This really interesting article was originally published at Oped News:

Summary: Capitalism needs poverty so that capitalists can thrive. What is needed is voluntary simplicity from the relatively wealthy of the world. Many people in the world have suffered and died because of what the United States Government has done in the world from its inception up to right now. It is a tragic story but it’s true. Other nations have their social sins too, but we have to own up, accept, and be responsible for what we personally have done. We have to be very sorry for what we have done, and we have to ask the world for forgiveness for the remission of our sins one nation at a time. And we must vow to change our ways to bring peace, hope, and love to the whole world with ecological wisdom. To have a world without end, we need a world without empire. “World without Empire! Amen, Amen.”

Like a network of nerve cells in the body, when the world becomes a democratic network of intentional communities or self-determined communes, each having a global and local focus, then there will be peace, unity, integration, and harmony in the world. The highest form of community is the communion, unity, and intimacy of a commune. Building community in neighborhoods and organizations is important. Interpersonal communication skillscan be learned, and understanding ourselves will help us understand others. The best thing we can give others and the world is openness, honesty, transparency, even vulnerability. The Center for Nonviolent Communicationshares ways to reduce the violence that is in our personal lives and among nations. The Four Stages of Achieving True Community is another valuable resource.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh said, “The next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha will take the form of a community; a community practicing understanding and loving kindness, a community practicing mindful living. This may be the most important thing we can do for the survival of the Earth.”

In creating a title for this article, I debated whether to use the word “materialism” or “consumerism.” Then I discovered that someone at Quora.com had asked the question What is the relationship between consumerism and materialism? Here is how Thomas L. Johnson responded:  “Great question that is difficult to answer because both terms have at least two completely different definitions.” Johnson states that when Ralph Nader started the American consumerist movement that was a good thing because we need watchdogs to keep track of products to protect the interests of consumers. But the second definition of consumerism describes those who believe we live in an economy where consumption is the machine that drives economic growth. “But it leads to planned obsolescence and rapidly changing styles. The fact that Apple feels it has to release a new edition of the Smartphone every year is a testament to this sort of consumerism.” One definition of materialism states that it is a philosophy that holds that matter is the only real thing; reality is not anything that is spiritual. In the other definition of materialism, “the acquisition and possession of objects is the primary value akin to a religion,” which would not be a spiritual religion.

Here are some websites that integrate science and spirituality. Mystics and yogis have known for thousands of years that we can transcend duality and experience the oneness of everything. Websites such as Soulproof.com, Science and NonDuality, near-death.com, VictorZammit.com, and Buddha at the Gas Pump show us how we can become self-actualized or personally enlightened. More and more people are testifying about their Near Death Experiences (NDEs) and some of us are becoming convinced that we will have an afterlife.

Philosophical materialism is the basis of the scientific method that has brought about scientific and technological wonders. But there is increasing evidence that consciousness actually exists independently and outside of the brain as an inherent property of the universe itself like dark matter and dark energy or gravity. According to neuropsychiatrist Dr. Peter Fenwick’s research and view, “the brain does not create or produce consciousness; rather, it filters it.”

Our human potential extends far beyond what can be achieved through subject-object duality, the normal thinking and reasoning state of mind. So both definitions of materialism above keep us from being all that we can be, which is why I chose “materialism” rather than “consumerism” as a factor that prevents world peace.

Spiritual books such as Autobiography of a Yogi, Living with the Himalayan Masters, Miracle of Love, and Yoga Sutras of Patanjali reveal a transpersonal human potential that so far cannot be fully understood and measured using the scientific method. In the teachings of Jesus, Buddha, and Krishna there is a focus on individual salvation, spiritual growth, liberation, or enlightenment without a focus on improving the world. But if we are going to create a future in this world for our children and grandchildren, we have to think about how to make this world better. Each one of us needs to become a socially-responsible planetary or world citizen. Everything we choose or buy or do can be a model for the world. Our neighborhoods and communities can be models for the world. Whenever possible, we each need to develop and share our plan for saving the world and the planet.

