[NV Greens] Fwd: Re: [GreenAllianceUSA] End the Moratorium on Dissent

Sun Feb 27 23:47:22 PST 2005

>
>Best strategy is to go to the roots.
>
>God is not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, only in the 
>Confederate Constitution where in the first sentence that apes the 
>U.S. Constitution, the concept of "general welfare" is out and God 
>is in. Many of the Bush supporters of today are the KuKlux 
>Christians of yore.
>
>Historically, over half the pro-slavery tracts written before the 
>Civil War were written by evangelicals.
>
>Tony
>
>-------------- Original message from "Allen Butcher" 
><allenbutcher80207 at yahoo.com>: --------------
>
>
>>
>>
>>  It's Time to End the Moratorium on Dissent begun with 9/11 ... by
>>  Affirming a Higher Moral Ideal than that of the Religious Right
>>
>>
>>  When the 9/11 tragedy happened there began essentially a moratorium
>>  on dissent. The anti-globalization demonstrations and other forms
>>  of dissent largely diminished or ended as our government proceeded
>>  to engender a war consciousness. The reelection of President Bush
>>  was as much a success of the manipulation of fear by our government
>>  over our people as it was an assertion of a Right Wing world view.
>>  Fear of gays, fear of economic loss/scarcity, fear of attack, fear
>>  of loss of freedom, all were and continue to be manipulations of
>>  both individual and mass opinion by the Religious Right.
>>
>>  The Christian Religious Right has succeeded in asserting itself as
>>  essentially the moral authority in America, due in part although not
>>  entirely to its influence in the Republican Party, and that party's
>>  ideological influence within much of our government. It maintains
>>  this hold in part by calling seditious any dissent, from academic
>>  expression to street demonstrations, and demonizing affirmations of
>>  different forms of spirituality, including aspects of Islam that it
>>  hypocritically supports in Judaism, all expressions of Paganism, and
>>  multi-faith traditions such as Unitarian Universalism.
>>
>>  Breaking this hold over the cultural identity of our country cannot
>>  be done simply by political activism. This is the inadequacy of the
>>  strategy of the Green Party of the United States. The GPUS's focus
>>  upon creating an alternative political institution in America is
>>  certainly an important and valuable component of a comprehensive
>>  social-cultural change strategy, yet it is not enough for meeting
>>  the base of the political Right on its own terms. To stop the
>>  wildfire of the Radical Right and end its current monopoly on power
>>  requires fighting fire with fire.
>>
>>  When the Republican Party bases its moral authority for governance
>>  upon a particular spiritual awareness and tradition, mere political
>>  and economic challenges to that authority are insufficient. The
>>  need is to establish a moral ideal to counter and rise above the
>>  Christian Religious Right. Have no doubt that the beginning of such
>>  a tradition of a higher moral authority than the Religious Right can
>>  begin with small groups of people. It can happen in local Green
>>  Parties or any other progressive political organization including
>>  those associated with the Democratic Party (and theoretically even
>>  the Republican), it can begin in liberal Christian organizations
>>  uncomfortable with the self-proclaimed spiritual authority of the
>>  Religious Right, it can begin in multi-faith organizations such as
>>  the United Religions Initiative (started through the UN, see:
>>  http://www.uri.org ), it can begin in Unitarian Universalist
>>  Congregations, it can begin in Pagan communities and networks, or
>>  outside of any of these existing networks and institutions.
>>
>>  Recognizing that America is 80% Christian there may be no doubt that
>>  any moral ideal capable of repudiating the Christian Religious Right
>>  must include liberal Christianity. In the same way that some
>>  Christian organizations have chosen to reinterpret scripture from a
>>  justification for the despoliation of nature via the concept
>  > of "taking possession of the earth," toward a form of Christian
>>  ecology in the ideal of "earth stewardship" as a spiritual
>>  imperative (see: http://www.creationspirituality.com ), so also does
>>  there need to be a reinterpretation of scripture toward identifying
>>  a range of other higher moral ideals than those of the Christian
>>  Religious Right. The moral imperatives that we find in ecology,
>>  that is the respect and beauty that may be experienced in a
>>  symbiotic rather than parasitic relationship between humanity and
>>  nature, may be expanded to economic, political and cultural aspects
>>  of spiritual expression.
