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

Monday, March 28, 2016

Brussels attacks: New European reality, old tired response

Click here to access article by Danielle Ryan by Global Independent Analytics
There is no justification for the violence we saw in Brussels and Paris. There will be no justification for it when it hits the next European city — and it will. Equally, there is no justification for the violence that Western nations led into hell by Washington have inflicted on other nations. It’s our inability to see that which lies at the root of the problem.

The EU must stay united. NATO must be expanded. Russia must be contained. Regime change is the only option for *insert country of choice*. Just keep playing those phrases on repeat until all ability to question or think for yourself is truly drained.

They want you to cry, change your profile picture to a Belgian flag, allow them to maintain the status quo and then act surprised when it happens again.

It’s well past time to stop letting them.