We must dismantle the U.S. Empire and seek forgiveness from the world for becoming an empire. Bernie must tell the true story of the United States from the perspective of Native Americans, black people, Hispanics, the working class, and of other nations exploited by the United States. As a nation we may be the least of the great and the primary reason why there is no peace in the world, but we can vow to change our ways.
Our nation needs to repent and seek forgiveness for all the ways it has prevented world peace--from its conception to the present. We have to be sorry for the way we have harmed other individuals and nations and then seek their forgiveness, so that we can be reconciled. When other nations also seek forgiveness for their collective sins, then we can have world peace and fellowship.
If you really want to learn all the details about U.S. military and CIA interventions since World War II, read William Blum whose books have been praised by Noam Chomsky, Gore Vidal, Helen Caldicott, Michael Parenti, Cynthia McKinney, and David Swanson. Also read this article published on July 4 entitled Celebrate 243 Years of "Profitable Genocide."
Here are some of our national sins that have prevented us from being all that we can be: 1) Imperialism 2) Materialism 3) Transnational Predatory Capitalism 4) Nationalism 5) Racism 6) Patriarchy 7) Ecocide 8) Speciesism (species-ism) and 9) the Discrimination against the LGBTQ community, against Polyamory, and against those individuals who are federally prohibited from using marijuana and psychedelic drugs since they are still classified as Schedule I drugs.
Consider the United Nations. How democratic is it to have 5 permanent members on the Security Council? It is not democratic at all. Let us encourage all nations to participate in the decision-making about everything. If a nation for its own private gain harms or makes war against another nation, a more empowered United Nations would be objective and fair in stopping it.
On an international level, let us value democratic world law or international law and be open to having a democratic world government. Let us never allow an empire to emerge that seeks to control the world for its own selfish gain to the detriment of the whole world. The Earth Constitution is an excellent model for a democratic world government. At the beginning of this interview, Noam Chomsky quotes Albert Einstein who said that unless we create a [democratic] world government, we are doomed. Let us honor the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which was a 1928 international agreement not to use war to resolve disputes between nations.
Here is Bernie Sanders' record on foreign policy and other issues as reported by OnTheIssues.org.
The Order of the Sacred Earth states that "In the midst of global fire, earthquake and flood--as species are going extinct every day and national and global economies totter--the planet doesn't need another church or religion. What it needs is a new Order... a sacred community and movement... a movement of communities welcoming all the the peoples of Earth: our varied belief systems (or non-belief systems), genders, races, classes, abilities, and nations, a deeply spiritual movement, grounded in the Wisdom traditions of both East and West, in leading-edge science and indigenous tradition. Therefore, [We need] the Order of the Sacred Earth. Not a new religion; or a new church; but a new Order. A radically inclusive Order of mystic activists, uniting our energy and intention in one sacred vow: 'I promise to be the best lover and defender of the Earth that I can be.'"
Ideally we can strive to have national and state legislatures based on proportional representation as we encourage that our 2-party system of Democrats and Republicans be enlarged to a 7-party system. The 7 largest national political parties could have an equal voice in the election of presidents, governors, mayors, and legislators.
To maximize democracy in the United States, we could equally empower the 7 largest national political parties from this list of 9 political parties: 1) Republicans 2) Democrats 3) Libertarians 4) Green Party of the United States 5) The Constitution Party of the United States 6) Democratic Socialists of America 7) Party for Socialism and Liberation 8) Socialist Alternative Party and 9) the Communist Party USA.
We can expand the spectrum of political viewpoints by going from a 2-party to a 7-party system. We can encourage other nations to have a 7-party system as well.
Socialists and communists and every other national political party must agree to a democratic process to convince other voters of their viewpoints.
The world spends about 2 trillion dollars a year on the military, of which the U.S. military budget for fiscal 2020 is $738 billion. Let us vow to start being a model for the world and reduce military spending 90 percent. Protecting our borders is all that's necessary. The 800-1000 military bases around the world can start closing down, and all of our troops can come home. Military personnel can keep their same salaries as new jobs are created for them--jobs that rebuild our nation's infrastructure --jobs that expand the mission of the Peace Corps.
We need sustainable, democratic, independent, and self-reliant local communities around the world--communities that practice composting, permaculture, and the lifestyle of veganism. When veganism is adopted worldwide, the healing of the world will begin. Here are 3 ethical, ecological, and health reasons for being a vegan. Local communities all over the world must find alternatives to fossil fuels.
