What the future will look like…

The revolution will not be commoditized (unless it's me making videos about it; then it's a good thing!)

Victor Hugo said, "Not all the armies in the world can stop an idea whose time has come." Why is that, or more importantly, why will it be in this new century in this Western civilization? Because the owners of corporations are human and they get caught up in the great ideas of an era. And here, in the midst of multiple crises are the new ideas for our era:

Looking to leaders to solve our problems is obsolete (we, the people, are the new leaders)

Corporations are obsolete.
Communities will be the new dominant organizational entity; just in time for our survival.

War and violent conflict as a means for settling disputes is obsolete.
Diplomacy, international cooperation and aide, international trade and cultural exchanges are the future.

Centralized anything is obsolete.
The new paradigm will be independent, decentralized, self-sufficient communities that operate in connection with, but autonomously from each other. The power of that potential is perfectly clear in a remarkable video I recently purchased: The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil. Ask your local library to buy it and make it available.

Fossil-fueled anything is obsolete
Do I need to go into details on that one?

Centralized command of the media is obsolete!
We are coming to realize that there are far too few corporations that own what we see and listen to...so in the future we will come to understand that the media is owned by us! I realize that An Inconvenient Truth was tepid compared to the “Kick You Upside Yo Head" real truth of global heating, but it proved one thing VERY clearly: One well-made and well-marketing film can create a sea-change in public opinion in as short a time as ONE YEAR! The debate went from, ‘have humans caused this apparent (alleged) climate heating thingie?’ to now: ‘what should we do about global warming?’

(Video of an overweight and haggard Al Gore testifies before Congress on global heating:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2007/03/16/VI2007031601135.html
He could use some organic, locally-grown fresh produce…and a little rest!)

Think about what can be done with the viral marketing potential of one well-made video on YouTube. Perhaps the one I’m working on with my systems sciences professor, Alder Fuller on the “make you sick as a dog” truth of global heating will make a difference (?).

If we have the power to change our own individual circumstances, perhaps we can, in concert with like-minded people, create extraordinary changes in our so-called civilization. The new tools are unfolding before our eyes: citizen sovereignty re-awakened in our hearts and minds, the internet and video cameras! Not that any of them are that new by themselves, but (along with the plummeting costs of digital cameras and powerful computers) all together, yes, they represent a new and uniquely empowering paradigm shift.

Truth and where we can (maybe) find it...

Truth, or should I say the highest, longest-lasting truth, does not come from a book. No matter how auspicious the book's beginnings, nor its place on the best-seller list.

Yes, empirical knowledge serves to guide us and give us clues about where to find truth. But it is not enough to help us develop wisdom.

Truth, I believe, comes from years of self-discovery, life mistakes and inglorious pain and suffering. OK, sure let's add meditation to the list and inward reflection. How about the truth of a silent night of nothing but crickets and the gentle touch of your lover's hands? How about watching children play and observing the perfect, comfortable peace your cat can EASILY fall into at any time of day or night?

Truth, I believe, comes from understanding smaller, precious truths and discarding old truths that were just perfect for that time, but just don't make sense any longer. Truth grows in the heart of someone who is hungry, VERY hungry to know...and sometimes it grabs you by the lapel and shakes you when you least expect it.

Like now!