RE: [Futurework] Will Bush become a Shia Moslem? Threats and defenses....

[Karen Watters Cole]

Lawry, Ed, Brad:   I can only hope to be coherent here, not inspiring: we must make new alliances, as you say, that are not limited by borders or nationality, as everyone on FW surely agrees.  At the same time, we must develop the voice and language that reaches into comatose and closed minds.  This must be a peaceful process, seeking the best in ourselves.  And it will take great fortitude.   I’m feeling a little synchronicity here.  Currently I’m reading two books that hint at what we may need to be doing.  The first is Inheriting the Revolution by Joyce Appleby, about the sons and daughters of the American Revolution, the first generation after, who became our first entrepreneurs, breaking out of the colonial mold of their parents’ generation, grasping the possibilities set in motion by 1776 and the idealism and inspiration of the Constitution and later, Bill of Rights.  I can’t help but thinking that we must once again seize upon this energy and enthusiasm.  It is time for a new revolution.   The other is The Restorative Economy by Storm Cunningham, who insists that more money is being made today restoring, renovating and cleaning up messes from the past than is being made in new construction, old business models and revenue streams.  Given our environmental and population limitations, this seems like something we should be looking into as we try to create a sustainable future.   A new revolution would touch upon many cultural aspects, including religion, for in our history there was a quick religious fervor kindled after the Revolution, perhaps because faith and sacrifice had been so rewarded in secular (political) life, but certainly because the Constitution made freedom of religion much more possible.  But I’m not a religious scholar, just a seeker, so I’ll leave that for now.  Rather, it seems to me that we are on the verge of something like what were in the past called religious awakenings, but this time I think it will be much more ecumenical and inclusive, it will be a spiritual recognition that life here is too precious to be squandered needlessly, that it is time to take a deep breath and “go where we have never gone before” to introduce a new age.  We will not avoid wars in the future, but for our own sakes we need to stand for more peace and less war as we progress, not the other way around.   I am hopeful, as I’ve posted for discussion in the past, that this will be an age where Science and Religion are partners, not competitors, as EO Wilson and others have written, where the commonweal of all peoples are pursued and guarded collectively.  Others on this list can contribute from the literature that supports this, as does classical wisdom.  This makes me a hopeless idealist, I realize, in this “bottom line” materialistic world, and for all my moments of political cynicism, I remain a dedicated Pollyanna because of one simple thing: human nature.  We will not stay in the dark forever, we will not grow there, we dislike the confinement and the stench.  Human nature will seek the light, and that will manifest itself in the myriad systems and institutions we have created and have yet to conceive.   To go forward, we will have to bravely shed the destructive past and carry with us the best of those traditions that inspired us forward.  We must be creative, use language that heals and works towards consensus, not division. Evolutionary Economics, Evolutionary Politics, Evolutionary Culture.  We can be individual nations and cultures and still be a planet in concert. We must become shun those who preach otherwise.    Reflections nearing sunset after a warm afternoon of hard work in the garden. Thanks, all, for the engaging conversation.  Shalom, Karen LdB wrote: Thanks, Karen. I haven't given up hope, either, though I am feeling less optimistic about the US than ever before in my lifetime.  This country is being hurt -- hurting itself, as you so correctly put it -- in so many ways and so deeply that we think it will take one or two decades to undo the bulk of the damage, both domestically and internationally.  For those who want to make a positive difference in the world, this poses an immediate personal challenge: do we go on working on the long-term good projects that we have running, or do we divert energy into mitigating the harm currently being done?  If we ignore the current harm, we risk seeing the very platform upon which good things can happen being eroded. If we divert energy to try to hold the platform together, our beneficial projects suffer. What is the solution, then? Work harder at it, I suppose. But then we risk exhaustion. Form new and more expansive synergistic alliances with another...this is probably what we have to do.  Your thoughts would be very welcome. Cheers, Lawry _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework