Blog 6

Global Warming

Michelle Tracy is right, global warming should be a priority for the US National Government. The US Environmental Protection Agency was established 40 years ago with this purpose: "The EPA was assigned the daunting task of repairing the damage already done to the natural environment and to establish new criteria to guide Americans in making a cleaner environment a reality." Well, 40 years later we are facing a global warming crisis, and we all know by now that the US is a major contributor of greenhouse gases.
The EPA, under a new Administration has finally published a report acknowledging what the rest of the world already knew, that greenhouse gases are not only causing great damage to the environment, but endengering the health of the human race. The report along with Obama's comitment to addressing the issue will have an impact on the future health of the planet, but it will be our job as its inhabitants to do everything we can on its behalf, this includes pressuring our leaders in government to make the necesary adjustments to policy. The corporate sector has had control, but we've entered a new cycle and people all over the world are poised to take responsibility.
Michelle gave us some ideas on her post as to what we can do, and there are many more small changes we can make in our daily lives that can have an enormous effect on the amount of pollution we generate. Here is a link to ideas from the EPA. The agency is also encouraging the public to submit comments.
This is a great opportunity to let our government officials know what we want from them.

The Role of Government in the Modern American Reality

A corporate financial state has replaced true democracy in America. The mass consciousness is being controlled by a corporate state. Thanks to a slow and steady flow of propaganda, the American people has become desensitized, turning a blind eye to the decisions our government makes on our behalf. From ecology to war, to the unrealistic democratic process we have settled for. The concept of checks and balances, which is one of the principles of democracy, has been replaced by the uncontrollable need to consume, freedom of choice reduced to mimicking the images fed to us via mass media, and with the blessing and support of our "elected" government. We went to war and will continue to wage war on the basis of fear. We are so controlled by fear that we allow our government to inflict torture, to kill children and innocent people in their own homes. We are willing to sacrifice basic civil liberties granted to us by the Constitution in the name of safety. Quoting Benjamin Franklyn: "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety" and this is happening in America. Prime example is the absurdity of the so-called war on drugs. After the Supreme Court ruled that roadside drug checkpoints are unconstitutional, we now have immigration checkpoints manned by members of the National Guard and Border Patrol, which means that if you're driving within 100 miles of the Canada or Mexican border, you can be stopped and searched, and you don't have to carry a significant amount of any controlled substance to be labeled a criminal and put in jail. United States has the highest documented rate of incarceration rate in the world and it has quadrupled in recent decades because of mandated sentences related to drug charges. In the name of safety we allow the government to spy on us, they can wiretap our conversations, install cameras anywhere they want and in the works is a national ID card. Granted, the new administration has the intention of reversing some of the laws implemented by the former President, and has already done so in some instances, but it is also allowing the corporate machine to continue propagating the illusion of freedom and power. We are so fearful of losing the lifestyle we have been instructed to embrace, that we're willing to give our hard earned money to the banks that caused the economic problems we're now facing. Because without credit we can't buy the things that makes us better and happier, according to the mandates of the mighty capitalist system we've come to depend on.
It is tragic that a first world nation, which calls itself free is unable to provide any guarantee to its citizens; that 20% of them live under the poverty level; that they don't have access to decent or affordable healthcare (forget about free). The only guarantee the American people have is the opportunity to compete against each other for work, money, and status.
Unless the American people regain the ability to think for ourselves and realize that ownership and domination are not really rewards, and that we're capable and responsible of respecting and accepting one another as citizens of the planet earth, the social justice and the freedom on which this nation was supposedly founded, will continue to be an illusion.