We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Struggling to be ‘Fully Alive’: Reports on Coping with Anguish

by Robert Jensen from Culture Change.  

The author summarizes the many responses he received after asking people to report on how they cope with the anguish of living in a world in collapse.  I was particularly moved by those who found difficulties in coping because of all the people around them who were in denial.