As has been the case the past decade, American media and popular poll interpretations of all issues – in this case, the Gulf Oil Spill – are simplistically polarized, with few nuanced or deeper discussions.  President Obama’s desire to link this catastrophe to a long-term environmental policy aimed at weaning the USA from oil, especially ‘foreign’, is simply dismissed by many ‘knowing’ voters as typical Liberal/ Leftie agenda.  The Republicans want to get back to “business as usual” asap... citing the fact that many Lousiana and Gulf states jobs are linked with continuing oil drilling.  One senior (Texas) Republican congressman, Joe Barton, even apologized to BP, about the deal struck earlier this week by the White House and BP executives to establish a $20 billion escrow fund to pay claims of economic loss by Gulf coast residents.  Barton referred to the account as a "slush fund”, lacking legal standing and setting a bad precedent for the treatment of companies regarding future disasters.  Under current U.S. law (following the Exxon Valdez spill), oil companies were cut a deal by Congress wherein their maximum liability was capped at $75 million, which the BP spill has already exceeded by $ billions.  "I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown, in this case, a $20-billion shakedown," Barton told BP CEO Hayward at the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing.  Although Barton was subsequently condemned by some of his Republican colleagues, his sentiments are echoed by many grass roots Republicans - that this is just an unfortunate glitch which we should clean up and then continue as before. The polls presently seem to favour Republicans.
This unprecedented catastrophe and its partisan interpretations bring into sharp focus for me, at least two underlying and recurring issues and questions, which are rarely if ever discussed in popular American media.  In this case, the enormity of the situation begs extra attention:

• Firstly, why is every issue treated by the Media as Either-Or, Left-Right, Democrat-Republican?  The obvious answer is that for the Media, such an approach is a win-win situation. 1) It provokes controversy- “Which of these 2 alternatives do you vote for?” which increases coverage, viewership, readership... and advertising revenue. 2) It provides a convenient excuse for not having an opinion, vision or basic intelligence... “If we just treat each conflicting view as equal, we will come across as professional, knowing, intelligent, sophisticated and just!”  To me, such conclusions of equivalence are illogical since they neither address the specifics/particulars of the situation (How likely is it that all probabilities in the Universe fall into a Democratic/ Republican dichotomy?) nor seek to rank them in terms of Qualitative importance i.e. the possibility that something is inherently more important than something else.  For example, the Republicans seek to equate Nixon’s Watergate, Reagan’s Contragate and George W. Bush’s fake Iraq War with Bill Clinton’s cover-up of his dalliance with Monica Lewinsky on the grounds that they were all Presidents merely covering up their pecadillos/ missteps.  Hello!!?? Sexual misconduct is being equated with spying on political (American) rivals, international, drug-related subversion and outright, avoidable wars!!??  Think of the cost in Lives and Treasury! In the case of the present Gulf Oil Spill, Obama is being accused of using a crisis to advance an agenda – more Sustainability - which we actually all need, whether Democrat or Republican! I don’t hear the Media comparing Obama’s Gulf oil environmental linkage with George W Bush using 9/11 to establish military bases in Iraq, trying to control Iraqi oil and giving Bush- Cheney friendly companies like Haliburton $ billions contracts. Why not???  Incidentally, Haliburton was involved in the supposed ‘safe’ capping of the well that is now spewing into the Gulf!!... again no significant media coverage of this fact, which would seem to be to be historically relevant.  However, in these Internet times, we seem to have short memories!
• Is the present American (and other ‘developed’ Democratic countries’) economic/ political system capable of introducing and implementing policies aimed at long-term goals? Very probably, Not!!!  Corporate stock values go up and down daily on half-baked ideas, whims, emotional reaction or simple panic and corporations are now widely regarded as part of the fabric of government – check out the G8, G20 summits and others like Davos!.  Corporate decisions are definitely short term... make a ‘profit’ in this quarter, share prices will go up and the executives will earn their bonuses! Similarly, politicians, in bed with their corporate buddies, look towards re-election every 4 years or so, often focused on how much “pork”  (“profit”) spending they can direct to their local electorate.  Neither the Media nor the Electorate will give ‘brownie points’ for long-term policies... which means our children’s and grand-children’s quality of life... Destroy the Environment as long as the consequences don’t come to roost on our watch!  Polls and surveys show that we are self-centered with very strong tendencies to immediate gratification.  That is perfectly Democratic but it does have consequences which conflict with our supposed Ideals! There is a significant gap between our Talk and our Walk!  Selfishness is Democratic but that does have consequences, which we are seeing now, not as an aberration, but recurring facts. We get the leaders and policies that we select and deserve... for better or worse.