>>
>>  Rising above the moral monopoly proclaimed by the Christian
>>  Religious Right may involve affirming and advocating primarily one
>>  fundamental concept, the doctrine of a "natural law" to which
>>  anyone, from common citizens to judges, may appeal.
>>
>>  During the Reformation, when a major shift occurred in Western
>>  spirituality on the level of the assertion of a "New Age," the
>>  Protestant movements drew heavily upon the concept of an individual
>>  spiritual awareness, sometimes called the doctrine of the "inner
>>  light," affirming that allegiance to authoritarian structures of
>>  church and state are unnecessary. The concept, however, is much
>>  more ancient, going back to Egyptian mystery religions, and some
>>  suggest even earlier, to pre-civilization tribal cultures. The
>>  Masonic orders served to bring the concept of the inner light
>>  forward to the American Revolution, seen even today in the "radiant
>>  eye" imagery of the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United
>>  States, as printed on the dollar bill (see:
>>  http://www.greatseal.com ). Although this image has been twisted by
>>  conspiracy theorists to relate to world domination by
>>  an "Illuminati," it's original meaning of divine providence
>>  supporting bold new human undertakings remains available to any
>>  movement that can substantiate its claim of being founded upon
>>  positive spiritual values.
>>
>>  There are a number of other spiritual, ecological and cultural
>>  concepts that may be included under a general movement based upon
>>  natural law. These may include the general concepts of "process
>>  theory," "process philosophy" and "process theology," the latter of
>>  which may be defined as the "universe is characterized by process
>>  and change carried out by the agents of free will" and self-
>>  determination (see: http://www.answers.com/Process%20Theology ).
>>
>>  Process theology can be seen in the changes in spirituality over
>>  time. For example in Christianity there is the transition from the
>>  Old Testament to the New Testament, suggesting that there is an
>>  ongoing spiritual development of which individuals are a part. The
>>  belief that we are now in the "End Times" suggests massive change at
>>  this point in history. And we can see parallels with this in a
>>  range of other spiritual traditions, from Native American prophecies
>>  to the astrological concept of the New Age of Aquarius. The Gaia
>>  Hypothesis is a New Age myth suggesting that the planet may be
>>  considered a self-regulating living entity, of which humanity must
>>  recognize its role as an integral symbiote as opposed to that of a
>>  parasite. If we are in a time of tribulations, it is toward getting
>>  to the far side of this period into a time characterized by many
>>  spiritual traditions as one of sustainability, peace and harmony,
>>  for which we need find or establish a trail, an ideological concept,
>>  or a cultural paradigm that can carry us to our preferred destiny.
>>
>>  It is simply spiritual chauvinism for any religious tradition to
>>  claim that they and they alone have the key to that future. As
>>  chauvinism of any kind engenders strife and conflict, the true path
>>  must be in multi-faith expressions of salvation. If we have
>>  objections to the contemporary dominance of the Radical Right over
>>  spiritual, political and economic expression and institutions in our
>>  culture, it simply remains for individuals to affirm an alternative
>>  set of values, explain how they differ from those of the current
>  > dominant paradigm, and work to apply them.
>>
>>  Today the need for legitimation of government becomes more important
>>  given our current era of growing globalization of wealth and power.
>>  Individuals must now rely upon their government (local and national)
>>  to represent their interests against those of the transnational
>>  corporations. This is a difficult proposition given the issues
>>  raised in neo-liberalism with such programs as global "free-trade."
>>  And if our national government is seen by the people to serve the
>>  forces of globalization over the concept of popular sovereignty then
>>  it is the policies and office holders of that government that may be
>>  charged with sedition and treason.
>>
>>  The Princeton University political science professor Paul Sigmund
>>  writes, "Modern natural law theory is rationalist, individual, and
>>  radical. Natural law in the modern period ... becomes a
>>  revolutionary ideology or justification for the transformation of
>>  political, economic, and social relationships." (See: Paul
>>  Sigmund, "Natural Law in Political Thought," 1971, Winthrop Publ.,
>>  Cambridge, MA, p. 53-54.) If fighting fire with fire requires
>>  meeting right wing fundamentalism with liberal fundamentalism, then
>>  claiming the high moral ground may require setting opposing
>>  fundamentalisms on the path of mutually assured philosophical
>>  destruction, leaving for all to find in the settling of the dust the
>>  essence and purity of values which may be recognized as expressions
>>  of natural law.
