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> I implore you to be politically active, to consider support for candidates that at least acknowledge that there is a problem. Consider a carbon tax. Consider

> I implore you to be politically active, to consider support for candidates that at least acknowledge that there is a problem. Consider a carbon tax. Consider big, international efforts to clean up our oceans. Consider sexual education efforts in developing nations. Consider carbon re-capture efforts. There's a ton of things we can do, but we have to start doing It has all been said before. None of this is going to be easy when we have our governments frittering away money on the arms trade. It is violence and the threat of violence that enforces the current economic order. Therefore it is the trade in arms that needs to be addressed if there is going to be progress in other areas. The arms trade isn't just bullets, the business is also about 'cyber warfare' which means planting the post-truth news stories in the media that enforces the status quo for the arms trade. People laughed at Martin Luther King for wanting to combine the rights he wanted for all people at home with the anti-Vietnam War, pro-peace ideas. They thought he would set back both causes and confuse people. History was not kind to those critics, we only know of Martin Luther King, the others were just shills anyway. It may seem a bit of a stretch of the imagination to think that the acidification of the oceans or the fact that there are less than 7000 cheetahs left is going to be solved with things like nuclear disarmament and global treaties to abolish the arms trade. There will be those that think these issues shouldn't be confused and that things will not get better for the likes of the cheetah if focus is shifted over to the steps needed for a more peaceful planet. But why not give peace a chance? Every one of those billions of single use bullets could have been made into a reusable and recyclable rechargeable battery and you could have an extremely large wind farm instead of the F35 programme. We could go fully carbon neutral in a generation to make this planet a beautiful garden for all. But, for this to happen the arms trade has to be made extinct first.

abledon 8y ago
For that, humanity needs spiritual process — people like Putin trump , NK, China etc will not let that happen unless we provide them with a tool for inner transformation of their experience of living
- Theodores 8y ago
  The largest arms dealers sit on the UN security council. One of them is currently wanting to abolish the INF treaty and they aren't in Asia. I would say that spiritual mumbo jumbo ain't going to cut it, a business case needs to be made that green energy is going to offer better profit and more security than more nukes.
  - abledon 8y ago
    ok let me rephrase 'spiritual mumbojumbo'! I'm not saying people need to wear safron robes and chant kumbaaya. moreso that th ehuman body is the most advanced chemical factory / technology on the planet, we need people to read the user manual and get a sense of all-inclusive life that is not human centric, that we are all together on this planet. People who are making the business case for anything won't make the right case unless they have the proper fundamental system put in place in their body,mind,spirit. An example of a place to start (Think a child learning the difference between big 'A' and little 'a' in the alphabet.. not even spelling words yet) is having everyone on the planet think "I am going to die, I came from the earth, and will return to the earth" and become ultra-sensitive to their impermanence.
kiliantics 8y ago
Great points. I believe the best way to change these arms deals is to engage in political action on a social-movement based level, just as MLK did, rather than on an electoral level, as the GP suggests. History has shown us that threats of mass strikes by coalitions of large industrial unions have the power to force the hand of the elites. This is what people who really care about these issues should be working towards. I think tech workers in particular have a lot of power, if only they would engage in collective action.

abledon 8y ago

For that, humanity needs spiritual process — people like Putin trump , NK, China etc will not let that happen unless we provide them with a tool for inner transformation of their experience of living

Theodores 8y ago
The largest arms dealers sit on the UN security council. One of them is currently wanting to abolish the INF treaty and they aren't in Asia. I would say that spiritual mumbo jumbo ain't going to cut it, a business case needs to be made that green energy is going to offer better profit and more security than more nukes.
- abledon 8y ago
  ok let me rephrase 'spiritual mumbojumbo'! I'm not saying people need to wear safron robes and chant kumbaaya. moreso that th ehuman body is the most advanced chemical factory / technology on the planet, we need people to read the user manual and get a sense of all-inclusive life that is not human centric, that we are all together on this planet. People who are making the business case for anything won't make the right case unless they have the proper fundamental system put in place in their body,mind,spirit. An example of a place to start (Think a child learning the difference between big 'A' and little 'a' in the alphabet.. not even spelling words yet) is having everyone on the planet think "I am going to die, I came from the earth, and will return to the earth" and become ultra-sensitive to their impermanence.

kiliantics 8y ago

Great points. I believe the best way to change these arms deals is to engage in political action on a social-movement based level, just as MLK did, rather than on an electoral level, as the GP suggests. History has shown us that threats of mass strikes by coalitions of large industrial unions have the power to force the hand of the elites. This is what people who really care about these issues should be working towards. I think tech workers in particular have a lot of power, if only they would engage in collective action.