We need to plan for a sustainable future that is beneficial to all–to every person in every nation. Much of the world is over-developed–for example, we need fewer people and fewer cars. To encourage the use of buses, let’s make city bus fare free. Walking more would certainly be good. We need voluntary simplicity from all, for all, right now. I wonder how often those who have lived with involuntary simplicity all their lives have been led to believe that the life of conspicuous consumption and materialism will give them the greatest happiness. It represents the false hope of capitalism which might be good for private corporations, but not for others throughout the world who also want and need love, peace, and joy. We’re all interrelated and interconnected, and we’re all in this world together whether we realize it or not. Let us swim together and let no one sink.

Many believe heaven is a place where we will have eternal communion with God, but we can find our life purpose and divine source within right here on earth. If we make a better heaven on earth first, then it just seems like we will experience a better heaven when we get to heaven. Or if reincarnation is true, we can choose to keep coming back to this earth to make it a model planet. We can strive to make this Earth Community just as good as anything on the other side when we pass on.

We are taught to believe that we live in a democracy, but how can we live in a democratic society when we really only have 2 national political parties, and both support U.S. imperialism; both have worked together to make it very difficult for third parties to have an equal voice. We need mass demonstrations that demand the equal empowerment of the 7 largest national political parties. Then and there we might find some parties that value world peace–parties that value ecological wisdom, personal freedom and egalitarianism–parties that seek the self-actualization of every person in every country–parties that promote models of democracy in every nation.

The best way to improve our government on a national level would be to have a federal legislature based on proportional representation drawing from the 7 largest national political parties. With so much diversity, a bicameral legislature may not be necessary. Imagine living in a society where political parties that capture one percent of the national vote have a voice that is heard. Wouldn’t you want to hear each and every one of their voices? Proportional Representation from all the parties that capture at least one percent of the national vote would be the fairest way for a legislature to operate and the fairest way to have a constitutional convention for a new national constitution to implement things like proportional representation and the equal empowerment of the 7 largest national political parties.

If we eliminate these 9 social sins, people all over of the world will rejoice knowing they can now have a sustainable and secure future for themselves, their children, and grandchildren: 1) Imperialism 2) Materialism 3) Transnational Predatory Capitalism 4) Nationalism 5) Racism 6) Patriarchy 7) Ecocide 8) Speciesism (species-ism) and 9) the discrimination against the LGBTQ community, against Polyamory, and against those who are federally prohibited from using marijuana and psychedelic drugs because they are still classified as Schedule I drugs.

On an international level, let us value democratic world law or international law and be open to having a democratic world government. Let us never allow an empire to emerge that seeks to control the world for its own selfish gain to the detriment of the whole world. The Earth Constitution is an excellent model for a democratic world government. At the beginning of this interview, Noam Chomsky quotes Albert Einstein who said that unless we create a [democratic] world government, we are doomed.

Capitalism, Materialism, and Imperialism are just 3 of the 9 social sins that prevent world peace and happiness. The world needs voluntary simplicity from all, for all, right now, the sooner the better. The earth needs voluntary simplicity from all, for all, right now, the sooner the better. There is never an end to spiritual growth and discovery if our intention and goal is to create a spiritual politics for the world.

A new year, a new war! Stop the never-ending wars! The U.S. War on Terrorism is a joke because the rest of the world, other nations, mostly fear the United States; they do not love the United States. In fact, according to world polls the United States is the greatest threat to peace in the world today. This is true even though many immigrants still want to come here to make a better life for themselves and their families.

The United States is more concerned about expanding its empire than it is about creating world peace. We purposely destabilize governments, even democratically-elected ones, to gain geo-political control over every region of the world. It is all for the benefit of capitalist corporations, especially the ones that make more money whenever there is a new war. This is why the whole system is corrupt and why the world is so messed up. Anyone who does not understand this is deceived and living in a matrix, deceived by the American myth. If we want to live in a world of joy, peace, and love–we need to become very aware and very concerned about what the United States government is doing throughout the world and also about the extravagant lifestyles of people in the United States compared to other peoples of the world. The U.S. military is the world’s largest polluter.