In the end, Democracy depends on you and me and what we want.  At present, we are getting what we really want and it conflicts with our avowed Ideals and Hopes.  To truly Change entails “spiritual transformation” which may entail delaying or even giving up gratification.

The above is a chapter title in my 2003 book, Ageless Wisdom Spirituality: Investing in Human Evolution.  7 years later, there is still no significant discussion of technology’s pervasive and profound impact on our individual and collective lives, unless there is something specific or dramatic (a media ‘”hook”) like the current Gulf of Mexico oil spill.  Even in these cases, the incident/ event is treated as an unfortunate, unforeseen “single issue”, which soon becomes “old news”,  even if the consequences continue and worsen outside of the brief news-cycle.   Who is interested in mortality spikes a few years later or interconnections with non-oil issues?  Not very “sexy”.

The general  impact and control (or lack thereof) of Technology  does not lend itself to media coverage or legislation, because it is gradual, complex, subtle and generally un-dramatic, which doesn’t translate well into  sound or video “bites”, media ratings or opinion polls.  To my mind, the unexamined implementation of new technology is far more dangerous and destructive than the threat of “terrorists” over which we currently obsess.  “Terrorists” will eventually succeed in killing anywhere they want if they are willing to sacrifice their own lives.  You or I, if sufficiently desperate, deranged or “motivated”, can strap a bomb to our bodies and detonate it in a crowded shopping mall, restaurant, market, subway station etc... and make the headlines, stampeding millions of people!  But what does that really mean or require for prevention?  More surveillance and Big Brother/ Police State policies (costing billions $ out of the Public Purse) which will eventually fail in the face of individual Human Will?
Here are few of the “hidden effects of technology”:

There is much more but space dictates the end of this blog. We need more discussion. Technology is not just a glorified hammer or shovel, but highly interactive and interconnected with us.

February is generally regarded as the worst month in the Northern Hemisphere, since it is the middle of winter. However, here are some positives that we can celebrate:

1. The New Orleans Saints - popularly known as the “Aints” - beat the favourite Colts to win the Super Bowl! This is a feel-good story for the ages, not only because of the Saints’ 40 plus years’ history of ineptitude, but also because of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent betrayal by George W. Bush, who promised to rebuild the city and didn’t… he did very little in fact.
2. Another feel-good story I just read in the Toronto Star, Feb 6, 2010 concerns M.C. Metha. He is a 63-year old lawyer in India who has successfully battled big corporations for the last 26 years on a variety of environmental issues, including reducing pollution around iconic Indian sites like the Taj Mahal and the Ganges River. He has never earned more than Can $2,300 per annum, which is what corporate lawyers in India earn in a single consultation. Way to go, MC!
3. February is often the beginning of the new (lunar) year! A Chinese Astrology web sites states: “Hot passion meets cold steel with the arrival of the year of the Metal Tiger. This combined sign signifies both the energy to begin activity and the determination to follow it through to the end. Forget about last year’s slow plodding. Events set in motion now will pick up speed and continue until either the objective is attained or the whole endeavor crashes and burns”.
4. So what do we generally and especially in Canada, want to “set in motion”? Perhaps that our political leaders actually listen to the people (rather than shutting them down by shutting down Parliament)? That some leader comes up with a uniting and compassionate vision rather than a divisive and partisan one? That some leader actually tells us the Truth (rather than blocking access to it) and that we have the courage and intelligence to actually understand that… rather than narcissistically shouting, ”Give me what I want” regardless..? Think of a country, like Canada, as a family with a family budget. You only have so much money to spend. What are your priorities? There isn’t an open cheque book for individuals, countries or the planet! You can’t get something for nothing!
5. On a personal note, February has been great for me! We just opened our (Harmony Dawn retreat) season and our (new) clients were great! LEAF (Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests) helps look after our natural environment and they were polite, sensitive and appreciative.. of our natural environment, but also of our food and hospitality. It’s a huge win-win situation! Also it’s been very sunny (albeit cold), which warms our off-grid house, pumps up our solar power, thaws the ice on our road and heats our house like a sauna… bring on the bathing suits and drinks with an umbrella!
aj

