My Mom Was A Rebel, And Because Of Her, I Am Too

OBOS has been called one of the most influential books ever written. First published in the
1970s, it remained in print until 2018, and is now only available on line. My rebel
mom had it in her library back in the day, and it changed my life.

Today we celebrate International Women's Day, a day when we recognize influential women across history, and across the globe. 

Who would these women be? Mary Wollstonecraft perhaps, or Betty Friedan? Or Gloria Steinem? Yes, all of these and more. 

Today I pause to reflect on the most influential women in my life. While all the famous women have done amazing things, none of them has affected me as much as my own mother.

Every day of my life I give thanks for the achievements of Margaret Mooney, my rebel mom. You could call her an "early feminist" I guess, unless you realize that women have been fighting for equality for much longer than the 1970s. 

How about the 1770s? Yes, and no doubt, before then, too.

So mom was not the most famous, and she was not the first, but she was the sole woman to not only bring me into this world, but also teach me about the role of women (and men) in society.

My mom is one of the strongest persons I know. She birthed and raised 5 children, virtually alone. Since dad, a wonderful man, was a traditional 1950s guy, child rearing was not his thing. Bringing home the bacon was his sole domain, and he did it well. 

Not that it was easy for him, but come on, who had the more difficult job? Not only did mom raise 5 wild children, she also broke free of convention and went back to school to get a degree later in life. Then she entered the work place, as if she didn't have enough to do already.

Ultimately, she emancipated herself from her traditional role, and that takes some kind of strength. Just ask any woman, Rosa Parks, perhaps, about the struggle to be free of the bullshit of a racist, misogynist patriarchy. 

It is hard, but it is worth it. Where there is no struggle, there is no progress.

It was my mother's example that made me not only a feminist, but also helped me to emancipate myself from the same sick system that she railed against. If not for her, would I have even known that I was also in chains, that we all were, and that it was up to me, to each of us, to break those chains?

So today, I celebrate all women, famous or not. But mostly I celebrate the most important woman in my life - my mother.

Thank you, mom. I am, because of you. But not just that - I am free, because of you.

Wanted: Alien Abduction

Finally! Abduction. Good-bye Earthlings.

When I read the news these days I find myself dreaming of being abducted by aliens. I would love it if a flying saucer would go all X-Files on me. 

I would be drawn up into their craft in a beam of light, then transported to a far away planet inhabited by a race of beings that lived lives that actually made sense. 

My new friends would be dedicated to reason, logic, and scientific inquiry. 

They would honour the planet they rely on for their sustenance, and treat her with full respect. The alien system would be non-hierarchical, and the accumulation of wealth by single individuals would be seen as the insanity that it is wherever it exists. 

Being intelligent beings, they would have a system based on the abundance of the Universe, as opposed to the scarcity that causes so much grief on our own dismal planet. 

There would be no money.

These aliens would be dedicated to the improvement of their species, and they would build on the knowledge that was hard gained by their ancestors to develop advancements for the good of all. 

No Dark Ages or neo-feudalism here.

All the alien beings would be equals, and they would not discount and denigrate the skills and abilities of 50% of their population based on what kind of genitals they possess.

Their newspapers would be full of news, not weaponized propaganda and outright lies.

Planet Alien would have clean air, land, and water, and anyone that fouled either one would be exiled to Earth where such activities are actively encouraged by eco-cidal maniacs.

They would be loving and compassionate, and they would cherish all little alien children enough to put aside individual greed and selfishness so as to ensure a livable planet in perpetuity.

So, I say to the aliens, wherever they may be, "Abduct me! Please. I won't try to run away, or hide under my bed. I am not afraid."

I would even allow some gentle probing, which would be an major upgrade from taking it up the rear from a bunch of billionaires and their bought and paid for politicians here on my birth planet.

Remember, The Truth is Out There. 

Spring Joins Us Together

Replica of H. D. Thoreau’s 150 sq. ft. cabin at Walden Farm, where the author was born in 1817.

"The setting sun is reflected from the windows as brightly as from the rich man's abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace." 

- Henry David Thoreau

Spring weather comes slowly to the Atlantic coast, but that today is officially the first full day of spring is undeniable. We have not had our first robin or hummingbird yet, but I have been watching the Sun slowly move from its winter resting place in the south toward where it is today - setting directly on the western point of the compass.

