Welcome Everyone,
Why the term elder? Elder speaks to a multi-cultural reverence for the perspectives and perceptions which can be earned through meaningful experiences; the experiences of a lifetime.
Why should I speak out? I would offer an idea, a plan to ease the suffering as the economy continues to contract. Sorry, not ease the suffering but rather replace suffering with the atmosphere of a party.
Indeed we can be 20+ yet feel like we live on Sugar Mountain.
In this web site are my evolving views, what I understood 15 years ago when I started writing and what I think today is somewhat different and if I live 15 more my understandings will evolve further ... I suppose that is what is meant when it is said, 'the truth moves.' Truth is a changing individual experience.
I am not affiliated with any organization the only group that appeals to me are the Occupy Protesters because the world stock markets are where the one percent distribute the wealth from the resources they have plundered from around the world. These corporations influence the governments of the world to put in place rules, regulations, standards and policies which erode the rights of individuals. This concentrating the rewards of the world's resources into the fewest hands, diminishes the rest of us. Whether we are talking about Egyptian society, the Greek or Roman empire, the British empire or the 1% that dominate today, they are equivalent to what we know as an aristocracy which means government by the best citizens. Hmmm ... should say, "the richest citizens." I think 'one authority' will always take any culture out of balance.
To redress cultural imbalances created by an out-of-balance value on materialism/business we need to hear equally from the poorest of our culture by empowering some to speak on our behalf (perhaps elders). What's missing is a second authority, elders but elders from a non-materialistic world view like Gandhi, Mother Theresa and the Dalai Lama or, any of the thousands who have wandered the enlightenment path--it would be nice if business had to get the approval for lets say, the current grab for the 'world's water rights' from selfless people. In this web site I propose The planet Stewardship and World Rescue Team as a way to give voice to those of us who are not heard from in this society.
I have Adhd and find society over stimulating so I moved out into nature and found my existence more peaceful--that was until the rules and regulations of government who conspire to make us dependant on social systems and business rather than encouraging our independence and self sufficiency. Check out the photo gallery to see my attempt to move from the dependency on the welfare system, to get closer to self sufficiency in nature (basically homesteading/pioneer). Kind of like the Amish without the strict restrictions on natural human behaviours and more like hippies who celebrate individuality.
I also propose a 3 day work week (5 hr days). When 'home-time' is 60/40 over 'school/work' time families can become closer and the imbalance in the culture will redress. Omg! Suddenly no job shortage, 1 job becomes 2-3. I can't be the only one who remembers the "school, jobs," "school, jobs," "school, jobs" mantra of the economy's media cheer-leading squad leading up to the economic collapse followed by the "school, jobs" mantra since that is supposed to be the cure for the collapsed economy (lol). Indeed it is the mantra that serves the current aristocracy who head these crown and private corporations. It is the practice of giving huge amounts of money to the already-rich to overpay themselves to create a few jobs for the poor (about 70%--everyone who basically work to pay bills all their life).
After my first attempts at being a good student or worker which ended with a criminal career, then jail and the recovery road. I started writing after several years of recovery work first as therapy, my book then letters to my mentor, after I was labeled disabled. This site includes all of my writing, you can read the writings that foresaw the economic collapse but did not foresee the changing of the rules of economics for the upper 30% of society. Those same rules 'they' said were the reason they had to take my home down. And the same rules used to strip homes away from "those who couldn't afford their mortgages." Some of us take it on the chin while others get handed a parachute largely those who benefited the most while creating the economic collapse which is still cascading in the form of austerity measures. This looks to me like collapsing the economic pyramid that measures wealth from the bottom and side so as to leave the top intact.
The 1% of the 1% will remain in its permanent place of power when all is said and done. This is why I don't use the term privileged class because they have their hands on the controls and will not take their turn on the bottom like the rest of us. I think many revolutions happened around economic contractions. There were 20-30 years of rising taxes, wages and property values that cause the economy to be operating at pre-collapse prices that is felt hardest by those outside the aristocracy, the poorest of us, the majority.
The top 30% haven't contracted those raises they took when the bubble was biggest but they have been dismantling the programs they put in place to help the poor. As they expanded the bubble they did so by fattening up, i.e. legal aid, which was one of the first austerity measures I felt here. As well as raises lawyers got more work paid for by the public purse to do things for the poor. Isn't that really what the conservative thinkers want with Attawapiskat (a poor native village next to a stock market company diamond mine, just like poor African villages--blows my mind this is in Canada) they want to pay their stock-market buddies rather than giving money to any other group.
In my writings I discuss the 'illusion of democracy'--if both political party's (and they do) profess the ideology that "taking care of business takes care of the people" then they are two heads of the same beast. In reality, 'one school of thought.' In my mind the only 'free-Americans' were the pioneers and that lasted for a heartbeat after that the controlling 1% sent out their school marms who edjamacated the people to get to school or go to work. Dang! It's not socially acceptable to be loafing about like Huck Finn or me, not even for a couple years here and there in a worker's lifetime.
I have a plan to open land up for hippie type communities (like my move into nature/homesteading) that will reduce crime and stress for the governments and human beings. What needs to change for this is a world view that will allow all born on this planet who are willing to live in harmony with nature deserve a patch of the planet that can sustain them and that society support this, in-tune with nature kind of living.
I am aware some like to work and find safety and security in their work identity. Those who do not have Adhd perhaps although brain chemistry is more of a continuum than polar opposites, a spectrum. And I recognize the need for capitalism/business and I don't support full blast pro-social ideas either. I do think that there can be found a more symbiotic relationship between the rich and the poor in every country. Even here in Canada lack of opportunity feels like prison and I don't mean opportunity in the form of giving the rich more money to create more unfulfilling jobs.
I would add that the hippie movement only lasted a couple years and it was mainly the college kids that did it and after a couple years they went back to town and government jobs etc.. Perhaps they contributed to the humanizing of the culture maybe through advocacy. Woman's rights, people of color's rights, same sex couple's rights, disability rights and now in my case invisible disability rights all rely on each other cause the government gives gains if the public unite enough to make them scared of losing their jobs through being voted out. Yet business is always there waiting for public sentiment to subside so they can claw back the gains made by any and every marginalized group. It ties everyone up fighting back and forth over the same ground. It creates the illusion the government is a unifying voice for us all. That's probably why smaller social groups like tribes and clans always respected their elders opinions for decisions that effect the group. Perhaps only the severely Adhd are hard core reclusive enough to handle a life of outside of mainstream community but others would benefit from a temporary respite from societies demanding whirlwind.
Government debates put everyone to sleep with irresolvable issues like abortion and rights for same-sex couples then slip in a rule that benefits those who can afford stock (like selling 'our' oil to China or 'our diamonds' to a stock market company where the already rich share the plunder of the planet's resources). These debates account for a significant amount of political time for the last 50 years I've been around. If anyone doesn't know how money is vacuumed from each and every community just listen to what they want-- 'gotta build infra-structure and roads,' then each community's local tax money goes toward paying for building projects. Look to the payments of heavy equipment mortgages as a significant percentage of local tax money getting sent to wall street, add to that real estate mortgages. It reminds me of taking to much water from a water shed that it becomes unsustainable. The governments (all of them) have this one ace-in-the-hole they credit for all of our well-being. I for one feel we could strive for better than the current imbalance and do a few other things where the benefits will be felt locally.
