Eight years ago, when George Bush ascended to the Presidency of the United States (courtesy of the Supreme Court), I had hope. Hope that the Karl Rove win-at-all-costs strategy and the Dick Cheney profit-from-war mentality would be exposed and discredited in just one term (and, I thought, how much damage could any administration inflict in just four years). I had hope that we would return to moderate, more democratic values by the next presidential election.
Then came 9/11. As the initial shock wore off, I looked for a message more meaningful than some people are just inherently evil, and that was this: A terrorist cannot create a state of terror, but the people who are threatened can. Creating fear is not the way to fight terrorists. Yet the Bush administration perpetuated a Code Red atmosphere to justify a preemptive and unnecessary war.
While traveling abroad during Bush's first term, over and over again I would hear, "We hate your government, but we still like Americans." When we Americans responded to fear, greed, and arrogance by electing them (The Bush League) for four more years, my foreign friends began to wonder whether the actions of American leaders just reflected the values of its citizens.
Our response to fear and greed, allowing our minds and hearts to shut out the reality of the human condition, has led us to where we are today. All our systems are in decline. We have empty houses, frozen finances, insecure insurance, unhealthy health care, a strained military, and--most troubling of all--unlearned schools.
After flirting with the word "recession" for months, the pundits finally declared, what the person on the street had known all along, that we were indeed in the midst of one. Now they say conditions are the worst since the Great Depression. But let's be honest: we are in a Greater Depression. Why Greater? Because there are over 6 billion people on an increasingly globally-connected world with a species threatening environmental crisis that is getting worse at a rate faster than expected. Meanwhile, the division between the haves and the have nots has increased around the world.So why do I say that Bush and company have saved the world? Because by bringing us to the precipice they have given us a simple choice: Fall from the edge, or find a more stable and meaningful path forward.By virtue of this Greater Depression, we are now able to see the new plateau. The boundaries of this new depression are so vast they create new horizons. Gone are the landscapes where a few live on insecure jagged peaks and many barely survive in the fallow chasms below. We need majestic mountains and rolling foothills that inspire those who climb but protect those who fall.Had the fallout of these past eight years not been so enormous, we could view this as another politics-as-usual cycle, and our response would be uninspired and partisan. Instead, Americans recognized the need for transformational leadership. Yet Barack Obama alone cannot transform our nation. Yes, you heard me right, Barack Obama is not enough.
Without a new democratic spirit, without new lofty ambitions, without us - not only the citizens of the United States of America, but the citizens of the world-our societies, our civilizations and even our species (and all others)--will remain threatened. Obama has that spirit and the potential to inspire us all to develop ourselves as leaders. With that energy flowing between him and his team and the people he serves, new possibilities will emerge.When money becomes more valued than human currencies of love and compassion, it creates an atmosphere of greed and arrogance. As our capitol investments become devalued, my hope is we will put more stock in what matters most, our fellow beings and the earth we all inhabit. The fleeting excitement of the next material purchase cannot inspire or enliven us, but the beauty of nature certainly can.Our work will be very hard. The answer for economic and cultural depression is the same as for our own individual depressions. We need caring and compassion and most importantly connectedness - to our fellow human beings and to the planet that is our home.The prime motivator for the past eight years has been fear and a dominant principle of conservatism. The next decade will need hope and liberation - a genuine and audacious hope as well as a fair and equitable liberation. We will need one more virtue at the core of our response to these challenging times and that is courage. We need boldness to find the wise path, rather than following the expedient one. The times demand bravery to think long term and not just towards immediate needs.
At the heart of creating sustainable societies is behaving in the present so future generations can have the opportunity to survive and thrive. One of my own specific sources of hope is our intergenerational public school in Cleveland (www.tisonline.org). In this school we create collective wisdom about our social and natural communities though real life learning in service to others, relationship-based compassionate caring, and shared storytelling. In the Intergenerational School the spirit of learning is alive. So you too find a place in your life for a disconnected friend or relative, a disadvantaged child or a lonely elder, a food producing beautiful garden, or any act of service to your fellow human beings and the planet. Share your story and those of courageous others. Let us inspire one another and the new leadership in Washington so this country can once again serve as a source of hope for many around the world. These healthier, richer and deeper stories from our own lives will help us all create a better future.
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