Thanks to Amtrak, I arrived in Portland, Oregon yesterday morning. Just under eight hours, this was a very special train ride with much of it following the long and economically important Columbia River. With now 14 dams on the river (3 in Canada and 11 in the USA, the river is almost a series of interconnected human-made lakes now. Travelling right on the lake shore for many of the hours provided water based tranquillity that my soul seemed to soak up with a message: “We need more of this My Boy!”
Some info thanks to Wikipedia:
“The Columbia River alone possesses one-third of the United States’ hydroelectric potential. In 2012, the river and its tributaries account for 29 GW of hydroelectricity, contributing 44% of the total hydroelectric generation in the nation the Grand Coulee Dam and the Chief Joseph Dam, are also the largest in the United States and among the largest in the world.”
“The installation of dams dramatically altered the landscape and ecosystem of the river. At one time, the Columbia was one of the top salmon-producing river systems in the world. Previously active fishing sites, such as Celilo Falls in the eastern Columbia River Gorge, have exhibited a sharp decline in fishing along the Columbia in the last century, and salmon populations have been dramatically reduced. Fish ladders have been installed at some dam sites to help the fish journey to spawning waters. Chief Joseph Dam has no fish ladders and completely blocks fish migration to the upper half of the Columbia River system.”
We all know these stories, but on this Trumped by Nature, One Point Zero mission, I’m just so ever mindful of reflecting on the Path of Society, and how we can learn from our amazing Success, and become better.
Wikipedia goes on to say that because of the hydroelectric generation, power in the Columbia basin is almost the cheapest in the USA and Google, with its huge power hungry server rooms, has set up its infrastructure to take advantage of this economic benefit. A seemingly useless fact, but quoting Mike Berners-Lee from his mostly useful book entitled “How Bad are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything”, if ‘one’ spent a whole year browsing Google, one would create a carbon footprint of about 5 tonnes that would mean you have used 60% more than one’s ‘every human the same’ allocation for a One Point Zero planet….Scary hey, as you haven’t even eaten or gotten into your car, taken that flying holiday, etc..)!
Now I know we don’t spend ‘a whole year’ browsing but I sense most of us see browser as free, and having no downside on Nature, but there we go it’s all part of our development path, and as such we should be aware of all the impacts! To me it is not about the details, but rather being aware that us humans are so anthropocentric that we are not aware that we share the planet with others (other humans and other inhabitants) and our almost all of our actions have implications.)
The Town Hall and The Green Party!!
Well as many of you would have picked up from my last Post: The Town Hall where Jill Stein of the Green Party (and Ajamu Baraka, her 2IC), was being interviewed was not in Spokane, but CNN’s virtual Town Hall in a NYC studio! Ha-ha, yes the laugh is on me, and I deserve it and laughed myself! Anyway I got to watch it from the comfort of my Spokane hotel room! I have to say I am so glad I watched it all as it give me a missing piece of my USA picture since I have been here:
What a different style, and approach they are pushing: Very much against ‘The System’, not the all to familiar Clinton / Trump robust confrontational gladiators, fighting tooth and nail, with all the personal attacks that go with, and behind other is a domination and control agenda.
Here I heard a desire to break that system and stop the culture of domination and get back to a nation for all: Rather than the current nation that serves the elite and subtly abuses all else. Not just nationally but globally! Yes, the Green Party has such a small support base that it was almost a token CNN conference where the show host almost seemed paternal in that he didn’t want to attack her, but support her political development. I enjoyed her positioning on feminism, and what was clear is that she walks her talk on feminism and many other things she spoke about… The questions were geared at find out WHO she was rather than WHAT she was and would DO, and in that sense she came out as a great person, with a great moral and ethical persona.
I can see that the socialistic, blanket forgiveness of student loan debt is not a good way to go, but the idea of the young generation being compensated by the current / privileged generation, and the ones who have stolen the future from the younger people is a very sound idea. And yes, while she didn’t have details on how it would be funded, she did point to The System in the past finding huge amounts of funds ‘for itself’ when it needs them (eg 2008 GFC). Here now it needs to be as creative and serious in solving the younger generation ‘abuse’ as it was then, I though was very appropriate.
I am of the firm view that the baby boomers (of which I am one) have committed huge humanitarian crimes in seriously making the future for youngsters of today so less attractive than ‘we’ had it. This is serious stuff, but unfortunately it is my truth and one shared by many in ‘The Crowd’, who will not publicly admit it. I liked Ajamu Baraka, if only for his ability to Walk the Talk of The (his) Truths, and is clearly someone who lives authentically and by his truths, and has a very strong moral / ethical belief system. The two of them together were just so authentic, sincere, and of genuine deep commitment to societal justice that in this very strength I could see the basis of no hope for their election success.
They presented a picture of an America and a leadership so different to the America of today, almost an America that is so desperately needed in American and The World today. In reflecting on this Town Hall interview it I saw what I have been struggling with since I arrived here:
The America of today is about the dog eats dog, a gladiator street fighter election process, and the elite managing a huge and highly effective system that continues the decades of domination, exploitation and abuse for their own benefit. I sense as I was part of the ‘The System’, and now having been transformed I am fervently against it, I can see so clearly its goals, mind-set and power, and how hopeless it is to be a ‘prisoner’ on the other side. America is about winning and domination, and what hit me between the eyes over the last few days is that The Ultimate domination and abuse is in my area of interest: One Point Zero and the abuse of our Planet Earth!! (Yours, mine and all other humans’)
I was hoping that being The Green Party, there would be at least some discussion on Sustainability, Environmental issues, but no not one: The debates were about views on Hillary, Trump, and election strategy issues….. The truth is the main issue is The Tragic System! Vote for someone who will keep the system going as best she can or vote for someone who has a personal vendetta against ‘The System’, but is just interested in settling some big personal scores, or vote for ‘nice people’ who would love to break ‘The System’ but who have no chance because they are too radically ‘nice’! A bad place to be and the Powers that be should be asking themselves how, and why, they have got the nation into such dwang! An election should be about choosing a leader for a vision for a better future, but the focus only seems to be about which dwang and / or how do we get out of The Dwang?
