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For my 200th Rant Rave post, I decided to do something a little special. Inspired by the likes of the Legend Tom Wing, and Siempre Solo who have both posted pieces on their favorite top rants and raves over the past few months, I decided to pursue the publication of the first collaborative post. So, herein you will find reflections from some invited RantRavers who opted to participate and agreed to have their comments published. As I'm known for my political independence viewed as skewing left due to the horrendous mismanagement by the extreme right for 8 years as well as for taking a decidedly green/earth friendly approach to life, what better way to co-mingle these topics than to pose a prompt and ask my fellow RantRaving Writers to respond.
"If I could change one thing about the world."
From the Legend Tom Wing
"If I could change one thing about the world, it would be the countries. I believe we could do something like the European Union, but bring all countries together and all people under one government. All of this diplomacy crap is ruining an amazing world, if we could all find it in our hearts to work together, and come together, as a people, we could really be something great. Or i would establish Amishkingland as a national, preferably just remove California and stick it there."
From Rudi Stettner
"Being restricted to one thing is difficult. However I must make the following observation. The world contains more than enough to feed, clothe and house everyone. The failure to do so rests not within the earth but within ourselves. Taming ourselves is not sufficiently recognised as a key to peace and prosperity. How do we react to otherness, to people who look, speak, and believe differently from us? What words do we stuff into the mouth of a deity that maintains silence? Recognising the taming of the soul, mind, and psyche as the key to earthly perfection would be a good start."
From AmishKing
"I would have a world government. Then we would lose most of the big problems in the world. No more war, no more poverty, no more letting criminals go because of diplomatic immunity or extradition. One world is enough for all of us."
From J Lee Kenser
"If I could change one thing about the world I would decrease Executive and Congressional Branch pay by two thirds to one half. That money would then be dispersed to the working poor, the indigent, the mentally and physically disabled as well possibly to the new lower/middle class of society if there is enough left after dispersing it to Educators of Elementary/High School classrooms to use for materials without Supervision by the School Board. My reasons are because all too often these are the areas where the money is first and often re-cut from to make up the budgetary losses of both our governmental bodies and executives of companies."
From Siempre Solo
"If I could change one thing about the world… How does one go about finishing this sentence? The world is a tapestry of love and hate. It is ambiguous and yet complex the sublime and the profane both interact inextricably together as old adversaries that escaped their untimely demise along with their comrades and now must relive their tales in their old age. Yet we know this for sure no matter the perspective and the point of view we have that this world will not last forever. We know that be it God or be it nature one day this world will cease to be and all that is and all the potential that we have and will have will end. There will be no final song. There will be no languishing wail of mournful sorrow. There will only be the silence of the vacuum of space and the emptiness that preceded us will be the emptiness that will follow. None will be left to tell the tale and no friend or foe will remain to receive the long recount. Alas it will be as if we never were. And the question long pondered upon by modern water cooler philosophers “If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a sound?” Will alas be answered by space and time it self. But there will be none to hear its reply. So if I could have just one thing and only one thing only to change about the world then it would be time. I would plead with God in heaven to spare my home from its impending doom. I would give my life in place of the earth to spare it just a little bit more. Yes if I could have just one thing to change about the earth it would be this that it would continue in perpetuity for generations infinite until all the profane is gone and all that remains is beauty. Till the virus that is life spreads across the darkness of space across countless galaxies until it is said by future generations. In perplexed ponderings of children. “Was there ever a time that there was only one planet that had life? Was there ever a time that that planet almost died?” And that these simple musings of future youth will remain unanswered because it was so long ago that God granted me this one last wish."
The answers from disparate people from all over the country. Each person has his own unique style, but you will notice a common threat among them. It's difficult to argue after digesting each of these thoughts that there is an emerging global consciousness. It would be interesting to try the same with people from all over the planet, when the reach of RR goes more global, but my sense is that the same would be true. The theme here is that the governments of the world need to get out of the way of the will of the people. It is not the people who want war, famine, and failure. The people want peace, love, and harmony. The egos of the governments want competition, dominance, and control. We did not evolve on this planet with ownership rights to land, food, and natural resources. People were migratory beings that shared all and lived in harmony with our planet. Everything you used to need to live were free. You built your own shelter on available land, picked fruit and vegetables from available plants or hunted animals in the wild for free, and clothed yourself in homemade apparel made from animal skins and cloth weaved from natural plant fibers. As much as we, the people of the planet, enjoy modernization, it has certainly brought many negatives, the worst of which is greed. Greed creates the sense of scarcity, and it is scarcity thinking that drives most conflict. The feeling that you won't get enough drives you to work too hard, undercut others, and pursue that which you don't have and may not ever get. Greed truly is the root of all evil.
If I could change on thing in the world it would be the excision of greed from all human thought processes to be supplanted by the thoughts of abundance. As long as everyone believes there will be enough, they will work together to ensure that everyone has enough.
Finally, as I'm adept at selecting books on the topic, I would like to recommend another life-changing book for everyone to read. It's the 1992 novel Ismael by Daniel Quinn about a telepathic gorilla who holds the key to human survival. The book has been bashed by right wing, neo-conservatives and the ultra-Evangelicals, and when you read it you'll know why. Unfortunately, one has to wonder about their opposition and their persistence in maintaining the belief that Global Warming is a myth. Whose side are they on anyway? Read the book, and revisit these comments. It seems pretty clear to me that we human beings finally may be on to something.