Open Letters

Without changing the basic structures of our political and economic system, the best we can hope for is the occasional successful defense of some land or right we hold dear.

Fundamental structures, such as the details of the tax laws, create our society far more than we realize. The fact that corporations are not required by law to be socially and environmentally responsible; the winner take all system of elections; the role of money in politics, and all the other basic assumptions and postulates of the system, make the current problems a logical result of the structure as it stands.

Apple trees grow apples. Orange trees grow oranges. If the fruit we are getting is environmental destruction and political shortsightedness and corruption, what good does it do to criticize the fruit, if the tree doesn't change.

In games theory the rules of the game determine the outcome, for example games which depend on strength are won by the strong.

I know how difficult it is to contemplate fundamental changes, but a Progressive Coalition of all progressive organizations could take power in the same way the Christian Coalition has taken power. It can be done, it has been done, and it has to be done if we want to create the world we envision.

Many of you are truly nice people to be around. In your face to face encounters you most often seem to increase the love in the world. Now I want to ask you to become more conscious of your indirect relationships.

As a result of the products you buy, the food you eat, the resources you use, you have a very large network of relationships with people and animals you have never met, lands and waters you have never seen.

Although I am sure that you would nevcr knowingly do it, unless you are living in a very unusual way, your lifestyle choices are poisoning people around the world and creating tremendous suffering for animals and the environment. Of course there is no perfection, and in being alive we inevitably need to use some resources, but especially as Americans we have a lot of choices. Let's do our best to minimize the suffering we cause.

The household chemicals you use, the way the foods you eat are grown, the way the animals you eat are treated, the amount of water used to wash a dish, whether a sponge or paper towel is used to wipe up a spill, all these small, seemingly inconsequential daily choices effect the world, and all these you are responsible for.

It came from somewhere, it is going to somewhere, and in the process of it's lifecycle a lot of energy will be used, and that had consequences.

Ask yourself, what kind of world do I want to create, and realize that, knowingly or unknowingly, you are creating. In my opinion, less is more, simple is healthy.

It's a lot to think about the implications and consequences of the smallest details of daily life, but small details multiplied by 300 million Americans create large problems. How many coffee cups in the trash, how many plastic bags, ...

Every resource we use carries with it a world of consequences. Global warming begins at home. Environmental poisoning begins at home, and so on and on.

Political correctness became a subject of caricature and ridicule, and there was some truth to the image of the angry, anal, holier than thou lefty, but this isn't about political correctness.

It's about love and compassion for all beings, not just the ones in front of our eyes.

It's about taking responsibility for the consequences of our actions.

It's about being more and more conscious,
and after all,
isn't that what spirituality and personal growth are all about?