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

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Talking Wikileaks, Assange, Manning, Occupy, And More: My Conversation With Mark Hand

Click here to access article by Mickey Z. from World News Trust

During the course of their conversation, many gems of observation and insight are expressed such as the following:
Today, despite the easier access to information -- or perhaps because of the information empowerment movement -- governments and corporations, along with their sycophants in the press, are mobilizing their resources to ensure the public knows its place in the hierarchy. As you point out, Western powers are extremely worried about real, grass roots democracy, exemplified by the knowledge-is-power work of Wikileaks. Just look at how all levels of governments in the United States have reacted so violently and in a coordinated fashion to the Occupy Wall Street movement over the past 11 months.