Well into the third chapter of my life, by now I had hoped the world would be a much better place than when I grew up in the 1950s and ’60s, worried about the Cold War and the first warnings of serious environmental degradation.
By now I thought the best of humanity would have led us into a world of abundance, where war and widespread suffering no longer existed, and we could spend most of our time enjoying the bounty of the amazing planet we are privileged to inhabit.
I never thought the opposite would happen: that we would so thoroughly continue to rape and pillage the Earth that we would actually alter the balance of its natural order. Mankind has released so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the continuation of life as we know it is threatened. Anyone with eyes can see the evidence on a daily basis. A recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms our dire fate.
Human beings learn from mistakes and adjust our behavior. How is it then that so many people in the Gulf Coast and other low-lying areas, who suffer from ever more ferocious storms, choose to rebuild in the same spot? How many times will their homes need to be flattened before they decide to move to higher ground? Or, do something about it, like the Dutch, who cannot move to higher ground but altered their infrastructure to protect themselves.
We’ve bought into the big lies of “bigger is better” and “might is right,” and largely ignored the Golden Rule that parents teach their children. Rather than celebrating our common humanity and elevating each other to a basic level of prosperity, we’ve allowed the rise of the unconscionable rich to now control more wealth than ever before.
These privileged few bask in untold luxury while billions suffer in poverty and illness. The wealthy can’t lose. They benefit from the proliferation of war – they produce the weapons of destruction, and the tools of rebuilding. Tear it down or build it up, they make money.
Always an optimist, my optimism is fading. I’ve long believed the vast majority of human beings are good people who want to do right by their families and their neighbors. I still know this to be true. But the forces of greed are sadly winning the day. They have become so overwhelmingly powerful, nothing short of a worldwide revolution will turn things around.
One of the first steps in this revolution is the November election. I hope women and minorities and students will join the rest of us to tell those in power “enough is enough.” The focus of government is not to enrich those who are in the political system, but to protect its citizens. The focus of all governments must be to work together to acknowledge the central threat of our time. Only a concerted effort will turn things around. I hope this election sends a resounding message across the country and the globe that we are demanding changes for the common good, helping offset the frightening rise in right-wing fascism in so many countries.
We must shift our focus from “America First” to “Earth First.” It’s time to embrace our common humanity, to recognize we are a Global Society, interconnected not only financially but also emotionally.
It’s time to recognize our common responsibility as caretakers of each other and all life on Earth. Most people understand and embrace this concept. It’s time for us to stand up and demand that our elected leaders share those same values.
(Sol Solomon lives in Sutton.)