resistance

What if We Owned the Banks?

Economic Inequality: Part 3

In June of 2015, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Barclays, among other Libor-rigging giants, pleaded guilty to felony charges related to the [Libor] conspiracy and greed to pay more than $2.5 billion in criminal fines to U.S. regulators.

Protesters and Chase(AP Photo / Edouard H.R. Gluck)

Representing only a single instance of a commonplace practice played out the world over, this corporate criminality instigated the outage of Craig Brandt, an attorney from Oakland, California. He set out to enact an audacious plan. With other individuals, Mr. Brandt endeavored to have the Oakland City Council “take radical action to combat plutocracy, inequality and financial dislocation”. Mr. Brandt wanted to create a city-owned “public bank”.

Recent posts on this blog have explored economic inequality and its ramifications. The post this week continues this series, beginning to focus on potential solutions to what some see as a looming economic catastrophe. As Part 3 our Economic Inequality series, consider this article by Jimmy Tobias: “What if People Owned the Banks Instead of Wall Street?”

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Do Some GOOD Today

Two Items from Jen Hofmann’s
Americans of Conscience Action List

 

resist_1.pngIt has been more than a year since the current person occupying the White House along with a curiously right leaning Congress began implementing changes which have altered and at times threatened the lives and wellbeing of common people.  Even those who support the person whom some call “45” have begun to realize the People are not his primary interest.

Last year, many began flying a banner with the essential sentiment “Resist!”.  When a perceived wrong is being committed by anyone—an individual, a collection of individuals or a government—resistance represents the bare minimum activity for people of conscience.  But resistance is not enough.  We who truly do seek the wellbeing of the People should be focused primarily on proactive behavior that seeks to enhance or at least maintain the rights and privileges Americans have come to expect.

Jennifer-Hofmann-image-1.jpg

In this light, for well over a year, Jen Hofmann has been faithfully posting both opportunities for various types of action and thanks to those who have acted on behalf of others.  Although we have posted several links to Jen’s Action List in the past, we have not yet passed on anything from her list this year.  Today, we correct that.  Take a look at a couple entries from Jen’s list.  Better yet, go over to her page and choose something to do this week. (more…)

Responding to Hate

beyond hate

The tragic events last week in Charlottesville, Virginia stand as a reminder that the actions of some of us express staunch opposition to what we might call Good.   Steve Tanner, writing under the umbrella of 500 Pens: an anti-hate news project, offers an annotated list of thoughtful actions we might take when confronting hate in EveryDayLife.  In Mr. Tanner’s own words:

By arming ourselves with a solid understanding of best practices, we can all be ready to respond properly — and safely — when acts of hate unfold before our eyes. Every situation is unique, but the following list is meant to serve as a guide for how to best respond to acts of hatred and bigotry.  ~Steve Tanner 

His brief list of suggestions includes the following.

  • Draw Attention Away From Hateful Protests and Demonstrations
  • Do Not Engage with the Attackers
  • Focus on Protecting the Attacked Person
  • Alert the Police and Other Authorities When Appropriate
  • Prepare in Advance

Food for thought:  Consider the principle of the “golden rule” which appears in some form in almost all major religions and which forms the basis of Good to which this blog often refers.  Does a “hate stance” espoused by a group seeking to exclude others fall within the definition of a golden rule-type Good?  (Do not answer too quickly.  This so-called golden rule is not the same as “live and let live”.)

For example, a white supremacist might be perfectly willing to live in peace as long as non-white folks (and in some cases Jews) live elsewhere.  While some hate groups essentially preach genocide, others simply do not want to have to deal with others they do not considers to be “us”.  Is this a non-Good stance?  What are the criteria for Good?  How can we effectively express Good—treating others as we wish to be treated—in a pluralistic society? Perhaps the deeper question is this: What are the requirements for a pluralistic society sustaining itself within the idea of Good? What does freedom look like in such a context?

You might consider subscribing to the 500 Pens newsletter.  You can also follow 500 Pens on Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

Reich on Resistance

Hportrait - Robert Reich.jpgow are you feeling these days?  Are you depressed, weary, feeling lost, even hopeless? Are you feeling as if every other day you finch at the seemingly uncanny events erupting in Washington, DC?  Perhaps you believe the mainstream media’s coverage of DC events beleaguers and distracts from a crusade to rid the country of “neo-liberal” political machinations designed not to help, but to dominate. Perhaps you are feeling that sometime in the future–certainly not now–that the country we call “land of the free” will feel that way again?

If you are feeling something—anything—take a look at a May 22 video by Robert Reich.  Mr. Reich offers encouragement, admonition, challenge, information and clarification. You might agree or not.  Let his words be a catalyst for you to form your own opinion and decide what you want to do about it.

If you agree, please do not take this as a feel good moment, to sit back, comfortable in your complacency.  Take up the challenge to act in accordance with your current opinion.

If you do not agree, please do not just utter your usual epithets against those “others”.  Rather, understand that Mr. Reich genuinely seeks Good for us all.  That he, taking the phrase “We, the People” very seriously, asks us to think about how (if) we care for one another and how we might insure that our government does the same.

If you feel somethings…do somethings!

Robert Reich is an American political commentator, professor, and author. He served in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter and was Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997.  If you find this video interesting, you might want to check out Professor Reich’s YouTube channel for frequent videos of this kind, posted under the name ResistancE is FertilE.