We have to be very concerned about the values of United States citizens, what they believe and how they vote, because they are affecting the whole world and our sacred Earth in a very undesirable way. If we do not stop the insane support for empire expansion–higher life forms on this planet will be destroyed, and it all may come sooner than we think as we each live in our private worlds of distraction. The world does not need or want an empire controlling it. The United States is an empire–whose CIA covert operations has been a disguise for blackmail, sabotage, regime change, assassination–whatever the U.S. needs to do to control other countries regardless of what other nations truly want for themselves. We have to really be aware of what we are seeking for ourselves and the world.

The PNAC document (Project for a New American Century) written about one year before 9/11 called for a revolution within the U.S. military establishment so that the U.S. would become “tomorrow’s dominant force.” The document said this may be a slow process however without “some catastrophic and catalysing event–like a new Pearl Harbor.” Many are convinced that 9/11–which occurred about one year after the PNAC document was written–was the new Pearl Harbor that the neoconservatives and neoliberals wanted and got.

Amy Goodman interviewed General Wesley Clark who said in this video with transcript that he learned of a plan about 10 days after 9/11 to take out 7 countries in 5 years starting with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and lastly Iran. (Here are 3 articles and 22 documentaries about PNAC.) Here is just one video by process theology professor David Ray Griffin, who is probably the greatest expert on 9/11, about the omissions and distortions of the 9/11 Commission Report. Griffin and many others have said that all of the 3 buildings (only 2 were hit by planes) in NYC came down almost at the speed of gravity, which is only possible through controlled demolition. Fires alone have never caused buildings to fall like that before.

WorldBeyondWar.org and actor and activist Martin Sheen have recently released an excellent 11-minute video proclaiming that our two greatest threats are the environmental or climate emergency and nuclear weapons. The video also mentions that the world spends 2 trillion dollars a year on war, of which the U.S. spends one trillion! Most of us, who are sheltered from understanding what is really going on in the world, do not truly comprehend the magnitude of suffering and death caused by foolish, unnecessary, never-ending wars.

Instead of waiting for a Rapture or Second Coming, it is up to us, the citizens of the world, to discover the divine source within us to make the prophecy of Isaiah 2:4 come true: “The LORD [Love] will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore (New Living Translation).”

If we want to be a model nation that sets a good example, we should first of all seek forgiveness from every individual, group, and nation that we have harmed over the years. We must vow to engage in ecological practices that are sustainable.

Let us close down our 800-1000 military bases around the world and take a leadership role in getting worldwide nuclear disarmament right now. We need presidents who will promise that they will never start a nuclear war. If we’re bombed first, and we retaliate with resentment, that is not good either. There are better ways to leave this world. Personally, I would not be willing to retaliate out of revenge.

Military personnel can keep their same salaries as they seek new jobs made available to them–jobs that build community and infrastructure at home and abroad, possibly through expanded Peace Corps missions. A revamped and empowered, more democratic United Nations that removes its elitist Security Council that has 5 permanent members–can take action against any nation that becomes militarily aggressive toward another nation.

According to the World Bank, nearly half the world lives on less than $5.50 a day. Is that fair? Moreover, why is it not good that just 8 men own the same wealth as half the world? Because extreme wealth creates extreme power to control the mainstream media and the elected officials who make our laws. Is income inequality linked to health and social problems? Of course, always, and we don’t need to do a scientific study to prove it, but here is a study that proves it.

According to the balance.com, “During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump promised he would eliminate the nation’s debt in eight years. Instead his budgets would add $9.1 trillion during that time. It would increase the U.S. debt to $29 trillion according to Trump’s budget estimates.” Here are the top 10 reasons why the national debt matters.

Should we be concerned about the growing world population? Yes. Here are Current World Population and Future Projections. Increasing world population is increasing environmental problems.

John Taylor Gatto, who was twice voted New York State Teacher of the Year, broke all the school rules when he turned his high school students loose to travel all over Manhattan doing self-designed school projects. Gatto taught millions how to write their own scripts and be successful. Gatto discovered from his research that the 6 purposes of early public schooling in the United States were all about social engineering, preparing students to take their rightful place in society. For example, the first function or purpose of early public education was to “establish fixed habits of reaction to authority.” Before he died, Gatto was writing letters to Trump giving him advice on how to get elected president. Yet even Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States endorsed Gatto’s book The Underground History of American Education: An Intimate Investigation Into the Prison of Modern Schooling by saying, “It is a remarkable achievement…a pure indictment…I can’t remember reading such a profound analysis of modern schooling. I admire what you have done.”