As the Sun continues its path north things will warm and our days will stretch out in a joyous northern celebration of not having to worry about your tongue sticking to cold metal objects any more.

Light, heat, and life return. We made it through another winter.

Spring/Fall equinox is always a special event, in that it creates a brief global photonic equality. Equinox means "equal night" which also means equal day. On the day of an equinox, daytime and nighttime are of approximately equal duration all over the planet.

It doesn't matter who you are, or where you are, you enjoy the same sunlight as everyone else today.

That joins us all together, and I like that.

Happy spring/fall, everyone.

A Day Without Women - General Strike

Image selected by Linda.

"The protest on Wednesday stems from the efforts of the organizers of last month’s Women March on Washington. The group called for a national walkout a month ago to coincide with International Women’s Day. 

On their website, the organizers wrote that the protest is aimed at “recognizing the enormous value that women of all backgrounds add to our socio-economic system—while receiving lower wages and experiencing greater inequities, vulnerability to discrimination, sexual harassment, and job insecurity.” 

The organizers are encouraging women to refrain from both paid and unpaid labor and to avoid shopping—unless it’s at a woman-owned establishment. They’re encouraging those who can’t participate in the strike, and men hoping to show support, to wear the color red in solidarity. 

They also suggest that men start a conversation about equal pay at work and pitch in with housework at the office and at home. The organizers have also encouraged employers to close or give female staff the day off." - The Atlantic

If The World Were A Village Of 100 People

If the population of the world were shrunk down to a proportionally represented village of 100 people, what would it be like?  How many people would have electricity? An education? Clean air and water? The World of 100 simulation answers such questions.

I became aware of the World of 100 simulation while studying global education in university. The simulation is a graphic way of illustrating a world of 7 billion people shrunk to a population of only one hundred.

Seen this way, obscure statistics lost in big numbers become more manageable, and if using actual students to represent the numbers, the results can be seen right away.

More recently I came across designer Toby Ng's visual interpretation of the World of 100 concept (numbers may not be accurate for 2015). The simple representations makes the information even more stark. Viewing them reminds me to be more grateful for the life I have, and motivates me to work even harder toward ensuring that every single person on Earth has what they need.

All 100 of them.

Lessons From The Forest Monday

“But I’ll tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you’ll come to understand that you’re connected with everything.” 

- Alan Watts

Every once in a while I like to go for a walk in the forest for a lesson. Here I am not bound by the manufactured rules of human culture. There are no signs, no laws, and no authority other than nature itself. In the forest I am free to be and to learn.

This is the place that I feel the best, surrounded by stillness and quiet. I can think and relax away from busy, noisy crowds. Here I can discover everything I need to know for successful living.

I am in good company - just look at people like Henry David Thoreau, who lived and learned in the woods, or Vandana Shiva who started her eco-education and activism in the Chipko movement (the original tree huggers) that protected the trees from loggers in the forests of the Himalayas.

After repeated walks among the beautiful oaks and rhododendrons, the Indian activist learned that "the forest teaches us enoughness: as a principle of equity, how to enjoy the gifts of nature without exploitation and accumulation."

The forest is the source of beauty, harmony, art, and perfection in cooperation. It models a method in which everything does its part with thrift and equality.

No species takes more than its fair share. There is no consumerism, no greed, and no accumulation for personal aggrandizement. There is a freedom to be and participate as a necessary and integral part of something larger to which we are all connected.

When we begin to learn the lessons of the forest, we will begin to live in harmony with nature and with each other.

Labour Day Monday

Workers of the world unite

Also brought to you by the labour movement:

• child labour laws
• 8 hour work days
• 5 day work week
• holidays
• unemployment insurance
• pensions
• legislation prohibiting discrimination by employers or unions on the basis of race, national origin, color, religion or gender.
• minimum wage
• overtime
• legislation covering safety in the workplace

MAYDAY!

May Day was a traditional late spring/early summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures. Today the pagan celebration has been supplanted by labor traditions that have been observed since the 1800s in many countries.

The following is a widespread brief history of the labour aspect of May Day in North America:

In 1884, unions declared that eight hours would constitute a legal day’s work from and after May 1, 1886. When workers went on strike at a factory in Chicago on May 3, 1886, police fired into the peacefully assembled crowd, killing four and wounding many others.

