If Wilma strengthens to Hurricane force, it is unlikely that we'll see another Katrina or Rita, but for an area already reeling from Nature's wrath, this last storm in a record equalling season so far does not bode well.
I believe it is serious events of this nature, from nature herself, which compell us as a society away from meaningless destractions and wasteful, meaningless consumption. We are a people on a planet obsessed with things, with stuff, none of which matters. The basic things that matter are health, survival, peace, and having the energy to sustain and maintain our communities. All of these are very much under threat today.
Politically, the moves (sanctioned by governments but not by citizenry) to alter the global nuclear status quo (which is behind the current arms race and militarisations of North Korea, Japan, China, India and others - taking their cue from the USA)should put populations around the world into a panic. Since the media don't tell us to panic, we appear unable to think for ourselves. Unable to think period. Result:
No counterintuitive actions.
We've become an entirely too reticent populace in the political arena.
This is what politics is:
Politics is about how our leaders decide whom to coerce about what.
Politics is important because it is:
The often internally conflicting interrelationships among people in a society.
It's an attitude of leadership, an idea for community living. We should all be part of that idea. It should not be a few rich people who dream how the rest of us ought to live. We should all decide.
Politics in the simplest language is simply this: Someone representing your interests, and others like you. It's a simple reality but one many of us forget or are otherwise unaware of. Politics is not some grand, mysterious, alchemy. It's just someone, a person, who has been chosen to help you in your community. Have you ever felt like your leaders ever took an interest in your community? Have you ever even seen your leaders in real life? What are they busy with each day? Where is there focus? Is it on you, on the wellbeing of your community? It should be.
It's necessary to be involved in the political process.Have you ever had a conversation with someone who was? I have. I knew a speechwriter for Tony Leon, the leader of the Democratic Party in South Africa, and the main opposition to the ANC. I told her that the DP seemed to stand for nothing, except to edit the ANC, find it's mistakes. That's fine, but people don't chose a party based on it's fault finding. They chose it based on its vision. On its own positive, original idea. The DP doesn't seem to have one, it just parasites by complaining when their adversary makes mistakes.
Instead of arguing with me, she agreed, and said she would convey the message to him. That is being part, a small part admittedly, in affirming the political voice that represents you.
So if you met the people who represent you, what could you talk about? The conditions of the roads. You could talk about important community problems like pollution, or crime, or job prospects, or that the nearest hospital is far away. You could also ask for explanations on national policy, and our international responses. Instead, we get told what will happen, what our countries will do (ie what we will do) whenever we read the newspaper or watch the News. We've made ourselves into sitting ducks, politically, and now its hunting season. As the fuel price makes everyone increasingly uncomfortable, there will be a face off between the controllers and the controlled.
A lot of people will begin to see and hear fingers snapping under their noses. Wakey wakey. Rise and whine.
There is a disconnect between political leaders and the people they claim to serve. yes, our leaders are there to serve us, not the other way round. The irony is that we serve them. We pay them, they send us to war, while they play legitimate but illegal tricks on their constituents. All need to get involved in this process, because it has run out of control.
We need to have leaders that are accountable and get rid of them, quickly, when they aren't. Why don't we? Because we're not living accountable lives even to ourselves. Do we do what we say? Do we even listen to others or ourselves? If we were awake in this world, poisonous, nonsense organisms like McDonalds would not be nearly as successful as they are.
Bigger storms than these Gulf Behemoths are approaching. My letters to you may do little to disturb a sleepwalking world, but these will. Chomsky and others hint at our survival, as species, coming increasingly under threat. Much of what we will see in the near future will our own programming, our daily diets of junk media, junk food, and junk conversations, living themselves in an unstable world.
It's sad that people have to be forced to change. It's sad that as a species we are not really above the animals in that sense. Maybe after this, we'll take that evolutionary step.
New Orleans Mayor: New Evacuation Possible >
AP - 2 hours, 3 minutes ago
NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Ray Nagin warned residents Monday to prepare for another evacuation if Tropical Storm Wilma strengthened and moved toward the hurricane-weary city. The storm's outer edge was near the Cayman Islands, but forecasts said it could pose a threat to the U.S. Gulf Coast this weekend.
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