonder that things don’t work, that Trump has so
many followers, wars persist, the environment is trashed, and our society is
ailing?
Every time I witness another failing in our nation, a phrase I heard last year
comes to mind; “How healthy can we be if
we are well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society?” We are afflicted with a societal
mental illness; Before Covid, the Surgeon
General rated ‘loneliness” as our nation’s greatest health risk. Our mind has the capacity to believe
anything! Literally, anything. We don’t even do what we know we should. The spread of fake news and conspiracy theories
are just consequences of a flawed and sometimes corrupt government system. This should all be stunningly clear…as with
our inappropriate worship of independence and freedom without responsibility or
virtue.
Again. Every system and
structure in our body, our house, our environment, and our world is
interconnected and interdependent. And
all depend on the health and sustainable functioning of a just world order. Our mind’s illusion of independence …
disconnects us from our vital needs of love, a safe community, healthy food, and
functional relationships. These vital
things we have largely taken for granted. Thus we have insufficient respect for the natural
systems that maintain our planet’s capacity for sustaining all life, human
health, future prosperity, and ultimately our species' survival.
There is no guarantee … our nation will last.
The Federalists worried that hostile nations could exploit any
domestic divisions. George Washington warned in his farewell address that
partisan “factions” could rip the country apart. James Madison feared that
liberty could be lost by the “gradual and silent encroachments of those in
power.” John Adams said, “There never was a democracy yet, that did not commit
suicide”. But, many in our Republic praise democracy, and rightfully blame both
parties that are dominating our flawed two-party system that persistently
delivers the consequences we are suffering today.
Some are proposing the creation of a “People’s Party”. This puts too much promise in the will of the masses. It offers a platform based on creative progressive or conservative ideas that are often devoid of fundamental principles. In other words – they would be engineering a political party that
relies on creative and popular proposals that could win a majority. Yet completely incapable of transforming the
profound flaws in our current system and structures at either the national or
international levels.
FACT: Earth has an
expiration date. And we the American people (and probably most of humanity)
still reflect the opinion offered in the second paragraph of their Declaration
of Independence. It states “accordingly
all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while
Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which
they are accustomed.” That’s bad!
But the tragic news is that the suffering that’s coming in our age
of Consequences may be so great that our species may expire long, long before
Earth. Given the acceleration of technology (WMD proliferation and AI) already
knocking on our door, the majority of Americans or others in the world may not
even get the chance to suffer the full effects of climate change. Due to a
multiplicity of factors, time is NOT on our side.
If you are seeking the most practical action to
take, a ‘justice for all’ system it is obvious that it would not be welcomed
immediately by most policymakers or political parties. Such a goal would require the legal protection
of inalienable human rights for all and our environment with the force of law
(ie the Rule of Law: laws made and
enforced by a democratic process, applied equally to all, and only used to
protect human rights and the environment.
The only other option is what we
have now. The law of force. This is where the protection of national
sovereignty is more important than protecting human rights or the
environment. The working definition of
‘national sovereignty (another human-created concept using international law as it
exists today with the UN) is the right of any nation to do anything it wants,
to anyone it wants, anytime it wants within its own borders. And, if it has nuclear weapons, it can do
these things anywhere it believes it can get away with it. Again, this is what we have now. An irresponsible and unaccountable use of
force prioritizing national interests which tends to accelerate chaos. Chaos that often leads to refugees, the loss of freedoms, lives, prosperity,
and our planet’s vital life support system.
There is a third option. It
would require the funding of those rights by the force of political will. President Roosevelt offered the basics in his
four freedoms speech; freedom of speech and worship, and freedom from want and
… fear.” Eleanor Roosevelt led the
passage of a detailed list known as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Like our nation’s Bill of Rights on steroids-
but with no means of government enforcement.
Seven decades ago (December 10, 1948) this Declaration was offered in
the context of world security. Those who had experienced World War II, the
holocaust, and a new weapon that could vaporize 100,000 people in a second
understood the essentials of ‘justice for all’ and these fundamental human
rights. But the UN’s lack of democratic
power left it useless in this context leaving states' rights above human
rights. This structural flaw in the UN
resembles the original flaw in the US Constitution that led to our catastrophic
Civil War.
What are some of UDHRs rights intended as a foundation for peace? Universal access to clean water, safe
sanitation, adequate food, access to basic health services, basic education,
and an equal opportunity to earn a living wage are good starters.
Fortuitously, the fastest, most affordable, practical, and
effective means of maximizing this movement of ‘Liberty and Justice for all”
(both here and abroad thus laying the foundation for maximizing humanity's
freedom and security globally) is the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These have already been agreed on by every
nation in 2015 to be achieved by the year 2030.
It’s obvious that we will not get an enforceable Global Bill of
Rights any time soon. But we could virtually enforce most essential human
rights by funding the SDGs. The growing array of global threats to our freedom
and security demands that we do this as rapidly as possible.