The workers movement called for a mass rally the next day in Haymarket Square to protest this brutality. The rally proceeded peacefully until the end when 180 police officers entered the square and ordered the crowd to disperse. At that point, someone threw a bomb, killing one police officer and wounding 70 others. The police responded by firing into the crowd, killing one and injuring many others.

Eight of the city’s most active unionists were charged with conspiracy to commit murder even though only one present at the meeting was on the speakers’ platform. All eight were found guilty and sentenced to death, despite a lack of evidence connecting them to the person who threw the bomb.

Four were hanged on November 11, 1887, Louis Lingg committed suicide in prison, and the remaining three were finally pardoned in 1893. Lucy Parsons, the widow of Albert Parsons, traveled the world urging workers to celebrate May Day and to remember the events of Haymarket and the subsequent government-sponsored murder of those fighting for the rights of all workers.

Over time, May Day grew to become an important day for organizing and unifying the international struggle of workers and their allies. 

Exploitation of workers and the environment is not sustainable. Observing the labour aspect of May Day sends a strong message to rapacious governments and their corporate allies:

If you exploit us, we will shut you down, and if we don't, the environment will.

Rich Is Relative

Rich or Poor?

Deciding who is 'rich' is a highly relative undertaking, and one that many obsess about. Where you fall on the richness scale depends a lot on where you live. Calculating where I rank in income in North America, where I live, is enormously different than calculating where I fall globally. It is enough to give one a split personality.

On the North American Rich-O-Meter I am at the bottom, with 94% of people having incomes higher than my own. I am semi-retired, so my income is low, but even if I include total expenses for the year, I find that 78% of the population is still richer than I am.

I am at the bottom of the rich scale when compared to my neighbours. Some people might find this rather distressing, but I rather like it. Check out the North American Rich-O-Meter here.

If you checked your ranking, and didn't like what you saw, fear not. Another income meter may change that - the Global Rich List is certain to make you feel better. Or not. Either way, it is a pretty sobering comparison.

Using my modest annual family income, the same number that put me at the poverty level in North America, tells a very different story globally. The global rich-o-meter calculates that I am in the top 14% of global income earners, and among the richest people in the world. Calculating my position on the rich list using total annual spending puts me into the top 12% globally.

In comparison, to join the top 12% of earners in North America, I would need over 10 times the annual income. See the Global Rich List here.

So am I living in poverty, or am I rich? It is all relative, and when it comes down to it, it is my perception of my experience that determines how I feel about it. One's ranking on the rich scale has little to do with happiness, which depends on many things other than money.

Income, personal wealth, and material possessions mean very little when it comes right down to it. This lesson is taught to us over and over and over by very wealthy individuals that tragically struggle to find happiness, in spite of being able to afford virtually anything they want.

Happiness is what is truly important in the end, but there are obvious issues of inequality that threaten everyone's happiness if left unaddressed. We ignore them at our peril.

DID YOU KNOW..?

Three billion people live on less than $2 per day while 1.3 billion get by on less than $1 per day. Seventy percent of those living on less than $1 per day are women. - from Global Rich List

Workers Build Value, But Don't Benefit Proportionately

We all help to build value - we should all benefit

The wealth of nations is built by the workforce, from the bottom up. Why is it then, that this very same workforce is being asked to swallow austerity, while those at the top continue raking in the wealth?

"From the end of World War II through the early 1970s... the rate of income growth for all levels was relatively well in sync. From 1945 to 1973, incomes rose 99 per cent for the bottom 99 per cent, but only 40 per cent for the top one per cent.

But from Reagan's election in 1980 through to 2007, the year before the Wall Street crash, the top one per cent gained 232 per cent, compared with just 20 per cent for the bottom 99 per cent."

- source

Almost 500 Canadian workers for Caterpillar Inc are about to experience what forced austerity feels like. First they were locked out, after rightfully refusing to take a 50% reduction in wages, and now Caterpillar has closed the shop and is leaving town with its bag of profits. It is leaving a dedicated workforce feeling demoralized.

Chances are workers abused by business practices all over the world are not thinking about climate change. Small footprint living will only be effective and sustainable if we enter into it willingly. Involuntary simplicity is a struggle, not a lifestyle choice.

We want to promote living with less for the benefits it provides personally, as well as environmentally and from a social justice point of view, not to improve the bottom line of the business community.

