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TechnoratiTime for New Marshall Plan to rebuild, Heal World
In the Bible, we read that God created the world in six days but took 40 days to partially destroy it in the flood. I wish the human race could operate more like that. Instead, we've developed weapons of mass destruction that can obliterate us in a flash, but we seem to lack the capacity to rebuild, repair and heal ourselves with any kind of speed. For instance, more than five years after the attack on the twin towers, we have yet to complete a monument at Ground Zero - but have managed to drop an estimated 50,000 bombs on Iraq. Isn't it time we realized that the future depends on our ability to create, not to destroy?
The Network of Spiritual Progressives, an interfaith organization that recently emerged from the religious left, has joined with other groups and prominent individuals in proposing what they call a Global Marshall Plan. In their model, the United States, followed by other major industrialized nations, would dedicate at least 1 percent of gross domestic product each year for the next 20 years to substantially reduce or eliminate global and domestic poverty, homelessness, hunger, inadequate education and inadequate health care, and to ameliorate the physical damage we've done to our planet. During that time, economic, industrial, environmental and political strategies could be developed and implemented to help make the gains permanent.
"Dream on," you say. "That's never going to happen." Which is why the first step in making this and other crucial ideas a reality is for us to shift our thinking. The original Marshall Plan to rebuild postwar Europe - signed into law 59 years ago last week - was also a bold concept with a big price tag. Yet it was backed by the pragmatic President Harry Truman, who recognized not only that the richest country in the world had a moral obligation to help countries devastated by World War II but also that the misery and chaos in those countries would make their citizens vulnerable to Communist indoctrination.
Similar conditions exist today in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere, and are proving fertile ground for terrorist recruiters. Thus the Global Marshall Plan, though idealistic, is also realpolitik. Granted, the current U.S. administration lacks the moral imagination and pragmatic farsightedness to embrace such a plan. But what if millions of ordinary people with common sense and common decency rose up to affirm a different vision?
To help facilitate this, the Network of Spiritual Progressives has designated Sunday as a day to reflect on the unique power of generosity to promote global peace and security, and the tremendous good that could be done with our trillions of tax dollars - if only the government would listen to our voices. Programs are being planned involving speakers, music and prayer, as well as letter-writing campaigns and petition drives.
Participation in such activities helps to cut through our sense of powerlessness at seeing government officials endorse torture, bullying and secrecy, and rely on violence and dishonesty to ostensibly promote freedom and democracy. At the same time, these actions can energize us to express our deepest values, and to act on them.
For nearly a decade, I researched and interviewed people who had the generosity of spirit to risk their lives to save their Jewish neighbors in Nazi-occupied Europe. They often echoed the words of Miep Gies, the woman who tried to save Anne Frank and her family: "We can't wait for our leaders to make this world a better place." Rather, as another Holocaust rescuer put it, we must "do what we can, where we are, with what we've got."
Such deeds, however small, set in motion the tiny ripples of hope that Robert F. Kennedy once spoke of, ripples that can generate a giant swell of positive aspiration when millions of people act together. This is the power to create, to heal and to help. Through such bottom-up democracy, we will show what America and Americans are really about, and offer the world not a flood of militarism but a rainbow sign.
Mark Klempner, author of "The Heart Has Reasons: Holocaust Rescuers and Their Stories of Courage," has recently joined the Network of Spiritual Progressives. His e-mail is klempner@hearthasreasons.com.
Copyright © 2007, The Baltimore Sun
7 Comments so far
Show AllWe're broke folks, in fact worse than just broke, we are 9 triilion dollars in debt.
Lobo Gris
Mark.... Your idea is Nobel and admirable. It would be nice if America will help to alleviate poverty and environmental damage, which it created. However and please allow me to say this: All America needs to do is to stay home and leave other nations alone. Iraq has enough wealth to take care of her needs.
Let me speak of experience, so long as Iran was under the feet of America-Iran had absolutely nothing. I know, because I lived there. There were tall buildings, hotels, clubs, restaurants and resorts to accommodate doyen and personnel of the foreign corporations, primarily American. But Iran lacked any real infrastructure. With respect to the condition of woman, please forgive my vulgarity, but, then, Iran was one big pool of aimless women. Good portions of women in Iran were high-class call girls, if you know what I mean.
Very small percentage of women had real functional and solid education. Iran lacked educational institutions, in quantity and quality. Nixon's doctrine aimed at brining more of Iranian youth to America, for education. Purpose of it being to create an elite educated who will go home and advocate on behalf of America. This is how America ended up with large number of Iranian youth coming to America for education.