Gatto said the system is not broken. It was built this way on purpose. Gatto said that dumbing children down is useful to a certain kind of class-based command economy. Gatto himself encouraged Open-Source Learning, which means learning sequences are personally designed. Everyone you encounter in life is a potential teacher. In Open Source, teaching is a function, not a profession. Everyone can learn, and everyone can teach himself [or herself] how to learn and how to teach others. In Open Source, students are the active initiators. You either write your own script in life, or, by default, you become an actor in someone else’s script. The easiest way to destroy curiosity is to sit people in chairs and threaten them with the upcoming test. Plato, the Greek aristocrat, said in The Republic and The Laws: “The ordinary population is dangerous if they learn to think.”

John Taylor Gatto was an advocate of home schooling and he was against compulsory schooling. He mentioned his support of the voucher plan in education in one of his talks, which would give more choices to parents. Gatto said, “Grades don’t measure anything other than your relevant obedience to a manager.” “The truth is that schools don’t really teach anything except how to obey orders.”

Gatto said, “We all are vaguely aware that literacy is at the heart of an intellectual inner life, but what we don’t understand is that prior to the first world war, literacy was commonly divided into passive literacy (reading) and active literacy (speaking and writing). And none of us are aware that in colonial days to teach active literacy to ordinary people was a crime.”

Articles such as 10 Reasons Why Finland’s Education System is the Best and What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland’s School Success show how the United States could better solve its problems with charter schools and voucher plans, but even Finland has a top-down system of compulsory schooling. Many nations are competing in a race to have the best math and science scores, but for what purpose? To increase the private wealth of their citizens or to have the best, most powerful military?

We find our highest purpose in life when we love, give, and share, not by making wars to steal from others. It is a spiritual law that the more we give, the more we have, and we can create a win-win situation for all if that is our honest intention. When we help others, we help ourselves.

The problem with charter schools, voucher plans, and the separation of school and state movement is that when parents send their kids outside of the neighborhood school district to be educated, the parents and children become less connected to the neighborhood. Parents should have the freedom to educate their children outside of the neighborhood school district if they choose, but they should pay for it out-of-pocket, not with public school funds. Moreover, if our school, work, friends, and leisure-time activities are closer to home, we reduce our ecological footprint.

There is a way to give more educational choices to parents and build grassroots community at the same time. Let us encourage neighbors to create their own social vision and worldview. Encourage them to think globally and act locally. Let each elementary school district create its own educational philosophy and school curriculum. If the parents and residents of a neighborhood school district want to be completely autonomous in creating their own schooling or unschooling approach to education–we should praise them and reward them for attaining a collective identity with common dreams. Residents in elementary school districts are more likely to choose to become autonomous if we give them significant tax reductions. This approach to public education would promote a sense of neighborhood togetherness and community solidarity. We can redesign the world if we start at the grassroots local level, and build up.

Our neighborhood elementary public school buildings need to be occupied and controlled by the resident community who lives there. Neighborhood elementary school district residents can create their own educational system instead of relying on a system of top-down control. The elementary school building could also be used as a community center that provides services and recreation for all the residents who pay taxes there. Our neighborhoods can become places where neighbors find communion with each other and with nature, places where neighbors discover their higher Self or find God, places where neighbors find their purpose in life, places where neighborly people find love.

Our children’s story problems in math, science, and social studies can focus on how to reduce individual ecological footprints worldwide. In the United States, we should name no more public schools after presidents or generals (General Smedley Butler, author of War is a Racket, might be the exception). Schools can be named after saints from all the major world religions or after philosophers and scientists if that is what the neighbors in a neighborhood school district decide. Middle and high school districts can also choose to become self-determined or autonomous. Here are famous quotes from notable educators: Paulo Freire, John Holt, E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Jonathan Kozol, and Diane Ravitch. We can restore the earth’s ecology, rebuild the world, and renew hearts and minds when we see the whole picture.

