A Proposal for Global Revolutions
“Peace can be created by harmonious and balanced relations, which inherently depends upon mutual respect, appreciation, and unconditional care.” John McConnell
Introduction:
This project resulted from a call to respond to Earth Charter (1998). This framework offers paths to actions that improve the enjoyment of life. You are invited to participate in building healthier societies with us.
Agents of Change www.specialagenttraining.cfsites.org
Poverty, violence and suffering can be greatly reduced with increased conflict resolution, better less biased and more holistic education, improved healthcare including preventative alternative healthcare, and more sharing. All can be supported by tax code reforms to institute fairer taxation that prioritizes social investment practices and permits war objectors to opt-out of paying for war based enterprises and activities. Redirecting taxes collected from closing existing loopholes could be applied to building free homes and move us closer to ending rent-theft altogether. Rent derived from slavery. Imagine all the resources directed away from rent into education and investment into society. The time saved by abandoning dead-end jobs supporting nothing but the further concentration of wealth and destruction of the planet can give way to the ability for us to be with family and community without the rent burden. This sea change will revolutionize the world or work altogether as many people will make better choices about where they work and how often and most importantly for what reasons. Innovation will soar as will investment in human assets and solving immediate crisis like hunger and conflicts. For the first time, people will be able to decide for themselves and have more control over where we apply the most valuable resource of all- our limited time on earth.
Peace increases as the understanding and practice of nonviolence in ideas and actions increases. Protecting, restoring, and preserving the integrity of the planets ecosystem is a critical priority. Long-term planning is considered in our projections for the future. Success is indicated by health, education, and other important measurable qualities of life. Peace requires an inclusive ethical vision and cooperation.
Founding Evidence Based Observations:
Web of Life/ Interconnections-
· Harmony -balancing environment and behavior to achieve peace is crucial for optimal or even sustainable development. The earth is alive and sustains life with the aid of universal interactions. Everyone has a duty to advance the goals of harmony, create the context of sustainability, and to contribute to the creation of world peace without prejudice or unfair discrimination. We evaluate our actions and choices based on their impacts. We make a conscious effort where possible to cause the least harm.
Education and applying skills-
· Problems are best addressed thru critical thinking and skills with resources equitably (indiscriminately) and efficiently distributed. Intelligence is in diversity.
· People play a vital role in the protection of the earth. Stewardship and mentorship is critical to sustainable development. Foster caring values, respect, diversity, equality and freedom in educational and moral systems is essential. Traditional and ethical reforms with assistance from spiritual or faith based communities is welcomed, but that assistance should not contain dogmatic traditions or beliefs that repeat past mistakes that were culturally insensitive and damaging. Therefore, the commitment of alternative communities that intend to reverse oppressive conditions in modern times contains deep empathy and full recognition of a long ugly American history full of oppressive abuses. Furthermore, we aim to dismantle ongoing abuses and not repeat such mistakes.
Security and Welfare-
· Many life forms, including humans, are in need of being protected.
· Much suffering can be reduced or prevented depending on the choices and conduct of people individually and collectively make.
· Poverty, violence and suffering can be reduced with education, conflict resolution strategies, compassion and fairer distribution systems.
· Nonviolent practices lead to less destructive behavior, increased wellbeing and defense. Nonviolent practices are modifying industrial/ technological industries, improving systems designs, and spreading lifestyles that enhance and promote wellbeing, but the rate of destructive human behavior requires constant vigilance and can’t be permitted to outpace peace and endanger sustainable limits needed to guarantee a reasonable quality of life. Prevention and responses for adverse causal relations requires reliable and impartial evidence based monitoring and solid fair response mechanisms to prevent, avoid or contain threats.
· Advancing sustainable modes of consumption and production which respects and safeguards all life requires review of life-cycles, impact analysis, waste reduction incentives and greater more effective law enforcement protections.
· There are observable processes by which the biosphere sustains life and people have manipulated knowledge for private gains which must be combatted.
· The misuse of power and resources threatens the fabric of life and the foundations of local and global security. Corruption is at the root of many failed societies. Therefore to limit failure corruption is regarded as an enemy to the new State. Peter Philips authored a book titled Giants. That work is seminal as it is the first major effort to identify those concentrating wealth. Those same tiny group of elite people hold the keys to agreeing to seal the tax loopholes and bring society much needed relief once they realize the extent of their errors and the opportunity to do something great. Nevertheless, our community must be prepared to shift society and nurture the growth needed to preserve life on earth.
Global Peace Articles
We the people of the world, commit ourselves to actions inclusive of the following principles:
Article 1 – Environmental Harmony
We shall maintain equilibriums by promoting and adopting modes of consumption, production and reproduction which respects and safeguards human rights and the regenerative capacity of the earth’s ecosystem.
A. Reduce waste through efficiency and the reduction of excessive luxuries to meet basic needs. Redirect behaviors to safer, healthier and more beneficial activities based on more objective evidences.
Article 2- Equal Taxation
Share equitably the benefits of natural resources use without discrimination between cultures, race, gender, age, and disability, or past, present or future prejudices.
A. Share resources and institute equal and fairer flat-taxation that caps wealth and allows objectors of war to redirect tax contributions into other programs.
Article 3- Anti Corruption
Promote sustainable development by harmonizing economic goals and the means of attaining them with fundamental ecological, ethical and social values.
Convert related drugs, arms, and polluting industry jobs into safer and healthier employment opportunities.
Create mechanisms (policies and procedures) to promote viable decision making in all sectors of society.
Encourage local, nation, and international sustainability agendas and strategies.
