Everything is Connected
Congressman John Lewis / Civil Rights Activist
Everything is connected. Every insect, animal, and plant is connected. Every slithering, crawling, walking, swimming, flying, floating, climbing, growing thing is connected. It is all one grand symbiotic dance of intention and survival. We humans, be it by default or design, find ourselves at the top of this ladder of life. A truly awesome experience and responsibility.
This is the first blog entry associated with Radical Urge, an online store offering imprinted apparel highlighting social and cultural issues from a progressive liberal perspective. The purpose of this blog is to shine a light on topics that are timely and pertinent to the current social and cultural climate in which we live and interact on a daily basis. The occasional “poking fun” may occur but if that happens then they were probably asking for it.
At the core of the Liberal perspective is compassion. Compassion for the planet upon which grow the plants that give us shade and shelter, that nourish and sustain us and hold in place the soil upon which we walk. Compassion for us humans….the stewards of this stunningly beautiful blue dot in fixed orbit around a gigantic power station.
Inherent in this compassionate perspective is justice; justice for the underserved, overlooked, and neglected; justice for a planet whose original peoples and resources deserve more than an arrogant glance. Respectful justice for the sacred places of planet earth those stately temples of nature that render speechless even the most verbose among us. (This is where I make a nimble left turn…hang on.) The recent reductions in the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments are prime examples of boneheaded disregard for the lands and artifacts of America’s original peoples. The precious resource of this land is the land itself; the art and beauty and history of it.
Nowadays so much of what has been accomplished for the betterment of humankind and the planet is being disrupted by those with a lack of vision and curiosity. The authoritarian creep has begun (that has a double entendre ring to it). Amazingly (or maybe not so amazingly) it is in the United States where this “turning back the clock of progress” is taking place. The rollback of climate initiatives, the re-emergence of government approved racism, isolationist policies on trade and immigration in an increasingly globalized world community are modern day hallmarks of a government in chaos.( Wow….that sounds really heavy….perhaps there should be some light-hearted anecdote here. I’ll work on it.)
Common sense, in many instances (think gun control, living wage, healthcare, pay equity) to name but a few, has given way to knee jerk uninformed reactions by many of the electorate and blatant political opportunism by the elected. Of course this isn’t a new paradigm. It is a well-worn path that many a good sojourner of truth has walked down time and time again in the name of social justice. The worldwide issues of Climate Change, LGBTQIA Rights, Racial Injustice, Gender Inequality, Immigration, Civil Rights, Living Wage, Women’s Rights and Empowerment, Peace Initiatives and Human Rights are being challenged by a generation declaring, why not change, and why not now.
Many countries are confronted with racial and tribal conflicts that confound the notion of “live and let live”. These internal conflicts have spawned an International refuge crisis that has propagated fear where compassion should reign supreme. The financial and logistical burden posed by those fleeing conflict are often overwhelming to the “unintended” host countries and the ensuing chaos exasperates an already tenuous situation. NGO’s can provide much needed advice and support when allowed to step in and do so. For those in the position to make decisions, compassion should rule the day, if for no other reason, than the realization that it could very well be one’s own family crawling ashore another nation seeking food and shelter.
Global Warming has created its own cast of climate refugees, ranging from the island nation of Kiribati just south of the equator in the geographic region of Oceania to indigenous peoples in the United States, Latin and South America, Europe and Africa. This is according to the January 2017 “Snapshot of Climate Change Impacts” on the United States EPA website. (It is worth mentioning here that the current EPA website makes no mention of Climate Change.) As is often the case in events of social upheaval it is the impoverished who are most severely impacted. This comes as no surprise considering that those earning less than $1.25 per day number about 1.4 billion and comprise one fifth of the world’s population. There is no international infrastructure for dealing with Climate Refugees. In fact, the United Nations does not consider the effects of Global Warming as a legitimate reason for refugee status.
All over the World our oceans, rivers and landfills are filling up with plastic. Plastics are made from oil. Sixty three billion gallons of oil are used every year to supply just the United States alone with plastic water bottles of which about 90% are used one time. This information comes from a wonderful documentary, A Plastic Ocean by Craig Leeson.
The beginning of change is awareness. This Website and Blog seeks to contribute to an ever expanding awareness of the aforementioned social and cultural issues. All is not lost. There are voices of reason and compassion addressing these timely topics; those who foresee a world where empathy and inclusion overcome fear and isolation.
The future and the past both exist in the ever present now. It is compassion for the human condition and for the moment, this singular place in time where one can forget one’s self allowing thought, intention and inspiration to flourish unbridled by doubt that humankinds’ true nature resides. It is in this place that the evolution of revolution happens.