Here is a hypothetical model for building society from the bottom-up that gives more power to the legislative branch of government than to the executive or judicial branches. To rebuild local and state government from the bottom-up, we could encourage each voting precinct to send one representative to the township legislature. The township legislature could make township laws and also make executive and judicial appointments at the township level as needed. Each township legislature could vote among themselves to send one representative to its county legislature. The county legislature could make county laws and also make executive and judicial appointments at the county level as needed. The county legislators in each county could vote among themselves to send one representative to the state legislature. The state legislature could make state laws and also make executive and judicial appointments at the state level as needed. Or, we could just keep things the way they are but implement proportional representation in every state and national legislature.

Some communities might choose direct democracy as opposed to representative democracy–from the municipal or county level down to the neighborhood level. See these 2 articles: Municipalism and the Feminization of Politics (Issue #6) by Laura Roth and Kate Shea Baird and The Politics of Social Ecology: Libertarian Municipalism. A more direct democracy would eliminate the influence of money in politics.

The integration of transcendentalism and communism has been attempted historically. I want to read these books:Transcendentalism as a Social Movement by Lance Newman; Transcendentalism and Marxism by William J. Prest; and Origins of American Marxism: From Transcendentalist to De Leon by David Herreshoff. Building an empire through militarism and imperialism is the final stage of capitalism. But with ecological wisdom as a primary focus, we could create a transcendental communism, a vegan transpersonal socialism, or libertarian socialism–but we have to convince people to see the need for that through a democratic process. Higher levels of understanding anything can involve a transcendental awareness or higher state of consciousness as we surrender and open into a new paradigm.

Our highest purpose for being here on this planet is to express love in the best way that we can. And we should always encourage and practice democracy, fully-participatory democracy. Would a loving God encourage nationalism or internationalism for this world? Capitalism or Socialism? Competition or Cooperation? Dividedness or Oneness? A loving God would encourage unity in diversity. A loving God would encourage a democratic world government. Let us value and empower international law. Would a loving God want the entire world controlled by an Empire? No, not a loving God.

We can restore the earth and rebuild the world from the bottom-up–from the family to the neighborhood to the larger community to the state and nation on up to the highest level of decision-making, the international level–in that order.

We will live in a democratic society in the United States when we equally empower the 7 largest national political parties, not just two fraternal twins. Has the United States made the world a better place? No. Let us work for world peace and love and let us create a world without empire. “World without Empire! Amen, Amen.” Let us practice and be the peace we want to see in the world. A democratic world government is the only thing that can solve world problems in a democratic manner. Nationalism–associated with imperialism, racism, capitalism, and patriarchy–will never make the world better. Nationalism is the reason the world has not been making social progress. We are creating our social evolution right now in this moment.

We need higher and highest levels of authority, but why not empower them from the bottom-up democratically rather than from the top-down autocratically. “Redesign” is a more important word than “rebuild” because there has been too much building, even over-building. More gardens and more trees and more hemp fields are what we need, and less concrete. But if we need concrete, we can make it out of hemp. It’s called “Hempcrete.” For most rebuilding, let’s use hemp, as we keep planting more trees and growing more home gardens wherever we can. Just about everything can be made out of hemp. Anything made from wood, hemp can do better; clothing can be made from hemp; its seeds could feed the world. If cars can be made out of hemp “plastic,” then we should be able to make buses out of hemp too. Paper made from hemp is much better than paper made from trees. And biodegradable hemp really does grow like a weed. The hemp plant is either a blessing from God or the Universe.

Here is an example of how capitalism prevents social progress. Biodegradable Cannabis–Marijuana–Hemp is the most versatile plant on earth for industrial, agricultural, medical, and recreational purposes, but it was made illegal in 1937 when two major capitalist corporations–Hurst and Dupont–used yellow journalism and disinformation to convince the federal legislature to make it illegal. The book Hemp & The Marijuana Conspiracy: The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer explains how it all happened. We could have had access to the top uses for hemp for the last 83 years if it had not been foolishly made illegal in 1937.

Capitalism can be very good for corporations seeking private gain, but it ultimately leads to increasing disparities between the rich and the poor. Capitalism needs poverty so that capitalists can thrive. In capitalism, if you do not make a profit, you die, and throughout history capitalists have resorted to dishonest or unethical practices in every industry, especially the food industry, to make a profit which helps them but not other people and the planet. Some have argued that if corporations were better regulated, and we also had workplace democracy, we could then create a more compassionate capitalism, but that has not happened yet.