Today, an overwhelming majority of university students are females. There are more female doctors, researchers, educators, etc than ever before.
As a young woman I wanted a Constitutional Republic for Iran, we did not get it thanks to the Washington's adverse meddling into the domestic affairs of Iran which to date continues via support of the MKOs, as well as shoving Special Forces into Iran. If I may say so members of MKOS are murderous thugs and bedfellows of Saddam. He used them as mercenaries to kill Iraqis, as well as Iranians during the eight-year war. These losers do not amount to anything, Washington throwing tax payers hard earned money at them, by the bucket, in the hope of installing a future proxy government with MKO at the pinnacle of it-is nothing but a pipe dream.
Not loosing my original train of thoughts, the government which, Washington hates its guts, most certainly-has done some awesome things for its people and the country as a whole. Let us remember Iran has been under international siege (economic, technology, political and cultural) spearheaded by Washington for nearly three decades.
I, by no mean agree with Iranian government's entire domestic polices. But no country can beat its fair and consistent foreign policy aimed at helping the have not and exploited. Few beneficiaries of Iranian government's good doing deeds are Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Columbia, Lebanon etc. Bear in mind Iran is not America with the budget of $8 trillion; rather its economic abilities are limited.
Today Iran has infrastructure of parliamentary democracy; if Washington leaves Iran alone, people of Iran will turn Iran into a more open democracy. Seventy-two million people of Iran do not need Washington to show them the way Washington can not find its own way home. Iranians go to the boots and vote.
For the past 150 years Iran has yet to aggress any nation what would make one think that it going to attack other nations now. Recent pentagon funded Hollywood depiction of the ancient Iran (http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1598886,00.html?cnn=yes) as a savage nation is nothing but another fabrication aimed to muster support for Bush administrations near future support of Iran-attack.
The idea behind is savages deserve to bomb to the Stone Age.
Iran has a legitimate government not a regime-it is up to people of Iran to vote this government out of the office or keep it. Not to the bed fellows of Saddam, MKOs and the US Special Forces.
First we are going to have to vote for people who share our vision. Do you know anyone who is willing to do that?
http://www.gpln.com
Last I checked, the U.S. was the largest debtor nation in the world. I think only an oil-rich country could afford to do something like this now. Like Venezuela. Now, Hugo Chavez would be a good man to head up the Global Marshall Plan. He's done some great things for health care and education in South America.
"Granted, the current U.S. administration lacks the moral imagination and pragmatic farsightedness to embrace such a plan. But what if millions of ordinary people with common sense and common decency rose up to affirm a different vision?"
If there are millions of people with common sense and common decency who are willing to surface from their boob-tubes long enough "to reflect on the unique power of generosity to promote global peace and security", there's a good chance we can start moving in the direction of healing instead of destruction. Sounds good to me.
The film media is a gigantic mirror and it can lift mankind's vision or keep it focused in a virtual toilet. Having just read about the new film THE CONDEMNED, or knowing how pervasive right wing radio is, or who passes for a talkshow host on TV... the tide of culture works against the best in human nature. It's designed to sew the seeds of the worst habits, and the worst in behavior. Then to quell the tide of all the aberrant crimes expressed by the least balanced citizens exposed to this climate of extremely destructive mental energies, police forces and other authorities are given power(s). Metaphysical author Emmet Fox spoke of a powerful concept described as "building new mental equivalents." He gave the example of the individual who always perceived himself as needy and wanting, who could win the lottery and go through all the money. Like water seeking and finding its own level, he would return to his prior state. Until this society is TAUGHT ideals, and the collective consciousness reflects the BEAUTY and possibility of human nature at peace, cooperative, rather than competitive, these initiatives while noble, will not have the effect they should. Our satellites pulse through the air, our broadcasters use the air/ethers, and our minds are immersed in that pulsing ocean. It is more polluted than our seas these days... mercy, mercy, me.
Transcending the wars, poverty, cruelty, injustice and other problems we face is not impossible.
But it will take new kinds of consciousness ... a kind of consciousness that now may be emerging.
We might not think of the US intelligence community as a force that can achieve these kinds of positive developments, yet, intelligence research into consciousness is providing hopeful resources and assets.
Take a look at:
"Unconventional Human Intelligence Support: Navy SEAL's report"
PopulistAmerica.com
January 7, 2007
http://www.populistamerica.com/unconventional_human_intelligence_support
- - -
"Intelligence, psychology and human heart: All are needed for success in war and peace"
PopulistAmerica.com
March 31, 2007
http://www.populistamerica.com/intelligence_psychology_and_human_heart