Why I Am Having A Buy Nothing Xmas

You don't have to BUY a gift to GIVE a gift

I don't participate in conventional Christmas any more, at least not when it comes to the shopping part of it. No, this year is another Buy Nothing Xmas for me, and because of that, I will be skipping all the hazards of the seasonal shopping frenzy.

As Linus, of Peanuts cartoon fame discovered, "Christmas is not only getting too commercial, it's getting too dangerous!" These days you never know when you might get pepper sprayed by a hyper-competitive super shopper lunging for an Xbox.

But personal safety is not the only reason I am opting out of the commercialized craziness.

Here are a few others:

•  80% of humanity lives on less than $10 dollars a day - participating in a high-consumption Christmas does them an injustice.
• because I believe in counter-culture protest, peace activism, as well as human and ecological rights
• it is one way for me to withdraw my support for a corporate-dominated world - corporations are not kings, and I am not a consumer serf
• it is a way to re-assert my political power and take a meaningful action now
• as a way of addressing poverty - traditional Christmas emphasizes caring for those less fortunate during the holiday season, but does little to implement systematic changes that would eliminate the need for charity
• it brings attention to the national and global imbalance of power and wealth

Having a buy nothing Xmas is a way to take action in fighting an inequitable world beset by a number of serious problems. Many of these challenges were caused, or worsened by, conspicuous consumption.

So maybe as we close in on the holiday season we can engage our friends and family in discussions about free-market consumer capitalism, inequality, human rights, and justice, rather than what we are getting each other for Christmas.

Instead of rushing off to compete for parking spots and bargains - and risking a competitive shopping injury - let us brainstorm solutions for our broken planet.

Love and goodwill will reign when we leave the shopping behind.

Occupy My Mind Camp Releases Demands

It can be done wherever you are, and no threats of eviction

A comrade asked some good questions regarding the various Occupy camps in cities around the world. (My own question is why don't we Occupy the Forest?) "How", my friend asked, "will the Occupy protesters know when it is time to go home? What are their demands, and how long will it take to implement them? When will they be done?"

Will the Multitude's War on Inequality be like the War on Terrorism, and take generations to 'win'? If so, the Occupy camps are going to need better accommodations.

Since the Occupation of My Mind, in solidarity with the broader movement, I have been working on a list of demands. My General Assemblies, which quickly achieved consensus on all points, have generated the following list:

To: The 1%

From: Occupy My Mind Camp

Subject: List of Demands

1. Replace corporations with cooperatives. Cooperatives are "a different way of doing business, one focused on human need not human greed, where the members (who own and govern the business) collectively enjoy the benefits instead of all profits going just to shareholders."
2. Tax those most able to pay. Consider it the cost of enjoying the advantages provided by the country that helped generate all that wealth. Not to mention the externalities, or negative effects, of generating all that wealth.
3. Put the health of people and the planet first. People and the planet before profits.
4. Start a War on War. Figures released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute last year showed that worldwide military expenditure in 2009 totaled an estimated $1.6 trillion. This was an increase of 5.9% in real terms compared to 2008 and an increase of 49% since 2000. That is OUR money, and I can think of better ways to spend it.
5. Adequately fund education for all. Education is the answer to many of the world's problems. $1.6 trillion diverted from the torture and kill budget line, and allocated to global education, would go a long way. Total global public education expenditure for 2004 was $1.97 trillion.
6. Allocate resource cards at birth to all humans. A resource card would track the consumption of each humans 'fair share' of the planet's bounty. Once you used your fair share, that would be it. This would ensure individuals use their allocation carefully, and sustainably. Very carefully.
7. End speculation on food commodities. In this casino, increased winnings mean more starving people. Goldman Sachs alone made $5 billion in profits on commodities speculation in 2009.

Alright 1%, there it is. This is only a beginning - the list is subject to additions as they come up in future general assemblies. Although I expect immediate action, I am occupying my camp for the long haul. Several decades more if I am lucky, but time is running out.

If we see real movement toward these goals immediately (people continue to die as we hesitate) the dedicated folks tenting in the various Occupy camps can go home feeling victorious before winter sets in.

Or we could all go and support Occupy Perth for a few months. Maybe not - they were evicted a few days ago.

The 1% may have all of the money, but I am freeing my mind from their consumer shackles. As I watch the evictions taking place in camps across the world, I am more dedicated than ever to continue The Occupation of My Mind.

