There are two sides to the explanation for this imbalance. The explanation that comes from the US establishment that takes credit for feeding the world, is that the developed countries have more to eat because of their advanced technology, freedom and stability. A counter explanation is the glaring inequities in the distribution of the world’s resources are the direct result of modern colonialism.
We are told by our leaders and their opinion shapers that the causes of food insecurity are a lack of democracy, corrupt political leaders, internal violence, and climate change (even though they will not admit there is global warming). We should more appropriately ask what is creating the causes of food insecurity? What is creating climate change? What is creating internal strife and civil wars? Where does the corruption come from? What system allows for countries to become famine zones at the same time they are exporting food? What is democracy and what role does it play in today’s world? To find the answers to these questions and to understand the causes of much of the suffering on our planet today we must look beyond Iraq and the War on Terror. Seeing beyond Iraq offers humanity a great realization; that there are enough resources to meet the needs for all life on planet Earth and there is no cause for warring over resources or the destruction of wildlife habitats.
The disparity of resources or the wealth gap, has grown to proportions that can no longer be ignored or no longer tolerated. The people at the bottom of the food ladder are losing faith even in their own survival and are turning to suicide and terrorism as a way out. This disparity is not a natural growth of some Malthusian nightmare of over-population, but rather it has grown from the unnatural man made causes of an invading economic system. This system is empowered by a ‘might is right’ philosophy and driven by the need to constantly expand its sphere of influence and exploitation to survive. Some call it imperialism and others label it Globalization. President Bush defends it and blesses it, sanctioned by God and sends it on its way as economic development and salvation for the masses. The impoverished masses see Globalization as the source of their poverty, and responsible for placing the world into a classic colonial battle for resources.
The have-not nations are in a battle for their lives while the Bush administration is labeling them failed nations. He writes them off as a prime breeding grounds for nurturing terrorists. This logic gives Americans a simplistic and dangerously naive view of their world. While Bush saves America from terrorism, his administration and their corporate cabal are taking control of the world’s resources.
Millions of people in the world view the US War on Terror as a front for US colonization of the third world. This negative opinion sees the US as the alpha male, the top dog of the privileged consumptive world, rapaciously consuming the world not in tiny bites but in big gulps. Americans have been protected from negative world opinion by a biased corporate media. But on September 11th the wake up call came. There are people in the world that do not like us, they see us as the oppressors and the reason for their deadly poverty. The friction worsens when an honest desire to find out why we are hated is not pursued. To explain away these attacks as acts of jealousy of our freedom is to deny any responsibility for the conditions of the world.
There is a disconnect between what Americans think is going on and what is actually happening. The average US citizen believes the empire grows by friendly means, we are the generous ones spreading economic opportunity to the masses. The truth is just the opposite. The world is watching US imperialism being spread by political assassinations, back room deals, poverty and war.
The masses of the world know what is going on because they are bearing the brunt of the ill results of the US sponsored Market Economy. Meanwhile Americans are bearing the results of rebellion both at home and abroad. When Americans do become aware of what is going on in the world it shows up in protests against the policies of a corrupted government. We see the flag of guilt beginning to wave when the administration labels the protests to their policies as being anti-American, and in support of the terrorists. This makes it easy to properly place the blame for the ills of the world - the Bush administration and the secret societies that rule the world.
Who hi-jacked America on 9/11? Was it Osama Bin Laden or did Bush hi-jack the US? Is this what a coup feels like?
Are the citizens of the US allowing Bush to take us to war permanently, and erode our civil liberties because we are afraid of a man in a cave with a cell phone? Why are we being told we need to live in a police state for our own security? We have fallen into a paranoid state founded on enormous threats created by pseudo experts that parade on television charts on: anthrax, small pox, dirty bombs, smart bombs, and weapons of mass destruction. Now Bush talks about using nuclear weapons in the War on Terror, this does not make me feel more secure, are you? Without an investigation of our government how can we know if they are genuine threats or a fabricated smokescreen to continue the expansion of American empire. Investigate 9/11!
A New World or the New World Order?
Our attitude toward life determines what kind of a society we live in. Will our opinions and decisions that steer our lives come from fear or turst? Fear breeds the insecurity that the New World Order requires. The results are: war, hoarding and an attitude of lack. There is a New World founded on trust which brings forth feelings of security, peace, and sharing and an attitude of abundance. These two attitudes (fear and trust) are at the core of the pro and anti- war movements in the world today. Will trust win out over fear? Some of us are so insecure that we grant permission to wage war to extract resources that sustain a life-style at the expense of others. Bad Karma! These fears are all symptoms of lack and the absurdity of the hoarding mind is rising in our society to a cruel and merciless end. It is summed up with this one opinion.
