I started this blog three
and a half years ago with two primary purposes. One was to
articulate – for myself and for others – where I stand in terms
of faith. I grew up in a conservative Christian
evangelical-fundamentalist context which in some ways continues to
inform my spiritual life. But I have also departed radically from
those upbringings to a much more open, nuanced, modern (and more
ancient) theology and spirituality. In a short series of posts I
described it as “A Strange Mix” (see posts dated 12/2/2012 and
12/30/2012).
A second purpose was to
explore more deeply – and again to attempt to express for myself
and for those who would read my blog – my view that the journey
inward (see the post dated 10/12/2012) of self-understanding and
spirit is intimately and dialectically
bound up with the journey
outward
(see the post dated 10/15/2012) of life choices and actions aimed at
creating a world of greater justice, equality, and peace. Both of
these journeys, in my view, are grounded in the belief that God makes
a preferential option for those on the margins of society and that
this option defines our human calling and true faith.
Two years ago life
offered me an opportunity that reflects both of these purposes: I
was invited to join the team at Hope
CommUnity Center in Apopka, Florida. With a
history of over forty years rooted in faith, Hope's mission
is to be a place of empowerment with the immigrant and working poor
populations of central Florida. This is a mission that parallels my
own vision and mission in life. I am truly grateful for the
opportunity to be a part of this amazing organization.
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| Photo source: Popular Resistance newsletter |
This being said, events
in the U.S. and globally over the last number of years have – each
day it seems –
highlighted to an ever greater extent the need for
concerted action for justice in our world. Around the world we've
seen, in startling strides, the demise of people's democracy. The
decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to legitimate unlimited
contributions by corporations and the wealthy to political candidates
and campaigns is a final blow to the average citizen having any real
voice in elections. In the current election cycle the power of the
two political parties here in the U.S. - two shades of the same
political color really – to control the process of selecting
candidates and to eliminate third party or outlier challenges has
become starker than ever. We saw the rise of the Occupy movement, a
voice for what has been recognized as the 99% - the vast majority of
us barred from voice and influence in matters of the public domain.
As long as the movement offered a minor and nonconstructive presence it
was essentially ignored but once it began to gain voice and
visibility, as is always the case, government and the police state
engaged to ensure that there was ultimately no serious threat to the
interests of business and the monied crowd.
Recent events in Brazil –
my heart country – reflect in a similar way a startling disregard
for the will of the people and the legitimacy of democracy. What is
being called a “parliamentary” or “institutional” coup is
being implemented by a wealthy and pro-corporate minority to remove
the elected president and to undo gains made for the poor and average
middle class during fourteen years under the elected governments of
the Ignacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rouseff, both of the Partido
dos Trabalhadores (Workers Party). Promulgated
in the name of fighting corruption, the coup is in fact a
blatant effort aimed at ending the criminal investigation
of those who have seized power.*
The U.S. government has
been strangely silent about the overthrowing of the government of the
fifth largest nation in the world and a critical player in the
Western Hemisphere. On the other hand perhaps it is not so strange
since U.S. business is interested in and stands to gain a foothold in
the lucrative oil and gas holdings of Brazil under the new
illegitimate government. Other recent examples would include coups
in Honduras, Libya (including the murder of the Libyan president) and
the Ukraine – and even as I write, efforts to undo the elected
government in Venezuela¥
-- all supported if not having direct involvement by the U.S.
government.±
A key feature of the
world we live in and the primary driving force undermining true
democracy is the presence and influence wielded by those I refer to
as the “monied crowd.” More accurately, it is the monied few.
In a 2014 briefing paper, “Working
for the Few,” Oxfam reported that the 85
wealthiest individuals in the world have as much money as the poorest
half of the entire world's population – 3.5
million persons!
In
the past few years here in the United States some of these
ultra-super-wealthy have become open and explicit about the agenda
they are funding and promoting. It is an agenda to do away with all
government and legal support for workers, for the poor, for students,
for the retired, for the middle class. Witness the decades of
strategic support by the Koch brothers, the 5th
and 6th
wealthiest persons in the world, to eliminate the right of workers in
the United States to unionize.ᵵ
It was even more revealing to me to learn recently that the Koch
brothers provided training and financial support to three of four
groups leading efforts to remove the elected president of Brazil.ᴥ
I begin to see that the aims of this monied crowd are driven by a
global vision. They are not satisfied to dominate what happens in
the United States or any other individual country. In fact, it seems
to me that they have no real national interests. Their goal is to
dominate the world, to create a very different world from the one we
have today, a world that functions entirely according to their
interests and demands. Their aim is a global plutocracy, creating a
world ruled by the super rich,ⱡ
with the rest of us as serfs, serving their every beck and call.
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What are the
strategies and actions that can effectively counter this global
reality. What approaches will enable those of us who are by far
the majority, to fatally wound, to undermine, to bring an end to
the direction of this hegemonic plutocratic movement envisioned
and controlled by the super-wealthy 1%? And the balancing
question is: What are the structures and practices that need to
be put in place to create a world of true justice, equity and
peace?
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And so the questions that have become central to me over the last couple of years really, and even more so as I witness more recent events, are: What are the strategies and actions that can effectively counter this global reality. What approaches will enable those of us who are by far the majority, to fatally wound, to undermine, to bring an end to the direction of this hegemonic plutocratic movement envisioned and controlled by the super-wealthy 1%? And the balancing question is: What are the structures and practices that need to be put in place to create a world of true justice, equity and peace?
These are the issues I propose to explore in subsequent postings. I
value and look forward to additional creative thoughts and ideas
being expressed by those who read my blog and choose to respond. For
those of us who are part of the 99%, it seems to me that this is our
critical calling for this time.
*See
also “New Leak: Brazil Coup Plotters Sought Protection from
Corruption Probe”
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/New-Leak-Brazil-Politicians-Sought-Corruption-Probe-Shield-20160530-0011.html
¥http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Media-War-Against-Venezuela-Kicks-into-High-Gear-20160528-0011.html
±See
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/SilencingPilger-20160527-0015.html.
See also
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/analysis/6-Coups-Against-Latin-Americas-Left-Since-2000-20160511-0021.html
ᵵSee
the YouTube documentary, “Koch
Brothers Exposed.” Linguist, philosopher
and social critic Noam Chomsky describes this as “class
war.”
ⱡ
See Michael Brenner's article Plutocracy
in America. See also the Popular Resistance
newsletter article “US
Democracy Crisis Creates Illegitimate Political System.”