If almost everything is made from biodegradable materials, we could stop creating so much trash in the world. We must strive to become a zero waste society in a post carbon world, exploring solar and wind and other alternative energy sources that are more sustainable.

Mindfulness meditation can enable us to experience nondual awareness or the oneness of everything, and it is one way to understand that we are one world, one earth, one humanity with one destiny. Ayahuasca, which I have never tried, may also help one experience the oneness, and it may be the best treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) caused by the never ending wars. Of course, adults taking psychedelics for self-understanding is against the law. It’s just another example of how everything is backwards and wrong in this nation and much of the world. If people smoked marijuana in the privacy of their homes and took ayahuasca or peyote in a therapeutic and supportive environment, there would be less desire for more harmful things like street drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes.

Would a democratic world government allow itself to be disassembled? Yes, if that was the will of the world’s majority. Would a democratic world government allow capitalism to exist? Yes, if that was the will of the world’s majority. If a democratic world government would not allow those things, then that would be proof that it is not democratic.

When the world works together for the self-actualization of everyone, then we’ll know we’re making progress. Let us promote peace and love, even world peace and love with every breath of our being.

What if every person and nation were encouraged to be open, honest, transparent, even vulnerable for a deeper understanding of themselves and others? What if we in the United States desired to share the best that we have and give the same opportunities to everyone else in the world? The world will only be as good as we make it. We can work to reduce the annual income gap between the rich and the poor worldwide to a ratio of 10:1, then 3:1, and then ultimately and ideally to a ratio of 1:1, but that will require a very high state of collective consciousness to make that happen. Everything hinges on the beliefs and values we instill in our children.

Though we cannot make this world better if we spend too much time inwardly focused or if we’re too focused on extra-terrestrial phenomena–there are many who believe the government has been lying to us about UFOs and aliens. I created this document on my computer that you might find interesting: Videos and Articles about UFOs. I studied the subject intently for about a month.

To maximize democracy in the United States, we could equally empower 7 of the largest national political parties from this list of 9 parties: 1) Republicans 2) Democrats 3) Libertarians 4) Green Party of the United States 5) The Constitution Party of the United States 6) Democratic Socialists of America 7) Party for Socialism and Liberation 8) Socialist Alternative Party and 9) the Communist Party USA. Let us expand the spectrum of political viewpoints by going from a 2-party system to a 7-party system.

Here are some notes I took from this 9-minute video entitled Get Out of the Materialism Trap NOW: “We in first world countries are worshipping things that look nice; that are beautiful. We are window shopping while the whole world falls apart around us. It causes us to be entangled in the world of consumerism. Are we living for things, or are we living for the people and animals and the future generations that we are sharing this planet with? People want the latest, coolest gadget even though everyday there is an animal or person dying that could have been saved by this privileged society of window shoppers. Even with our spiritual leaders–look at some of their homes. What are we doing with our lives? We can choose to change.”

If it would require 4 Earths for everyone in the world to have the lifestyle of the average American, we must examine the way we live and see the immorality of not being bothered by the huge gap between the rich and the poor throughout the world. What are we doing to heal this world and this land? Are we only concerned about ourselves and not the condition of the world?

Many people are now making more money in their stock market investments under Trump, but are they being morally responsible if they invest in corporations that are not socially responsible? They’re getting a short-term gain, but it will be a long-term loss for their grandchildren. Robert Reich recently wrote this: Donald Trump lies like most people breathe.

If you really want to learn all the details about U.S. military and CIA interventions since World War II, read William Blum whose books have been praised by Noam Chomsky, Gore Vidal, Helen Caldicott, Michael Parenti, Cynthia McKinney, and David Swanson. Also read this article published on July 4 entitled Celebrate 243 Years of “Profitable Genocide.”

It is interesting, however, that Noam Chomsky does not seem to have a problem with the Federal Reserve and its system of central banks, and he is not concerned about further investigating 9/11 according to James Corbett of the Corbett Report.com. Chomsky’s stance on these issues and the JFK assassination has led James Corbett to create a video (Episode 285) entitled Meet Noam Chomsky, Academic GateKeeper. Here is an article entitled “What Does Noam Chomsky Say About the JFK Assassination?”