“I don’t want to give my money to the government because they give it away to 22 yr old single mothers.”
Think for a moment about how sad that statement is. This anti-entitlement opinion was said by a caller on a radio talk show and it led me to realize just how far we had gone in our hoarding attitude. No social programs or human services, no sympathy for fellow human beings. How narrow minded is this point of view? I had to know where this way of thinking comes from? So I have traced the lineage and development of this thinking and touch upon it in this book. But the burning question for me is; which side of society will win out, which side of our humanity will dominate? Can society overcome its fear of not having enough? I know it can happen, I have lived in a society of benevolent abundance, it is in the human soul, in the heart of being an American, in our core values.
To move mountains, and we must, our minds call upon faith. To have faith the mind moves beyond logic. Logic looks out on the world and sees darkness, gloom, a world with little hope. The lessoning of our liberty, the starving masses, escalating war, are all seen with a logical eye. The eye of faith sees a bigger world. It sees a world where millions of people around the world marched for a world without war, it sees alternative energies blossoming, it sees the spirit of life gaining force, it sees a flower growing in a crack of pavement in the inner city. I have faith that humanity will overcome its challenges. The greater the challenge the sweeter the victory.
This book provides information on some of the key facets in the issues that are shaping our world; how we are affected and what are some proven solutions to the dilemmas they cause. We are all woven together into a grand tapestry and like it or not everyone has an effect on everyone else. Every nation, every tribe, every person has to make the decision as to what kind of a society the world will live in. Americans can no longer ignore the fact that they are a part of a larger whole; that they are a part of the world. This is unavoidable. We must understand where we are in the web of life so we can make the best decisions as to where we are going. These are the things that are beyond the war in Iraq.
Life on planet Earth is at an historical crossroad. Our black and white future pits the artificial fossil-fuel world of the oiligarchy: chemical, oil, wood, and synthetic medicines against the very real sustainable resource world. The oiligarchy is desperately trying to keep control of an empire that thrives on a false economy that more and more people know is killing our planet. But the visionaries of our times are heralding new technologies that can save the world from any disasters and a new way of thinking can save the world from any wars.
Now is the time to apply the solutions for the survival of our planet. We can foster a world where animals do not go extinct, where indigenous cultures thrive, where people are seen as being a part of a greater whole, where we remember the wisdom of our ancestors. It is a blessing to be on this Earth and it is time for the stewards of the planet to take their rightful place of power.
The duty of the self proclaimed light worker is to hold the light, keep the faith, while working with the activists to organize the people who are bringing forth: the technologies, the social structure, the new governments, the renewed habitats and all that is needed to guarantee life’s future; free from war, free from hoarding and greed, free from arrogance and cruelty, free from wasteful consumption of non-renewable resources. The leaders for this rescue mission have a broad worldview from which they can create the imaginative campaigns, the inspirations, the guidance that will lead us all with humility toward the brightest future possible. We have had such leaders to show us the way in our past and in the spirit of Gandhi, King, Eleanor Roosevelt, and John Lennon the people will be victorious.
So what are the agents of change for these times and where do we put forth our best effort so that our energy is not wasted. Where is the wisdom to pick the right battles? It rests inside each and every one of us. This book is written in the spirit of awakenning the spirit of hope, faith, and celebration that a New World brings. But first we must be aware of our world; our minds must form opinion form the broadest world view possible. Therefore, in this book we will learn about the many facets of Globalization, how they are entering and affecting our lives, and what solutions we have to remedy our common problems. This book is not meant to scare or frighten, there is enough fear in the world, it is meant to give you a broader awareness of your world and to prompt you the reader to act on our common destiny, to advance our society to match our advanced technologies. It is not enough to know what we are fighting against, it is even more important to envision what we are working for. We are living in an enlightened world where humans can go to the moon, and yet we still kill each other in wars. Now is the time to make war obsolete before the technologies of war annihilate us. We all hold a piece of the puzzle for this New World beyond war lets put the puzzle together. I hold hope for humanity to co-create a bright world made from vision not blind emotion.
Chapter 2
Hunger is a revealing way to measure the human condition and our survival on this planet. In our world today, meeting the most basic human need, the need for food, presents a massive problem, not because of lack or resources but from a system that sees markets as being more important than people or the environment. UNICEF reports that 842 million of us are food insecure and undernourished. On the other end of the food distribution chain the developed nations are witnessing a growing problem with obesity. Could this be a signal that the current economic system is creating an imbalance in the world’s resources?