making the connections at Liberal Street Fighter
“Udaaracharitaanaam vasudhaiva kuthumbakam”-“For the large-hearted people, the whole world is one family”-so declared our ancient Vedic seers. An ancient Tamil sage proclaimed: “Yaatum oore, yaavarum kelir”-“The entire world is my native place and all are related”. It is the same ideal that surged up in the hearts of more than one hundred and eighty delegates from about forty countries who represented various ancient religions and traditions of the world in the First International Conference and Gathering of the Elders of Ancient Traditions and Cultures held at “Keshav Shrushthi”, the 200 acre beautiful and spacious international campus of the Rambhau Mhalgi Prabhodhini, at Utthan near Bhaynder West in Mumbai. In one voice all of them responded “Ahoy!”-“Yes!”-when the slogan “Mitakuye Oyasin”-“We are all related”-was raised. – Mubai Manifesto
This is our breakdown as a people, this human-made disaster following this natural disaster: we forgot we were ALL We the People.
It’s an ideal we never fully lived up to, but Americans of good will for centuries worked toward making it a reality. Placing the foundation of goverment firmly in the idea that we are all in this together. No king, no divine law, but rather a shared recognition that we are all stronger if we work together.
There were, of course, those among us who fought tooth and nail to maintain old injustices. We have a bloody history, but also one of hope, of compassion and of building coalitions and communties. And then the Republican Revolution swept into power in the 1990s, making appeals to sectarianism and personal greed and selfishness the law of the land.
We need to return to a politics of connection. Many share spirtual teachings that tell them this is so. Science shows us that we are all built from the same proteins, the same DNA & RNA molecules built from the debris sprinkled here by the dust from distant stars. However we make the connection in our own minds, whatever the basis of your values, we can all look upon human need and react with compassion, if we nurture it within us.
We’ve forgotten that in America. We suspect that “those people” are NOT as compassionate as us. That “they” are a danger, or lazy, or evil, and a large political, economic and religious movement seized upon those dark voices within us and took power, took the spoils of all we’ve built and divied it up amongst themselves.
One of the political parties must be called to step up and speak back to this misappropriation of the American spirit. It is plain that the Republican Party has been taking over by people who are the problem, so what about the Democrats?
This is politics, and they’ll only find their voice if we demand it. We must MAKE them work for all of us again. Calls to compromise at the front must be rejected. President Al Gore has stepped up to help survivors. Senator Landreau, in the past one of those quickest to call for us to compromise with the right, has finally confronted the consequences of the Republican philosophy: if we “starve the baby” called government, people will die. Senator Feingold and Representative Conyers are going to call for the implementation of the Bankruptcy Bill to be pushed back.
The movement from Camp Casey is making it’s way to the big protests in Washington September 24th-26th. They are making the connection that the crime of that war-of-choice are tied to the crimes of neglect here at home, and based in selfishness, greed and an evil disregard for other human beings.
These connections have to be repaired starting at the personal level. Talk about how we work together for government, and how it only becomes hopelessly corrupt when we stop watching. Sometimes we think too much about a white knight, about some savior to to sweep in naturally and change it all over night. It has never really worked that way, so why would it now?
Revolutions start with people talking, making connections, hoping and then calling for change. We can save ourselves from those who’ve risen to power on the hot fires of our collective fears.
Just remember, we the people are all related.
In Lakota, you say that as “Mitakuye Oyasin.” Whatever your language, say it out loud, to anyone who will listen.
photo from a moving rundown of the cleanup at Salon – The grisly cleanup begins
illustration from University of Southern Florida Health