Richard D. Wolff, an advocate of workplace democracy, has been named by the New York Times Magazine as “America’s most prominent Marxist economist.” In this 29-minute video entitled Abby Martin interviews Richard Wolf to discuss Socialism, there are brief references to the Soviet Union and China from a historical perspective. That video is followed by this one entitled Chris Hedges & Abby Martin: No Way Out Through Elections that was published November 27, 2019.

Though it will never be widely reported in the mainstream media, which is largely owned by 6 capitalist corporations, Martin Luther King was a democratic socialist. Here is one of my favorite quotes of Martin Luther King: “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of spiritual uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” Albert Einstein also was an advocate of socialism.

There are growing numbers of people who believe that when veganism is adopted worldwide, the healing of the world and the earth will begin. Here are 3 ethical, ecological, and health reasons for being a vegan. Veganism is good for the world, the planet, and our souls.

Even if the Green New Deal could implement a global Marshall Plan that maintains current levels of production and consumption–that will not create a sustainable future for the world because the whole idea of unlimited economic growth fails to understand that what is needed is a drastic reduction in production and consumption. The ecological balance of the planet requires it whether we realize it or not.

What is needed is for the rich of the world to live simply, so others can simply live. The motto of the website Green Social Thought tells what we need to do: “Produce less, Distribute it fairly, and Create a greener world for all.” Today some of the worst environmentally destructive corporations are falsely advertising about how they are finding ecologically-friendly solutions to today’s problems. There is even evidence that the environmental group Extinction Rebellion is being controlled by the wealthiest one percent who are capitalists  from behind the scenes. We cannot solve the environmental crisis if we ignore the problems created by capitalism. In an article written on Halloween, Marxist Professor Richard Wolff said, “Capitalism is all tricks and no treats.”

The United States government (which really is an empire) and the lifestyles of the wealthy in the wealthiest countries of the world prevent world peace the most. During the Age of Imperialism, the wealthy Western nations were in a race to carve up the Americas, Africa, and Asia. They were far more industrialized and had more powerful weapons. In their thinking, they thought they were superior to other peoples of the world, whom they considered to be subhuman or barbarians. They essentially believed that “might makes right.” Aristocratic elites exploited other nations as they exploited the workers in their own countries. This economic disparity between the ruling class and the working class has continued to the present day and will continue into the future until the working class can keep more of the surplus value they create.

If we go to churches, synagogues, and mosques, we may attain individual spiritual growth, but we don’t learn about the extent of the world’s suffering. When we watch TV or go to school, we don’t learn about what is really going on in other parts of the world. We don’t hear the stories of how other people are living right now! And we don’t learn about what the rest of the world thinks about the United States because we are distracted by design. Many of us are just trying to survive, which doesn’t give us much time to think about world problems. But we live in a country that strives for world dominance and it’s not making the world better.

U.S. foreign policy is preventing world peace more than any other nation. We are first, number one, in things that are not good. If we do more to help developing nations become self-sufficient in sustainable ways, the people of those nations will not need to become immigrants to our land after our transnational corporations take advantage of them in their land.

Through Open Source Ecology, we could provide the best tools and machines that last a lifetime to help farmers in every village and community in the world become more self-sufficient. While composting and practicing permaculture, we need to maximize the production of locally grown organic food, and we need to buy food locally as much as possible. Organizations such as the Union of Concerned Scientists provide important resources in dealing with climate, energy, transportation, food, nuclear weapons, science and democracy.

Many people in the world are suffering and dying largely because of what the United States Government does in the world. We need to turn this around or face disaster for the planet and our future. To have a world without end, we need a world without empire. “World without Empire! Amen, Amen.” Imagine what will happen when the whole world starts working together.

How valuable is personal enlightenment or salvation if we remain complacent about the world, which is on the brink of catastrophe caused by insanity and stupidity? We are taught that God can do anything. If God can create a heaven in heaven, then the love of God should be able to create heaven on earth. Where is that love, God’s love? It is within each one of us. The world needs more cooperation. But we can have competition too. We can compete to become model communities and model nations that create world peace.