7/15/20–eNews #106

Recent Simpler OneEarth Living Podcast Episodes

LATEST–Episode 0720::As This World Ends, the Light at the End. . .

Ep. 0620::Pandemic Shows Food System Broken, Opens Door to Better Choices

Ep. 0520::Life with Covid-19: Heading Toward a More Ecological World

Ep. 0420::CoronaVirus: A Devastating Natural Disaster with a Message–Live Differently

Ep. 0320::Busting Two Killers: Growth Economics and Human Population Growth amid Species Extinctions

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What’s Happened

Free Speech, Not Hate Speech

A lot of noise is being made lately about social media “censoring.” Twitter is putting up cautions for questionable tweets. Facebook is refusing to stop posting anything.

The constitutional guarantee of “free speech” does not guarantee “hate speech.” Free speech does not mean anyone can say anything at anytime. That’s the extreme libertarian view — I can do whatever I want whenever I want wherever I want.

Wrong! One’s freedom stops at the end of another’s nose. The same with speech. Hate speech threatens, causes, incites or promotes violence — no matter now cleverly veiled or contrived.

The issue with Facebook is, of course, not “free speech.” It’s advertising revenue. Several major advertisers have dropped Facebook, most notably the big cell phone provider Verizon. This change has been caused recently largely because of our renewed cultural awareness that Black Lives Matter.

Yes, we have to be concerned about backlash from white nationalists because those crazies have and use guns. Some people are joining “prepper” groups, even “liberal preppers,” to be ready for social upheaval. What might that mean? Stocking up on supplies, not hoarding.

As the November national election gets closer, and the desperate Trump supporters ramp up their number one political tactic — fear — more people will become “preppers.” Our neighbors, for example, have a multi-month supply of “astronaut food” in their garage. We have a month’s worth of drinking water on hand.

For the sake of others, we have increased our donation to our local mutual benefit organizations. One of our relative’s families has ordered passports for their young children in case they need to go to Canada for awhile till possible disruptions by armed white nationalists settle down. Another friend is investing in silver coins in case paper money becomes worthless.

Some of these efforts seem drastic; others, minimal. We’re dealing with this “new abnormal” in our own various ways. Hopefully, most of us will grow as community through this ordeal, not as self-seeking individualists.

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MEDIA ALERT!

I appreciate so many of the independent programs on RT-America that I’m sad to report that the new “Eat the Press” is not worth your time. Drawing on the easy and deceptive “liberal vs. conservative” media myth, the host tries to point out the hypocrisy of the media over both important and trivial inconsistencies. Until he understands and explains the difference between commercial and non-commercial US media he will continue to do us a disservice.

See lists of worthwhile media below under “Why We Podcast.”

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Who Are the “Looters”?

A recent progressive radio program host referred to “riots.” I responded that demonstrations are not riots. Privileged people show hypocrisy calling protesters “looters,” even if some protesters harm and steal property.

Borrowing from a recent article in CounterPunch.org: “The act of looting is a long-standing American tradition, dating back to the theft of Native lands and African enslavement. And today, while wealthy people don’t loot strip malls, they are adept at looting natural resources and labor, from the coalfields of West Virginia to Jeff Bezo’s Amazon warehouses. The poor, exerting their nominal power—even in a destructive and violent manner—display an entirely natural reaction to a continually powerless state of being. For them, looting is a cry for help, an expression of hopelessness.”

Without condoning looting by protesters, we who are committed to peace and non-violence can work to prevent further looting by the privileged.

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Simple Living Works!–and its founding predecessor, Alternatives–have been promoting Voluntary Simplicity since 1973. It’s voluntary because we privileged North Americans and Western Europeans have a choice. We can live extravagantly or sustainably.

Now more and more folks will live simply INvoluntary. Over half the people on the globe, especially in the developing world have been living simply INvoluntarily in all of modern times.

Those of us who have practiced voluntary simplicity most of our lives are now prepared for this time of crisis. We follow the ten standards of Living More with Less. And financially we practice the 3 S’s. We Share at least 10% of our income, we Save at least 15%, which leaves 75% to Spend on expenses.

When we talk about recovery from the crisis, we do NOT mean getting back to “normal.” Normal is destroying the Earth. Instead we try to learn from the Earth and its carrying capacity. We urge the One Planet / One Child plan to reduce our current Overpopulation. We urge learning what is Enough and avoiding OverConsumption and waste.

I don’t mean to criticize or belittle those who are suffering in this crisis. I offer another way that has worked well for us. The SLW! web site has numerous videos and documents to guide individuals, congregations and groups through this crisis. It takes time and discipline to convert from the “American Dream” to the Land of Enough.

What can we and the government do to save America? 1. Adopt the Basic Universal Income, which gives each adult $1200 per month. This is not a limit but a foundation to support oneself and one’s family. 2. Adopt Medicare-for-All, which provides basic medical services for everyone. 3. Promote a Steady-State economy. Infinite growth is impossible on a finite planet.

And how would we pay for these expensive benefits? TAX the RICH! FDR did it in the 1930’s and it saved us from the Great Depression. For the past 20+ years the wealthy have gotten disproportionately more benefits than the average citizen. And since the Republican Tax Scam of 2017, big corporations and the super rich have grossly increased inequality in America. The current pandemic has brought that inequality into sharper focus.

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SideEffects of Sheltering at Home

As terrible as the pandemic is, it can be seen as Mother Nature correcting humans who are pushing the Earth beyond its carrying capacity. When the pandemic resides, we must not return to “normal.” Some folks who are bored at home may have “unprotected sex,” thoughtlessly procreating. Sex for pleasure is a gift of God, avoiding disease and unplanned offspring. Some pro-growth corporatists and fundamentalist “Christians” will likely guilt people to replace the dead, disregarding sustainability. Ignore them.

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Giving Idea

Rita and I have decided to give our “share” of the Covid-19 federal bailout to local non-profits and mutual aid societies helping the needy. We have enough. Urge your congregation to do the same. Maybe publish a list to identify the helpers. As the closing song of our podcast proclaims, “Learn to live simply that others may simply live.”

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Jubilee in the Midst of the CoronaVirus

DONATE: https://oneearthjubilee.com/support-oneearth-jubilee/

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PRODUCTION NOTE: SLW! Blog/Nudge/eNews becomes a monthly, released on the 15th, beginning next month.

Peace, Gerald “Jerry” Iversen, Chief SLW! Activist

Copyright: Creative Commons non-commercial attribution share-alike license. Through social media, we extend the mission and resources of the non-profit organization Alternatives, 1973-2011.

*We choose to use month numbers rather than the traditional names because the names are inaccurate (September means “7” but is the ninth month?!) and they honor gods and emperors from warring ancient Roman culture. For more, see Weekly Nudge, 8/8/18.