Establish market prices and economic indicators that reflect the full environmental and social costs of the products or activities.
Implement more accurate environmental impact assessments and penalty systems that work to deter and prevent all crimes with better rehabilitation outcomes.
Create and respect more rigorous/ practical environmental protection standards that are not easily demolished from one administration to the next.
Monitor changes in the environmental quality and make finding more available through mass media. Identify the responsible sources of potential abuse or violations and propose practical solutions and institute mandatory reporting along with better whistleblower protections.
Article 4 Anti- Waste
Reduce and eliminate waste and the use of hazardous substances/elements/materials defined as toxins.
A. Redesign the life cycle of products: reduce the resources used, reuse, and recycle.
B. Rehabilitation- The introduction of wastes and hazardous substances/elements/materials defined as toxins into the environment requires critical evaluation due to historical irregularities and insufficient regulation and enforcement. A universal definition for toxins and much greater enforcement, biohazard prevention/ response actions, and drastically improved international controls over toxins are urgently needed. Stiffer penalties and methods to deter the use of toxins that reduce crimes related to the production of toxins are needed along with international agreements concerning enforcement and the right of criminal trials for the offending person, community, or nation.
C. The definition of Toxin shall include all natural and synthetic chemicals known or reasonably suspected to cause harm either alone or in combination with other elements or substances (Mutation Theory).
D. Eliminate weapons of mass destruction, promote disarmament and secure the environment against irreversible damage caused or likely to be caused by human activities.
E. Advance and put into use scientific and other types of knowledge and technologies that promote sustainable living and protections for the environment.
F. Use Clean energy conversion- solar, wind, hydra, and biomass renewable clean power sources.
G. Eliminate dependencies on polluting industries and non-renewable resources.
H. Prevent the transfer of hazardous materials from one country to another.
Article 5 – Greater Transparency and War and all budget related Reporting
Secrecy and hidden budgets for war proves democracy is under attack. Transparency will provide better checks and balances for the use of power and limit or protect against its abuse. Congressional reviews and putting an end to hidden budget practices in legislation will improve all budget actions and permit greater due process.
Ensure accountability and effectiveness in governance in all sectors of society.
A. Develop communication systems that are less monopolized.
B. Decentralize power and install mechanisms that promote more equal forms of democracy. Demolish fundraising in politics.
Develop mechanisms to ensure that elected officials and others take reasonable measures to prevent, reduce, or respond to the concerns for safety and welfare generally. Hold each other accountable by eliminating all exemptions in the government and legal codes. No one should be above the law.
Article 6- Reforming Justice
The US justice system began to deteriorate in the 1980’s. Consequently, key progressive legislation such as Civil right Act, Disability Act, Clean Air and Water Acts- all have been subject to worsening abuses and irregular enforcement. Meanwhile incarceration has grown along with damning evidence that slavery (exploited labor in bondage) has spread abusing the penal system.
Establish justice by defending without discrimination the rights of all people, to life, liberty and security of persons within an environment adequate for good health and wellbeing.
A. Evaluate current justice systems and propose improvements.
B. Conserve the biodiversity of Earth’s lands, and waters.
C. Preserve the genetic diversity within each species and the variety of ecosystems as well as the diversity of species.
D. Establish systems of wild places and other protected areas in order to safeguard ecosystems, species, and the overall capacity of the Earth to sustain life.
E. Strengthen a world court to construct neutral systems of accountability for accused persons, corporations, international organizations, and governments and compel all nations to participate and not attempt to veto of undermine its authority. Build in anti-bias controls and transparency.
Article 7- Free HealthCare
Secure the right to health care and education including reproductive, nutrition, illness prevention, and alternative holistic healing methods. Since acidic diets contribute dramatically to disease, controls on such foods should be implemented. Also, much of the sexually transmitted diseases can be prevented with education.
End the insurance scams and inhumane treatment of people based on ability to pay.
Article 8 – Free Education K - PhD
With revised tax systems recommended above in place and the options of diverting funds from war to peace- education, vocational training, and healthcare can be paid for entirely. This will help combat the secret economic and intelligence warfare now underway with competitive economic systems and lower debts to foreign investors and empower locals to invest more locally keeping money within the U.S. and lowering external dependency.
Article 9- End Housing Crises
Making home owning more affordable and capping/ controlling rents is attainable by combining negotiated new building codes, new technology, tax program incentives and better correlating minimum wages to cost of living locally. Resetting ownership rules in the U.S. to simply realign eligibility criteria can also limit/control foreign investment.
Lowering costs thru subsidized government work initiatives can help build the needed housing and assist in the transitional employment needed to the release of hundreds of thousands of incarcerated people that can be offered high paying jobs as part of their readjustment into society.
Article 10- Subsidized Work Programs
All able individuals that have not found work after searching and using free programs designed to assist people in finding work independently should be given subsidized work. Exemptions for the disabled and or persons caring for family members should qualify for assistance programs at comparable rates of assistance as would be provided in a subsidized work program. FDR’s new Deal is a good example of how this can be structured only the jobs are constructive and aimed at repairing the infrastructure which is a cost already. Savings from reductions in illness, reductions in incarceration, reductions in war budgets and increases in taxes will help pay for these programs.
We, pledge to attain our goals through self-sacrifice, deconstructing abusive behaviors and systems, and empowering one another to make constructive contributions to our world. We do this together, accepting one another’s strengths and weaknesses because a supportive community is central to the peace we aspire to create.
Paypal cash contributions to bandsthatrock@gmail.com Rob Jackson, EIA, Founder