The Primate Press

At first I thought Barack Obama’s emphasis on changing the tone of politics was off-target. It seemed like politics was ugly, but not central to the problem of why we have had such poor leadership. Then I came to see how an improvement in the process, particularly creating an atmosphere of cooperation instead of combat, could help to get things done by making it safe to find middle ground between warring camps.

Now I’m back to seeing this proposed change in tone, though by all means very useful if it happened, as a secondary problem. The problem is, it can’t happen until some more bedrock things have changed.

Try a reversal of the market’s thrall on absolutely every aspect of our lives. Try tempering the juggernaut of mass media that is a self-feeding monster in its own right. Try changing the devolution of education into a factory for packing information into students like sardine cans, who learn to think critically only at their own risk. Try, if you will, a change in the dynamic of our culture.

I can see where Obama was coming from with the new tone in politics argument. How can you change anything if the demands of partisanship negate all movement in any direction? But it might be that you cannot get elected to the position to have the power to change the tone in politics without a fundamental change in our culture allowing your message to be heard.

It’s a classic chicken-and-egg conundrum.

This is not a problem of bad people or mean-spiritedness at its core. At its core it is just something that happened to us. Some technological advancements brought about the hypercompetitiveness of the market. More technological advancements, in response to market pressures for new products, exponentially accelerate this competition – in the media, in politics, and everything else. It’s taken on a life of its own. It demolishes our means of improving things for ourselves or countering the effect by removing our ability to accurately communicate with each other. All speech and all hearing is distorted by the media (which includes the blog mob) and market thinking. It’s just like in The Matrix, where at some point a paradigm shift has happened and humans no longer control reality – their creations do. We can’t take back the control until… well, I’m not really sure.

There is a neat solution in the movie, what with a “One” that is predicted by an “Oracle.” But if Obama is some sort of “One” he is entirely at the mercy of this man-made juggernaut, just like everyone and everything else. He talks about changing politics. But that too is mediated by the destructiveness of the culture. If he  sees through to this bedrock problem I’m not sure he possesses a way to counter it – and until someone can we’ll continue to elect the least qualified and least human.

Maybe Barack knows Kung Fu.

Transcript of Barack’s denouncement of the Reverend Wright spectacle

Global Marshall Plan resolution introduced in Congress-H.Res. 1078 by Congressmen Keith Ellison, Emanuel Cleaver and Jim Moran March 10, 2008

Quote is from Tikkun Magazine Media Alert:

H.Res. 1078 calls for a return of the Marshall Plan. That plan was used by the U.S. in the post World War II years to rebuild Europe. It was celebrated as America’s most successful foreign policy program because it convinced Europeans that the U.S. was a reliable ally and friend.

This time, however, the target is both domestic and global. H. Res. 1078 calls for the U.S. to provide enough funding to eliminate global poverty, homelessness, hunger, inadequate education, inadequate health care, and repair of the environment.

Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the resolution’s sponsor, explained his introduction of the measure as a natural outgrowth of his concern for peace, prosperity for working families, environmental sustainability, and human rights.

“I believe a Global Marshall Plan offers a compelling framework for the Congress to consider reform and revitalization of our international public diplomacy and foreign aid,” Ellison said. “America is at its best when it demonstrates its generosity.

“When we see reminders everywhere of the costs of spending $12 billion per month on war in Iraq, I look forward to the conversations about changes in principles and priorities that this resolution will bring,” Ellison concluded.

“At a moment when General Petraeus is asking for another $110 billion for a deeply unpopular war, the Global Marshall Plan provides an alternative strategy for homeland security,” said Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun and chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives, an organization that developed the Global Marshall Plan and which will now be launching a nationwide campaign to get the presidential candidates to support the idea.

“In the 21st century,” Rabbi Lerner pointed out, “our security and well-being depend on the well-being of everyone else on this planet, and on the well-being of the planet itself.”

……………..”We approach this initiative with a spirit of humility,” said Rabbi Lerner, “not only because of the legacy of colonialism, but because we can learn much from societies whose economic poverty does not signify a poverty of wisdom. Generosity of spirit as well as financial generosity are an integral part of our Global Marshall Plan, which we affirm not only because it is a central component in any plan to achieve “homeland security,” but also because it reflects our commitment to recognize every human being on this planet as equally valuable and deserving of care.” HR 1078 expresses the need for a similar humility in delivering support for the world’s poor.

Rabbi Lerner has called upon religious liberals and progressives (what the media calls “the Religious Left”) to call their Congressional representatives to explain why they should support the ideas behind the Global Marshall Plan.

The full text of H.Res. 1078 is available through the website of Congressman Keith Ellison, http://ellison.house.gov, and further comment can be obtained by calling 202-225-4755. Congressmen Ellison, Cleaver and Moran are all available for interviews on this topic. Rabbi Michael Lerner, who is directing the Network of Spiritual Progressives’ nation-wide campaign for the Global Marshall Plan, is also available for interviews. Call 1 510 644 1200 during business hours Pacific Daylight Time. Or by email: His scheduler Will Pasley: Will@Tikkun.org. You can also email RabbiLerner@Tikkun.org for media interviews, and David Hart for information about how churches, synagogues, mosques, ashrams, colleges, NGOs, civic organizations, social change movements, professional organizations and elected officials can be involved in this campaign: David@SpiritualProgressives.org. And you can endorse the GMP on line at www.tikkun.org (left-hand column) or read the full version at that same website, by clicking the GMP button in the Current Thinking section of the Home Page.

Sign an endorsement of the Global Marshall Plan at the Network of Spiritual Progressives:

http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/article.php?story=20071220085221851