WARNING! We have been
repeatedly warned of the consequences of failing in prioritizing this human
security approach.
In 1980 a bipartisan
Presidential Commission concluded “In the final analysis, unless Americans -- as citizens of an
increasingly interdependent world -- place far higher priority on overcoming
world hunger, its effects will no longer remain remote or unfamiliar. Nor can
we wait until we reach the brink of the precipice; the major actions required
do not lend themselves to crisis planning, patchwork management, or emergency
financing... The hour is late. Age-old forces of poverty, disease, inequity,
and hunger continue to challenge the world. Our humanity demands that we act
upon these challenges now...” Presidential Commission on World Hunger, 1980.
Its commissioners specifically
warned ...“The most potentially explosive force in the world today is the
frustrated desire of poor people to attain a decent standard of living. The
anger, despair, and often hatred that result represent real and persistent
threats to international order… Neither the cost to national security of
allowing malnutrition to spread nor the gain to be derived by a genuine effort
to resolve the problem can be predicted or measured in any precise,
mathematical way. Nor can monetary value be placed on avoiding the chaos that
will ensue unless the United States and the rest of the world begin to develop
a common institutional framework for meeting such other critical global
threats… Calculable or not, however, this combination of problems now threatens
the national security of all countries just as surely as advancing armies or
nuclear arsenals.”
They also stated “that promoting
economic development in general, and overcoming hunger in particular, are tasks
far more critical to the U.S. national security than most policymakers
acknowledge or even believe. Since the advent of nuclear weapons, most
Americans have been conditioned to equate national security with the strength
of strategic military forces. The Commission considers this prevailing belief
to be a simplistic illusion. Armed might represents merely the physical aspect
of national security. Military force is ultimately useless in the absence of
the global security that only coordinated international progress toward social
justice can bring.”
In 1990 the nations of the world (including the US) agreed on
funding a less ambitious but measurable, achievable, and affordable goals for
the year 2000. This was World Summit for
Children. Even though all governments at
the time signed a pledge to “make the resources available” to meet these goals,
few were fully funded or achieved.
In 2000 another more ambitious set of “Millennium Development
Goals” was set for the year 2015. These
were also shorted. Contributing to the
wars, terrorism, climate change, refugees, famines, revolutions, state
failures, infectious diseases, international crime, and genocides we’ve seen
around the world and hounding us today.
Not as separate issues! But as
interdependent consequence.
If we fail this time in achieving the SDGs the deteriorating
global conditions may overwhelm any chance of us or our children setting things
right.
The discouraging news would appear to be that achieving these 17 goals would
cost trillions. And especially after
Covid’s systemic costs, most governments have no money to spare.
The exciting news is that they don’t need to. Governments just need the political will to
freeze and seize a good portion of the estimated $32 trillion dollars that has
been stashed in offshore bank accounts for years. Thousands of accounts obtained by kleptocrats (dictators), oligarchs (their
cronies), criminal cartels (drugs, guns, sex, hackers), violent extremist
groups (terrorists, white supremacists...), and the extreme wealthy (avoiding
taxes). Most of these ill-gotten
gains...should have been going to basic government services. Now they can be devoted to basic human rights
and environmental protection.
The political will could be generated if the general public is
aware that their nation’s security and cherished freedoms depend as much on
meeting the SDGs as they do on more military spending or a new “Space Force”.
This level of political will in the US could be
achieved by progressives working together. With their millions of members
personally petitioning their own Members of Congress with loving persistence. This strategy and daily tactic is
infinitely more powerful than voting every 2 or 4 years, protesting, or
counter-protesting. If the peace, environment, and economic/social justice
movements and their thousands of organizations came together to focus on one
piece of legislation on all 435 House members, 100 Senators, and anyone
running for these offices, our currently dysfunctional Congress
could finally prove useful. And Americans
would finally have a government of “We the people” “by the people, for the
people” with “a new birth of freedom” with “liberty and justice for all” that
“shall not perish from this earth.”
In the long run (if we have one) it truly doesn’t matter who is in
office or what party they represent. If
fundamental principles are codified into laws, budgets, and all government
action we could have the world we know is possible. On earth, as it is in heaven. A sustainable global garden of eating.
Given the multiple threats we face as individuals, nations, and a
species it must be clear that few threats can be stopped with military power. And, many are exacerbated by its unprincipled
use.
Our primary goal as voters and citizens must be to recognize our global
interdependence as the human race and the profound value of ensuring “liberty
and justice for all”. Make it your
personal goal to educate your policymakers on this fundamental reality and act
as though your life and your children’s future freedoms and security depend on
it.
Connect the dots (everything is connected). See the web of life
(all systems and structures are interdependent). Work for justice (always and for
all) …or prepare for the consequences (which will inevitably happen and be
increasingly catastrophic).
Chuck Woolery, Former Chair, United Nations Association, Council of
Organizations
Steven Jay, Founder and Creative Director, Mobilized.news