Through Open Source Ecology, we could provide the best tools and machines that last a lifetime to help farmers around the world become more self-sufficient.
To be a model nation let us take the initiative in encouraging the dismantling of all nuclear weapons and land mines throughout the world. As we start practicing democracy, let us encourage democracy in every nation.
If it would require 4 Earths for everyone in the world to have the lifestyle of the average American, we must examine the way we live and see the immorality of not being concerned about the huge gap between the rich and the poor in this nation and throughout the world. We have to ask ourselves, what are we doing to heal this land and this world? Are we only concerned about our nation and not the condition of the world? If our primary concern is what is good for the world and the planet--it will be equally good for us as well.
According to the World Bank, nearly half the world lives on less than $5.50 a day. Is that fair? Moreover, why is it not good that just 8 men own the same wealth as half the world? Because extreme wealth creates extreme power to control the mainstream media and the elected officials who make our laws. Is income inequality linked to health and social problems? Of course, always, and we don't need to do a scientific study to prove it, but here is a study that shows it.
A new president should be concerned about the growing world population. Here are Current World Population and Future Projections. Increasing world population is increasing environmental problems.
According to the balance.com, "During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump promised he would eliminate the nation's debt in eight years. Instead his budgets would add $9.1 trillion during that time. It would increase the U.S. debt to $29 trillion according to Trump's budget estimates." Here are the top 10 reasons why the national debt should matter to a new president.
The United States spends the most money on the military, and it has the highest income gap between the rich and the poor. We can vow to reduce military spending by 90 percent, and we can create an annual income gap of 10:1 between the rich and the poor to be a model nation for the world. Every adult older than 18 can be guaranteed an annual income of $12,000. Annual incomes over $120,000 can be taxed 100 percent. Considering that it is the lifestyles of the wealthiest individuals that create the biggest ecological footprints, they must realize the need for voluntary simplicity. Let us provide Medicare for all and tuition-free college education.
As a new president, Bernie can encourage workplace democracy in companies and corporations where there are 7 or more employees. Let all workers participate in the decision-making of the company regarding salaries, leadership, and long-term objectives. Workers will not choose to pollute the land where they live and work, and they will not vote to move the company overseas so that corporate shareholders and CEOs can make bigger profits. The workers should be the primary shareholders.
Bernie must share the value in having public banks, so that we can eliminate the Federal Reserve system of private central banks.
We need to democratically work to reduce the world's population and use more buses and trains, as we encourage more gardens, more trees, more hemp fields, and less concrete. But if we need concrete, we can make it out of hemp. It's called "hempcrete." For most rebuilding, we can use hemp. Just about everything can be made out of hemp. HempWood is made without destroying trees and is the most eco-friendly lumber product on the planet. Anything made from wood, hemp can do better; clothing can be made from hemp; its seeds could feed the world. If cars can be made out of hemp "plastic," then we can make buses out of hemp too. Paper made from hemp is much better than paper made from trees. And biodegradable hemp really does grow like a weed. The biodegradable hemp plant is either a blessing from God or the Universe. So why was it made illegal in 1937? The corruption of capitalism.
Bernie must urge that we start making everything out of biodegradable materials if at all possible. We could stop creating so much trash in the world. We must strive to become a zero-waste society in a post carbon world--exploring solar, wind, and other alternative energy sources that are more sustainable.
Even if the Green New Deal could implement a global Marshall Plan that maintains current levels of production and consumption--that will not create a sustainable future for the world because the whole idea of unlimited economic growth fails to understand that what is needed is a drastic reduction in production and consumption. The ecological balance of the planet requires this whether we realize it or not. What is needed is for the rich of the world to live simply, so others can simply live. The motto of the website Green Social Thought tells what we need to do: "Produce less, Distribute it fairly, and Create a greener world for all."
We can improve public schools in the United States by discouraging the top-down, hierarchical control from the federal level to the township level. Instead, we can provide financial incentives to the residents of each school district, so that they will choose to become autonomous in designing their own educational philosophy and curriculum. Let us encourage each school district to become a self-determined community, ideally a tribe with a global focus.
Bernie must call for the elimination of the CIA as we strive to be open, honest, and transparent with each other and the world.