"Find out for yourself what is truth, what is real. Discover that there are virtuous things and there are non-virtuous things. Once you have discovered for yourself give up the bad and embrace the good." - Buddha

No Empire Monday

"The decline of Empire has begun and the revolution against it is in progress." - from Empire, M. Hardt and A. Negri

In Trainspotting, the main character, Mark Renton, decides to go clean and quit heroin. He is successful in doing so, and tries to "choose life" like the regular people he sees around him. Why, I am not sure.

Eventually Renton gives up his addiction, and looks forward to a 'better' life of mindless consumer addiction while living a culturally approved script.

"I'm going to be just like you: the job, the family, the fucking big television, the washing machine, the car, the compact disc and electrical tin opener, good health, low cholesterol, dental insurance, mortgage, starter home, leisurewear, luggage, three-piece suit, DIY, game shows, junk food, children, walks in the park, nine to five, good at golf, washing the car, choice of sweaters, family Christmas, indexed pension, tax exemption, clearing the gutters, getting by, looking ahead, to the day you die."

This is what he quit drugs for? This is what we have traded our freedom for? It is no wonder the masses are growing restless, and are beginning to challenge notions of Empire. The dream of democracy, and a better life has turned out to be a bit of a nightmare for millions of pacified workers.

People are working more and more for less and less, and are not happy about it. Negri and Hardt in their book Empire, have good news for these victims of contemporary global capitalism. They say that capitalism, "although seemingly impervious to anti-systemic challenge, is in fact vulnerable at all points to riot and rebellion."

Maybe the Mark Rentons of the world will find that consumer addiction and adhering to the regular life script can be as hazardous to your health as hard drugs. But rather than go back to heroin, perhaps they will join a protest somewhere, and hit back at the dead end choices we are offered by the men behind the curtains.

Perhaps they will say no to the addictions of capitalism and stuff, and gain their freedom through living simply. Perhaps rather than support it, they will help bring the Empire down.

The Empire is falling--they always do--and when it does, The People will resume control. Together we will create better, more sustainable and equitable ways of doing things.

Time For A Consumer Counter-Revolution

"I want to talk to the fucking person that did this to me."

In an interview The Sex Pistols Sid Vicious said, "In the end I was the only one that had any anarchy left in him". More than likely, everyone else wandered off to go shopping, leaving Mr. Vicious a lone banner waver in the middle of an empty square. And now he ends up as an 'ultra-detailed', plastic imprisoned action figure mass marketed by unscrupulous opportunists for which nothing is sacred.

How could anyone do this to the rebellious soul that famously said, "Undermine their pompous authority, reject their moral standards, make anarchy and disorder your trademarks. Cause as much chaos and disruption as possible but don`t let them take you ALIVE"? He must be spitting in his grave.

Rampant commercialization aside, Vicious would be happy with other developments in the world today. Citizens are rising up to throw off the shackles of repressive conditions, and are expressing their yearning to be free. They have got the mean and greedy on the run, and are exerting the will of the people in a way that will not be ignored.

Sid would support us in taking our lives back from those that would exploit us for their own gain. He would be into doing away with debt slavery, and the concomitant wage slavery that the majority now see as "normal life".

For a long time we didn't know better - we were ignorant of the big picture. Or at least that used to be the case before the information age began. Now we do know better.

Now we know our flawed system funnels 24% of the wealth to the top 1%. We know that 20% of the population consumes 80% of the resources. We know that thousands of poor die every day from the lack of basic necessities. We know we are killing our planet.

Now that we know, how can this awareness not lead to change in how we live our lives? How can we continue to support this economic regime knowing that those above us are oppressing us as we oppress those below? Why aren't we "undermining their pompous authority and rejecting their moral standards" now that we know better? Whose side, exactly, are we on?

As the Sid-approved developments in the Middle East are showing us, it is time to shake up any system that preys on the many for the benefit of the few. This can be done peacefully by exerting our power, and living the lives and dreams we want to live. Not some scripted life as presented by the media, and as brought to you by faceless corporate entities.

Imagine the chaos and disruption that would happen if we all decided to live simple, satisfying lives that were cooperative in nature and did not entirely depend on the capitalist agenda of selfishness, greed, and infinite growth and desire. Collectively, our individual actions will change the world.

"Simplicity, clarity, singleness: these are the attributes that give our lives power and vividness and joy."

- Richard Halloway 

No Mischief Monday