Is democracy an endangered species?

This morning we enjoyed watching a bald eagle sail across a bright blue sky. A sign of Spring? Perhaps, but it brought to mind the realization that eagles, not long ago, were on the endangered species list. Our efforts have helped restore the population of our national symbol to healthy levels. It's time for us to create a recovery plan for our democracy or the recovery of our national symbol will be an empty victory.

endangered no more

Photo by J. Harrington

When Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973, it recognized that our rich natural heritage is of "esthetic, ecological, educational, recreational, and scientific value to our Nation and its people." It further expressed concern that many of our nation's native plants and animals were in danger of becoming extinct.

The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend...

We suggest the the sentence immediately above could, and should, be rewritten as a basis for an Endangered Democracy Act as follows:

The purpose of the EDA is to protect and recover imperiled cultures and the ecosystems upon which they depend...

end of track

Photo by J. Harrington

It is time to revoke the assumed permits global capitalism and its allies think they have to follow a strategy of expropriation and exploitation of natural and cultural resources for private profit.  Here's a list of just some of the natural and cultural resource exploitation issues we've encountered in our readings this morning:

• America’s Most Toxic Town Is Not Where You Think (sulfate mining)


• LAWSUIT REVEALS HOW PAID EXPERT HELPED 3M “COMMAND THE SCIENCE” ON DANGEROUS CHEMICALS


• Counties balk at stricter measures for construction debris disposal
(MPCA can't even keep up with landfill permit renewals. Data provided by the agency show nearly 70 percent of class one demolition landfill permits are expired, some for more than a decade ago.)

Here's some of the basics on which we need to (re)agree:

• Money is not speech (Citizens United must be reversed or overturned or...)
• Corporations are not people (they're legal persons/entities)
• Winning isn't the only thing nor is it everything
• Planet A has limits on the ability of its self-renewing systems to support life
• There is no Planet B
• Mother Nature is unlikely to save us from ourselves
• It's up to us
• The "race" that matters is the human race
• We are all in this together
• Everything's related everything else.

If we can do it for the eagles, we can do it for ourselves. We need to complement the Declaration of Independence with the Earth Charter. We also must rebuild a basis for trusting each other by being trustworthy. We must become indigenous to this earth.

[UPDATE: DEMOCRACY INDEX DECLINES 2017]

                     Trust

By Thomas R. Smith

It’s like so many other things in life   

to which you must say no or yes.                                    

So you take your car to the new mechanic.   

Sometimes the best thing to do is trust.   

The package left with the disreputable-looking   

clerk, the check gulped by the night deposit,   

the envelope passed by dozens of strangers—   

all show up at their intended destinations.   

The theft that could have happened doesn’t.   

Wind finally gets where it was going   

through the snowy trees, and the river, even               

when frozen, arrives at the right place.                        

And sometimes you sense how faithfully your life   

is delivered, even though you can’t read the address.

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