Democracy in my dictionary is defined as: “A system of government by the whole population, usually through elected representatives”.  How many, much less the whole population, feel that they actually govern their country?!!

Many are very concerned about the state of the world and the direction in which we are headed, but feel powerless and confused.  They are worn down by the demands of their daily lives, find political and social issues too complex, and don’t trust politicians enough to be bothered to vote. Within the USA and Canada, a 60% voter turn-out is regarded as good, even though entrenched opposition parties, especially within the USA, will split the vote almost 50%, with a very small “swing vote” being decisive... and conducive to being manipulated by the trumped up “pseudo events” of the moment.  History suggests that we tend to be manipulable suckers.  As people “cocoon”, they withdraw from participation, including from the political process.  This withdrawal has allowed the power elite and the corporations to exert ever more control over our affairs, further eroding the democratic process.
The single greatest threat to democracy has been the rapid increase in corporate size and power over the last half-century.  In 1961, President Eisenhower, a senior World War 2 general, used his farewell address to warn America and the world of the dangers of the emerging military-industrial complex: “This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.  In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.  We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”
There can be no doubt that Eisenhower’s worst fears have materialized, yet most people don’t seem to care or are blissfully unaware!  “Unwarranted influence” abounds and the citizenry does not seem to be “alert and knowledgeable” or if they are, have been rendered relatively powerless by the elite. Corporations give $ billions to both Republicans and Democrats thru donations, “lobbying” and other means. Elections (and those vicious attack ads) in the USA and Canada wouldn’t be able to run in their present format without massive corporate funding.  Corporate CEO’s and senior personnel go into government and back to the corporate world as through a revolving door.  This corporate/ government connection was particularly blatant under George W.  He appointed corporate lobbyists to neutralize watch-dog departments like the Environmental Protection Agency; Cheney used to run Haliburton, which benefited from prime contracts during the Iraqi war (which he helped start for no good reason).  American treasury and lives were spent, but companies like Haliburton just got richer (Check out Harper and the Alberta elite). It must be noted that the power elite which moves freely between government and the corporate boardrooms, have all been educated in the same elite universities and socialize together- this includes Obama.

Even apart from their direct influence on politics and government, corporations wield enormous and undue power throughout society, which decisively tilts the democratic playing field.  They can threaten to move their operations (including many jobs) if they don’t get sweet deals from the government… and eventually will do anyway…to cheap labour countries.  Even if they are in the wrong, they can bankrupt their opponents in the courts.  They influence culture and popular opinion through entertainment, advertising and the media, including the “factual news” you ingest.  Perhaps the most recent example of just how corporations powerful have become is the recent global recession/ depression, precipitated by bad/ corrupt behaviour in the highest echelons of the banking/ financial community.  The very organizations that caused the crisis were bailed out by government money (your taxes) because they were deemed too big to fail (how did they become that big?... no regulation).  While Main St. was losing money, Wall St (and to a lesser extent Bay St) continued paying out big bonuses.

These issues deserve in-depth and extensive investigation, but at present, the conventional media and even the internet does not provide a suitable venue… in large part because we, the average citizen, has an ever-shortening attention span.  So here are a few quickie suggestions of how we can help turn the Democratic tide:

