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

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Its Official: Our World is Governed by Psychopaths

Click here to access article by Vanessa Beeley from 21st Century Wire. (The use of the word "psychopaths" is often referred to by others as "sociopaths". The usage of the latter term, I think, was brought about by its separate adoption by a professional organization (probably related to sociology) to differentiate behavior that is induced by inadequate moral socialization from mental disorders that are biologically based--"psychopathology" includes both. Thus when the terms are used in this context, they are equivalent.)

In this article Beeley express her profound chagrin over the recent appointment of Israel has chair of a law committee under the United Nations General Assembly. Israel has been in violation of a considerable number of UN resolutions concerning the Palestinian territory for a number of years. This appointment adds salt to the UN wound caused by Saudi Arabia's appointment to the UN Human Rights Council.

I was particularly struck by the quote from Aldous Huxley--it was very prophetic and insightful.