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

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Are We Not Human?

Click here to access article by Rebecca Whiting from Al Akhbar.

 An artist presents an image of humans haunted by barbarism in his paintings.
“People today are being transformed into animals. They are filled with fear and anxiety. I am searching for the reasons behind this metamorphosis.”
For Syrian artist Mohammed Abbas, these thoughts were triggered two years ago by the political and social situation around him. Seeing a flock of sheep, he was transfixed by how much the animals’ behavior, their unified actions and loss of individuality, reflected the mutations in people he saw.
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