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Consumer Confidence Rises; Democracy Declines

March 21, 2007: Benjamin Barber explains why consumer culture is bad for humanity copyright © 2009 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org Great News!  The good life will soon return to America.  Auspiciously, months before the holiday shopping season began, Americans were told that after more than a year of fiscal recession, or what some have characterized as akin to an economic depression, consumers were optimistic.  The confidence  index and other indicators were much improved.  Manufacturing executives assured the public, the engine that drives the free enterprise system was in a "sustainable recovery mode." In the very near future, products, and people's sense of need, would be fabricated again. Everything will be right with the world, economically.  Few feared the threat that, long ago, Americans had come to accept.   The foundation of a democratic system had eroded in favor of consumption.

Capitalism; Dead, Alive, and Broken

copyright © 2009 Betsy L. Angert.  BeThink.org For but a moment, whilst the Group of 20 [G20] met in London's ancient financial capital, ,"The City," the roars of remorse, could be heard.  Words of woe had been whispered in hushed tones for quite some time.  Scholars spoke of various possibilities on occasion.  Whether Senior Economic Fellows from various think-tanks thought a system to be dead, alive, or near doomed, there was perhaps a bit of agreement.  "I see what you mean.  It is broken," Economist Mark Thoma mused more than a year ago.

We Can Solve The Climate Crisis

To Our Leaders: Give Us 100% Clean Electricity in 10 Years

copyright © 2008 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org

Americans, addicted to oil and quick fixes, embrace a man and a mantra; yet, most are unwilling to envelop themselves in a cause. The public appreciates the need for clean energy. Accolades are bestowed upon the former Vice President, author, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and environmentalist Albert Gore for the work he has done to inform us of an inconvenient truth. Nonetheless, as knowledgeable as the public may be, nothing truly changes. Intellectually, nearly everyone accepts what a myriad of experts emphasize. The planet is in peril. However, emotionally, few internalize the urgency of what must be a global priority. There is a problem. We cannot wait to employ solutions.

Let Them Eat Oil

President Jimmy Carter - Address to the Nation on Energy

copyright © 2008 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org

In a nation, where appeasement is condemned, Americans are anxious. The people have been pacified for so long they can no longer recall what it means to be other than indulged. On June 6, 2008, Congresspersons, uncomfortable with the notion that they might have to use the rod, concluded, for now, it is better to spoil the already pampered Americans. Lawmakers said, as they have so often, "Let them eat oil!" After all, the people love petroleum.

Mother Earth; The Humans Virus

Animation about Earth

© copyright 2007 Betsy L. Angert

Earth is ill. The virus that invades this planet is human in nature. This strange little creature has an ego that multiples and magnifies its significance. "Persons" think themselves so important they ignore the essence of every other life form.

Humans invade all space and slip into every crack and crevice on this planet. Individuals propose it is "Manifest Destiny." Man and womankind believe they have a G-d-given right to expand and possess the whole of this terra firma.

The Price of Paper or Plastic

Plastic Bags - JUST SAY NO! By againstthetide © copyright 2007 Betsy L. Angert In 1957, America changed. The first baggies and sandwich bags were introduced to a prospering public. A year later, poly dry cleaning bags begin to compete with the traditional paper. By 1966, American shoppers were packing their produce in plastic sacks. In 1967, the message was solid, the public sure. The psyche throughout the States was transformed and we all knew it. Mister McGuire, from The Graduate, said it for all of us, in a word, "Plastics!" Today plastic consumes us, the consumer; however, cities such as San Francisco are proposing a change. It may no longer be paper or plastic. Compostable is a serious consideration.

Climate Change; An Impeachable Offense?

© copyright 2007 Betsy L. Angert

Please Help the Polar Bears. View the video and act. Save the Polar Bears: The Coca-Cola Bear Ad Mash Up

The Bush/Cheney Administration denied global warming for years. Denouncing scientific evidence served this presidential pair and their business partners well. Entrepreneurial enterprises prospered. Profits grew as the icecaps melted. Ocean waters warmed, so too did the hearts of Chief Executives. Corporate coffers swelled. Misters Bush and Cheney benefited.

Mother Earth Is Not Well. Her Climate Changed. Did Your Notice?

© copyright 2007 Betsy L. Angert

Please Ponder the Inconvenient Truth Trailer. As you view this video, reflect on the trauma of today's tornado in Florida.

Please indulge me, allow me to make a comparison that may seem obscure to some. Surely, the Bush/Cheney clan has yet to grasp what others and I have said for years. Humans are harming the balance of nature! We can choose to deny this. Citizen of the world can see them selves as separate from nature; however, we are one. A report released today by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations, validates this "claim." I offer this analogy in hopes that a personal realization may make the point more profoundly.

Weight loss may be equated with global warming. Those of us that have lost tonnage know that for years, months, or weeks few notice the pounds dropping away. We are aware of the subtle changes because we choose to be. When we work to be sensitive to the mind/body connection, when we work to honor each of these separate entities as one, we become aware of the nuances that surround change.

Bush and His Billionaires Caused It. Let Them Pay ©

All the talk of Catastrophe Funds seems silly to me; the reasoning is apt. I think there are better sources for these subsidies than the government. In my mind, our efforts are misplaced.

It is true; we as a nation and as a world have seen an increase in the number and intensity of cataclysmic storms. Tornados, droughts, hurricanes and other recent disasters have caused great calamity. We are mired in misfortune. However, we are working to pay for what we caused. We are closing the barn door behind us; our prides and joys are all long gone. We now, belatedly, prepare for what was our own ignorance. We elected George W. Bush, twice. Well actually,

I Can’t Get No Satisfaction From Stuff, Or Can I? ©

Interestingly, the topic of ownership has been a frequent conversation in my life, recently. I moved and am working to create a home. We all live in dwellings, a house, a condominium, an apartment, a box, or even [the safety of] the streets. However, few feel their house is a home. I admittedly love a tame, gracious, and refined life. I live in my surroundings. I relate to each entity within my environment and because of this, the ambiance within the framework of my abode is important to me. Some see my work to secure serenity as a waste of time and money. I see it as survival; I am creating a world in which I can thrive.