>>
>>  A classic analysis of the problem in governance is the work of by
>>  Jurgen Habermas called "Legitimation Crisis." Habermas
>>  distinguishes between substantive democracy (also called direct or
>>  deep democracy) and formal democracy, and suggests that the latter
>>  represents a crisis tendency in advanced capitalism. He explains
>>  that formal democratic institutions make decisions largely
>>  independent of popular participation through a legitimation process
>>  that elicits diffuse mass loyalty among a passive citizenry having
>>  only the right to withhold acclamation. (See also: Daniel Hellinger
>>  and Dennis R. Judd, "The Democratic Facade," Pacific Grove, CA:
>>  Brooks/Cole, 1991.)
>>
>>  Generally, corporations are subject to the same threat of
>>  withholding of acclamation, in this case by consumers' refusal to
>>  patronize them through the organized objections of boycotts. Yet
>>  these are after-the-fact remedies, suggesting the need for proactive
>>  interventions in order to focus upon structurally avoiding problems
>>  as opposed to merely remedying problems.
>>
>>  One such proactive intervention is the process of the consensus
>>  decision-making in which participation is facilitated before a
>>  decision is made, more likely resulting in decisions respecting the
>>  views of all involved stakeholders. Along with other methods of
>>  encouraging communication, such as through the appropriate use of
>>  information technology, consensus process provides an important
>>  context as well as tool for the design and management of legitimacy
>>  in governance. Its appropriate application requires a decentralized
>>  political process, which must balance direct with representative
>>  forms of democracy, the use of electoral innovations such
>>  as "instant run-off voting," proportional representation and other
>>  political structures which enhance the civic skills and methods of
>>  political engagement of a population.
>>
>>  The concept of natural law provides an ideological foundation for
>>  challenging the Religious Right as the term relates to the:
>>  * justification for both private and common property in economics,
>>  the
>>  * affirmation of the individual's right to participation in
>>  governance, the
>>  * expression of environmental sustainability in our application of
>>  technology, and the
>>  * integration of spirituality and politics.
>>
>>  Through the concept of natural law spiritual, political, economic
>>  and social issues may be integrated in one coherent world view,
>>  offering the potential for the presentation of natural law as a
>>  unified field theory for the design of human society. (For more on
>  > natural law see: http://www.culturemagic.org and the downloadable
>>  PDF file "Time-Based Economics: A Community-Building Dynamic," page
>>  23, found on the link to:
>>  http://www.culturemagic.org/TimeBasedEconomics.html )
>>
>>  It will not be easy to supplant the ideological dominance of the
>>  Religious Right, yet its own excesses provide opportunities for
>>  challenging its hold over our government and our cultural identity.
>>  The concept of natural law itself is not an easy one to grasp, yet
>>  in that complexity is the potential for not only finding and
>>  claiming a high moral ground, yet also for finding a common ground
>>  among opposing paradigms. For example, although it remains
>>  important to maintain a separation of church and state, the question
>>  remains what role spirituality may play in politics, since denying
>>  the role of something as important as religion and spirituality
>>  cannot result in a stable and effective form of governance as long
>>  as this important aspect of culture is denied. A balance must be
>>  found between opposing forms of religion and spirituality, and a
>>  consensus on the role of religious and spiritual balance in
>>  governance must be forged such that the result is less of a
>>  parasitism and more of a synergy.
>>
>>  Expressions of natural law as a cultural paradigm with the potential
>>  for replacing the current ideological hegemony of the Religious
>>  Right remains the great opportunity for cultural progressives. For
>>  any group of people desiring to end the moratorium on dissent
>>  initiated by the 9/11 tragedy, strategizing for action must include
>>  the consideration of how to address and confront Christian
>>  fundamentalism. For this purpose, and for affirming the values of
>>  sustainability, justice and peace there is nothing more fundamental
>>  and potentially beneficial than the appropriate application of the
>>  concept of natural law.
>>
>>  A. Allen Butcher
>>  Denver, Colorado
>>  February 28, 2005
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>  If you support rank-and-file democracy in our politics and our 
>>economy, build
>>  the Green Alliance. Send $45 dues to P.O. Box 794, Sierra Madre, CA 91024.
>>
>>
>>  Yahoo! Groups Links
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
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>If you support rank-and-file democracy in our politics and our 
>economy, build the Green Alliance. Send $45 dues to P.O. Box 794, 
>Sierra Madre, CA 91024.
>
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-- 
Paul Etxeberri

"Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow"   ---Chateaubriand