As a nation we must integrate science and spirituality. Mystics and yogis have known for thousands of years that we can transcend duality and experience the oneness of everything. Websites such as Soulproof.com, Science and Nonduality, near-death.com, VictorZammit.com, and Buddha at the Gas Pump show us how we can become self-actualized or personally enlightened. More and more people are testifying about their Near Death Experiences (NDEs), which is convincing more people that we each will have an afterlife.
Philosophical materialism is the foundation of the scientific method that has brought about scientific and technological wonders. But there is increasing evidence that consciousness actually exists independently and outside of the brain as an inherent property of the universe itself like dark matter and dark energy or gravity. According to neuropsychiatrist Dr. Peter Fenwick's research, "the brain does not create or produce consciousness; rather, it filters it."
A new exploration of inner space and higher states of consciousness will enable us to realize that we are one world, one planet, one humanity, with one destiny. We can go beyond what has been achieved through subject-object duality, the normal thinking and reasoning state of mind. What is needed is a spiritual Renaissance, a new worldview that transcends philosophical materialism and the lifestyle of materialism. Peace on Earth does not have to be a pipe dream.
Spiritual books such as Autobiography of a Yogi, Living with the Himalayan Masters, Miracle of Love, and Yoga Sutras of Patanjali reveal a transpersonal human potential that so far cannot be fully understood and measured using the scientific method. In the teachings of Jesus, Buddha, and Krishna there is a focus on individual salvation, spiritual growth, liberation, or enlightenment without a focus on improving the world. But if we are going to create a future in this world for our children and grandchildren, we have to think about how to make this world better. Each one of us needs to become a socially-responsible planetary or world citizen. Everything we choose or buy or do can be a model for the world. Our neighborhoods and communities can be models for the world. Whenever possible, we each need to develop and share our plan for saving the world and the planet.
Many people in the world are suffering and dying largely because of what the United States government has been doing in the world. We, the voters and citizens, are all responsible for this, and we need to turn this around to heal ourselves, the world, and the planet. The United States is an empire, and it is not making the world better. To have a world without end, we need a world without empire. "World without Empire! Amen, Amen."
Bernie needs to call for new independent investigations into 9/11 and the JFK assassination. Any truth that our nation has been hiding about UFOs must finally be revealed to all.
Can you imagine what will happen when the whole world starts cooperating more than competing? When we become concerned for the self-actualization of every person in every nation, then we will know the Earth community is making social progress.
How valuable is personal enlightenment or salvation if we remain complacent about the world, which is on the brink of catastrophe caused by insanity and stupidity? We are taught that God can do anything. If God can create a heaven in heaven, then the love of God should be able to create heaven on earth. Where is that love, God's love? It is within each one of us. It is a love that inspires worship and awe.
The world needs more cooperation. But we can have competition too. We can compete to be model communities and model nations that create world peace. Instead of being secretive and competitive, we can be open, honest, and cooperative to attain and share deeper levels of love, truth, joy, and bliss.
Websites that promote a spiritual Renaissance:
"People's Agreement of Cochabamba" made on April 22, 2010 in Cochabamba, Bolivia: PEOPLE'S AGREEMENT
Science, Spirituality, the New Physics, Near Death Experiences, and Psychic Science
Cancel Columbus Day--It's Time to Celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day Nationwide
Thanksgiving Day--Alternative Viewpoints
Wrong Kind of Green.org--About
World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth
Yoga Philosophy as Explained by Swami Rama (in 3 paragraphs)
BlogTalkRadio: Jesusgate--A History of Concealment Unraveled--by Ernie Bringas
John Shelby Spong's book: "Why Christianity Must Change or Die"
John Shelby Spong's book: "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism"
8 Points of Progressive Christianity
Bhagavad Gita Notes for Study Group--February 6, 2016
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verses 22-24: Worn-out garments are shed by the body: Worn-out bodies are shed by the dweller within the body. New bodies are donned by the dweller, like garments. 23: Not wounded by weapons, not burned by fire, not dried by the wind, not wetted by water: Such is the Atman. 24: Not dried, not wetted, not burned, not wounded, innermost element, everywhere, always, Being of beings, Changeless, eternal, for ever and ever.
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 5, Verse 21: His mind is dead to the touch of the external: It is alive to the bliss of the Atman. Because his heart knows Brahman, his happiness is for ever.
(Article changed on March 10, 2020 at 09:51)
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