Time For Dealing with the Truths and then Revolution to solve…
Since I have been in the USA now I have not heard one election debate / discussion that has involved the issue of care for the planet and America’s blatant abuse and leadership of the abuse of the planet! I can see such a great vision for a new America, one that other Nations could admire, and follow, but this is about a whole new course and one where America would need to stand back and reflect on from whence it has come, and where it is going as a result….
This needs dealing with the realities (The Truths) and not just trying to win more and more with the wrong game. The Facts are something serious is wrong, and I’m not just talking about a planet problem; there is a human soul belonging problem, that’s what the real problem is: ‘The System’ is killing the souls of Americans; I can see it so clearly! I can almost guarantee that The Elite, even with their footprint sinking, hedonistic ‘High Life’, are not living peacefully with their souls….
I sense to win an election these days one cannot be a ‘good person’, because as they say: ‘Good people don’t win anymore!’
Is One Point Zero REALLY that Important, Howard…
The time on the train has done me good, as I realised that I had got lost in my mission, trying to be the adventure blogger, tourist blogger, and then losing sight of the Big Picture Problem….
Two days ago I sat in Spokane library for the whole day answering a question that had been building:
“Howard, are you sure this One Point Zero issue is as ‘Humanitarian serious’, and as top priority as you make out and are giving it your life priority?”
I thought back to ‘my friend in French Polynesia, who gave me all the evidence to just pack it all in and go and enjoy life! Read here.
I’d been dealing with the low interest, and general fobbing off I have got almost everywhere, and as evidenced in the media, people not willing to ‘walk the talk’, or even ‘talk the talk’, etc….… I realise I may need to change path a bit, but there is more to it than that…!
In answering the above question I went all over the internet on planet issues, UN, IPCC, Climate issues, etc, as I have done many times in the past, and dug deep in myself for lies: Each time the answer came back:
This One Point Six and ever increasing problem is hugely important, if not the most important humanitarian issue, as all others are linked to it in some or other way. You may say I’m blinded by my own Truths, motives and issues, but I’m a pessimistic realist: I get my optimism, passion and excitement from the adventure in solving The Truths! So ensuring I’m dealing with The Truths and not convenient lies is paramount for the Howard modus operandi!!
Blinded optimists, just carry on and on, hoping for miracles, which sometimes do come, but sadly the miracle we need today for the course we are on is an ‘impossible miracle’.
Facing The Facts (The Truths) and getting excited about a new Revolutionary Path is the path for those wanting a soulful path! Dominators know ‘The Truths’, prevent ‘The Crowd’ for seeing ‘The Truths’, and keep them in slightly uncomfortable turmoil so that they can continue exploiting for their own elitist needs. Seemingly living in ‘paradise’ this exploiter role doesn’t fit with any human soul!
I concluded it is because of The System that does not want to hear the One Point Zero truths, nor does it want anyone helping the exploited / abused see the Truths. (The Facts). The reason being is it is The System that has caused the Facts, and the people who run ‘The System’ have the most to lose if ‘we’ had to move on to a One Point Zero course!
Many of you may interpret my ‘outburst’ above as one of some source of anger within, and wonder why I put so much little impact high energy into it…. I guess many of you and others feel anger to The System, I know that because I feel and hear that every day….. I would like to think that because I don’t really belong anywhere I have quite a unique disassociated perspective to be able to get the Truths out on the table, without having to worry about what ‘The Crowd’ will do or say to me? (Yeah, I can’t lose being a voice to ‘The Crowd’, and in that way I ask any of you if you can help in ensuring that doesn’t happen, I’d really value that!! My Crowd is all of Humanity, and yes I do struggle with belonging to smaller Crowds where the Truth is a Liar about The Truths! )
Over time I hope to be valued for that perspective, one that is not anger based, because I am a victim, but one that is Truths based because I am taking a moral / ethical view. I can tell you now, I am definitely not a victim, as I am free of ‘The System’, but what really gets me going is when I see the extent of the exploitation and abuse of others by ‘The System’.
Now this has been a long one, and in ending off I want to point to three, seemingly totally disconnected, 3rd part works that I’ll discuss next Post:
- Check this NYT David Brooks article: “Is our Country as Good as our Athletes are?”
- And this London Times article: “New Zealanders and the curse of the Kiwi Knight.”
- Bertrand Russell’s quote: “The man (woman?) who has no tincture of philosophy. The ineffective person who just goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his (her) mind without the cooperation or consent of deliberate reason.” As Russell concludes that this is a life of ‘horror’: Living a life that is not one’s actual view of the world, is not living one’s own life, and one’s convictions are then not of one’s own, but of somebody else: ‘The Crowd’ and The System that makes The Crowd! “Horror” implies: This is not living authentically and one’s soul will not be peaceful.
Where are ‘you’ on the 1-10 Horror scale?
Before I set out on my Journey to The Truths I would have said a 3/ 10 (where 10 is maximum Horror), but in hindsight I now see that the System had so unknowingly blinded me that I was actually close to a 8/10, Horror Boy! Sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know hey!!
We will discuss tomorrow!
Shooo this has been a heavy one hey, hope you still with me, and find it fun (Serious Fun!!!?)