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Re: Needed: Update of the Declaration of Independence
Chloe McCracken (100430.2001@COMPUSERVE.COM)
Sun, 6 Aug 1995 11:47:09 EDT
I can't agree enough with what Alice McCombs writes (below). More importantly,
this is not just a problem for the United States, but of almost all countries in
the whole world. The elites composition may vary slightly, but the domination by
multinationals is a constant, and they think of nothing but profit. There is and
must be more to life than that! Applying her mantra "Reduce, reuse, recycle,
rethink, and restore" is a good first step, though not as easy as it may seem (
at least here in the UK where there are, for example, only limited recycling
facilities). But it is a necessary one, and a goal to aim towards.
We are not just poisoning the world, but also poisoning ourselves - with things
like the synthetic oestrogen-like chemicals in so much of our packaging; too
much refined sugar and meat in our diets; the pollution in our world which ends
up in our own food chain from pesticides, chemicals, and radioactive elements;
the antibiotics which are fed to animals, especially poultry, which leads to
reduced effectiveness of these 'medicines' when they are most needed; and all
the other dangerous and disgusting things fed to the animals which we then eat,
or sprayed on the plants we eat. So I would suggest that one thing we can do is
to eat food which is fresh and natural, and as unpolluted as possible - if we
don't stop ourselves from being poisoned, we will be in no condition to deal
with the many other problems of this multinational-controlled world. To do this
we need to make it clear to the supermarkets and food producers what their
priorities should be - not just the cheapest possible product, but one which is
worth eating. As consumers we can do this by boycotting non-free-range meat,
asking our local stores what chemicals are used on their products, doing all we
can to inform ourselves about what is going on and being fed to us, and passing
on that information to shop managers in the form of complaints or suggestions.
*Use your money politically, it is the only power which the elites will listen
to.*
I would really like to hear other people's ideas on how to deal with the greed
and uncaringness of the multinationals towards the reality of peoples lives, and
that of our planet.
Chloe McCracken
100430.2001@compuserve.com
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Alice McCombs writes:
To Everyone Concerned about our Communities, our Country, and our World
Like other people who love people and life on Earth, I have watched the 104th
Congress work to destroy years of progress made on issues ranging from
reducing discrimination to increasing environmental security with disgust and
horror. The stories of U.S. Senators and Representatives drafting laws
dictated by multinational lobbyists have sickened, angered, and discouraged
us. In their post November 1994 blitzkrieg against the citizens who elected
them, Congress has not overlooked anyone--except the multinational elites.
Public education, freedom of speech, fair and equal opportunity are all on
this Congress's chopping block. Teachers, farmers, students from preschool
through graduate school, differently-abled people, minorities, women, the
elderly-- everyone who does not have the privilege of being
wealthy-and-white-and male --are all under attack. Anything or anyone that
can stand in the way of profit for the multinational elite overclass* is
being ruthlessly eliminated or disempowered by this Congress.
Those of us who are not members of the elite overclass count for 80-95% of
the U.S. population. The U.S. is every bit as much our country as it is the
elites'. If the members of the104th Congress are working only for the elites
and not working for all U.S. citizens, then that is taxation without
representation.
We who care about humanity and life on earth must unite now to stop the
elite's relentless pursuit of global slavery and total environmental
destruction. But, what can we do? When 1.5-5% of the population control the
corporations, the media, the country's legislatures, the educational
institutions, the law enforcement agencies, and the military, how effective
can the usual means of reform (letter-writing campaigns, demonstrations,
boycotts, voting, etc) be?
We need to do more than just throw the elite's lackeys out in next year's at
elections. As citizens of the United States, we have a right to strive for
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness by using any and all legitimate
means to free ourselves of the tyranny of the multinational elite overclass.
We need a Declaration of Independence for the 21st Century.
We need to unite, cooperate to provide for our needs, and take ourselves off
the multinationals' conspicuously consumptive power grid. Reduce, reuse,
recycle, rethink, and restore need to become our collective mantras. If we
give up our need for their goods, they can no longer control us.
However, we can't afford to use violence to achieve our independence.
Violence is not an answer. Not just because it harms people or destroys
property, but because violence creates more violence, makes people angry, and
is illegal. Any act of violence can get us labeled as terrorists by the media
and imprisoned. Our families could be torn apart and we could experience
chain gangs, slave labor, rape, torture, drug addiction, medical
experimentation, and murder in today's prisons. We can't afford for any of us
to go to jail or for people to see us as criminals.
Like the people of India who followed Gandhi to gain independence from
Britain or the people who worked for civil rights with Martin Luther King, we
must be seen as having the moral imperative. That can only be achieved with
legitimate, nonviolent, organized action.
As Captain Kirk said in "Generations": "The odds are against us, and the
situation looks grim."
But, our cause is just and we have the moral imperative. The Creator and
everyone in the universe who serves the Creator is on our side.
We can win.
Remember:
If Earth WINS, Everybody Wins
Alice McCombs
August 6, 1995
Written in mourning for the people who died from the bombings of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki which helped end a horrible war, but also paved the way for an
even more destructive and potentially lethal nuclear arms race.
*For an excellent essay on the elites see "To Have and Have Not," By Michael
Lind, published in the August 1995 issue of Harpers.
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