1. Severely limit corporate donations/ expenditure within the political, economic and legal processes.  If corporations are legally regarded as an entity equivalent to a human individual, their impact should be on par with a human individual.
2. Make corporate entities responsible for the totality of their activities.  For example, if corporate(or individual) activities generate trash, pollution, delayed health-risks etc. then make them pay for the clean-up/ fall out.
3. Think outside of the box.  Are corporations truly promoting the well-being of a country or its individuals?  The last time I looked, corporations were looking to maximize profits… and truth be told, maximizing the profits of its management.  The tricky thing about corporations is that they have been given the legal status of a human individual (based on a American law intended to protect the newly-freed African slaves) but their monetary and other powers are vast… they become a Super Citizen!  They are also tricky because it is easy for individuals to hide or pass the blame.. shareholders (the owners) have limited liability and the people who run the corporations can claim they didn't know what was going on or wash money and assets thru subsidiary corporations based abroad. Corporations are not loyal to countries or individuals… the prime examples are the biggest American corporations.. Walmart etc… which have outsourced jobs outside of America (similar things happened in Canada).

If we do not protect Democracy through our efforts, it will continue to be eroded., together  with our Quality of Life.

Looking back over the first decade of the new millennium, the event most people remember is 9/11 and the fall of the Twin Towers.  People were shocked and shaken; George W. Bush launched his “War on Terrorism” with which Obama is now saddled; time has slowly dulled the pain and shock.

What are the real consequences and lessons of 9/11?  Thomas Walkom recently wrote an article in the Toronto Star entitled, “Who won the decade? The Terrorists”.  He argues that the West has taken a leap backward because of our own fears and anxieties - civil liberties and social movements have been rolled back; torture has become acceptable; surveillance of citizens is increasingly more intrusive; the Liberals are divided and indecisive, fearing to be called soft or unpatriotic, and so are leaving the field more and more to the extreme Right.

Way back in 2004, I pointed out in my book, “Ageless Wisdom Spirituality: Investing in Human Evolution”, that the American invasion of Iraq was wrong-headed, largely trumped up by the Bush-Cheney administration (google:  project for the new American century) and doomed to failure.  Now in 2010, we know that many more Americans have died in Iraq than died in 9/11, not to mention tens of thousands more injured; Iraq and its population have been devastated and have become a recruiting ground for terrorists; the war has been a huge drain on the American Treasury; Afghanistan has been neglected and now festers, while Al-Qaeda has become stronger as a rallying point for extremists.  Al-Qaeda cannot be defeated by armies because it is an idea, which is spread and enabled by the internet.  Another terrorist attack in the USA will succeed sooner or later because all it takes is one person with relatively crude devices - or even just a computer.

In Ageless Wisdom Spirituality, I pointed out that our greatest strength is actually internal.  We need all our bravery, clarity, common sense and compassion to meet our collective global challenges: the health of the planet, the poverty gap (which I think is linked with terrorism) and the indiscriminate implementation of science and technology.   9/11 was a tragedy but the loss of life and property was relatively small considering what other countries around the world experience.  The terrorists are winning because they have plunged us into Fear and distracted us from our really important challenges.  Americans are living in the past.  They keep on spending more than they earn and borrowing the difference from China, which is now poised to challenge the USA both economically and military; they cling to Old Oil, while the more forward-looking countries are already positioning themselves to lead the next wave, which will be “greener” and based on more alternative energy solutions; they refuse to look outside of their own borders for new ideas and inspiration or even feedback.

And what of Canada? Since 9/11, Canadian leaders have voluntarily (or been pressured behind closed doors) fallen in line with American policies.  Under Harper’s minority government, this process has accelerated with Canada having fallen off the international stage and become not much more than a neglected, American state, toeing the Presidential line.  Harper is operating more like an American president (especially Bush) with the PMO’s office holding ever more “secrets”, controlling talking points and bullying anyone who opposes or contradicts it, including career diplomats like Richard Colvin. Probably the next big bi-lateral issue to surface (or be pushed through in secret) is one which I have mentioned before in my blogs: the idea of Canada being included in a North American defensive “perimeter”, which will be manned mostly by the American army.  Of course, in exchange for all this “security”, they will expect more control of our water and natural resources and whatever else they find useful.  If we are going to hand over our defence to the USA, why is our defence spending increasing?  The whole point of a stronger army is to deter bullies, including the Americans!

Apart from the obvious issues of the erosion of Canadian democracy and independence, does it make even strategic and economic sense to bind ourselves ever more tightly to the sinking American Empire?