income inequality – Page 2

The four tenets of Leaderful Practice as against the traditional model of leadership. In the public domain. Author: Madhwani Vicky.

By Kathie MM

Selected New Year’s Resolution of the Day: Engage new leaders at every level of the political system.

The country’s government is a mess, has been so for ages , and is getting worse. That’s why you frequently hear the term “populism” in regard to the last election.

Populist movements act to “disrupt the existing social order by solidifying and mobilizing the animosity of the “commoner” …against “privileged elites” and the “establishment”.^[1]

Last year’s populist leader on the right won out over the establishment; the populist leader on the left was shut out by the establishment. And now, income inequality continues to grow, all the evil isms increasingly contaminate daily life, environment rape accelerates, and violence spreads its venom into all our lives .

But we’re still here. Millions of people want greater equality, benevolent justice, environmental protections, nonviolent solutions to conflict—and an end to racialopathy, ethnicopathy, sexopathy, environmentalopathy, and all those other social pathologies plaguing our land.

What will it take to move us in a better direction?

Better leaders. Ethical leaders who will fight for peace and justice—inside as well as outside prevailing political structures.

Consider the image at the beginning of this post. Does the “leaderful” profile fit your idea of the kind of leader we need? If not, what characteristics would you seek?

Can you think of anyone in the country today who has the kind of qualities you would want in a leader?

I asked my friend Tony Marsella this question. Here are some of his nominees: Noam Chomsky, Andrew Bacevich, Chris Hedges, Helen Caldicott, Daniel Ellsberg, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Maya Soetoro, Johan Galtung, Robert J. Burrowes.

Who are your nominees for potential leaders who will seek liberty and justice for all, promote democratic ideals, and act to sustain rather than destroy life on earth?

They’re out there. Search for them and tell us about them.

And please support engaging peace. You can click here to donate

Photo of a peace flag by the US Capitol during the peace march on 2007-01-27.
Image by Rrenner at English Wikipedia and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.

In my view, a truly patriotic American is an activist dedicated to the goals outlined in the Preamble of our Constitution. This entails the effort to “form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…”

I also believe that anyone who enjoys any benefits from living within a country purporting to be a democracy and providing at least some access to a democratically-based political process has the obligation to participate in that process—in particular by voting.

So, how do you become a patriotic activist in the United States? First of all you need to evaluate the current state of our system. Ask yourself some questions: is everyone in the country treated justly? If not who commits the injustices? Who suffers from the injustices? What will it take to reduce injustices—better laws? Reform of the judicial system? Who has the power to make those changes? How can you influence those power-holders?

And how about domestic tranquility? Is the United States aglow with domestic tranquility right now? If not, what individuals and groups are dividing Americans against themselves? What can be done to bring people together?

When today’s politicians use the word “defense,” are they really talking about defense or is the term “defense” a euphemism for terms such as conquest, imperialism, hegemony, domination? Do current governmental defense programs help or undermine the goal of defense? And would not the ultimate defense be living in peace?

And then we have the “general welfare” and “blessings of liberty”? Does having a higher level of income inequality than all other “developed” nations contribute to the general welfare of people in this country? In the long run, can it contribute to your welfare? How about racist, sexist, ethnocentric language, or attacks on people of color, or Jews, or Muslims, or Catholics, or immigrants? Do they contribute to the general welfare? Do they secure the blessings of liberty for you, your children, your grandchildren?

If not, then pay attention to the promises of this year’s candidates for political office. Do they offer adequate solutions to the challenges of democracy? Do some seem more tuned in to the problems than others? Think carefully, but act too. Vote.