ADOPT AN ACTIVIST

from Gregory Wilson

 Helen and I are resting the day after our involvement of the two day Second Annual “Our Children, Climate, Faith” Symposium. This year our theme was activism and connecting to others while building a network of groups and people that are working together, moving in the direction of a more just and sustainable society and culture. I include culture, as our guiding stories are shifting in our direction. Two of the speakers, Hannah Morgan and Tim DeChristopher, who are both young front line activists who have been arrested for pushing our society in the direction we are also moving toward. However most of us are working toward this direction for cultural transformation from more comfortable seats than jail or 60 feet up in a tree. One of the messages I gleaned from being with both Hannah and Tim (they did not say this directly) was that they have given up the traditional pattern of young adults moving into the work force, establishing an economic level which provides stability, comfort, identity and then protesting. They have put their life and lives at times in direct confrontation with the forces that work against a just and peaceful society; and this is their way of life. They are serving the cause that most of us support. In other words they are moving our culture in the direction we want it to go. And they are doing this at times without funds and alone. They are present and accounted for where the culture of violence, war, poverty, wealth accumulation, and environmental destruction is advancing. They're working to hold that line, just as Joanna Macy, Starhawk, and Vandana Shiva call us to hold that line in defense of the earth.

As a people steeped in the teachings of Henry David Thoreau, following his teachings on Civil Disobedience, we know that by paying taxes we are part of the machine that implements injustice and economic patterns that are oppressive and destructive to the planet; so I quote our ancestor Elder, “If the machine of government is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.”

The question; do we as members of a religious community and non-religious communities have a moral obligation to support those on the front lines of moving our culture in the direction we also are working to move? This is central to our social justice work. Actualizing this moral obligation requires our local communities to be part of the supply line to support our communities' front line members as they confront the injustices of our time, and to reinforce them when needed. At the Symposium, I suggested that local groups in this struggle need to “adopt an activist”. I look forward to furthering our work to transform our society and our selves to a more just and kinder culture.

THE COUNTRY IS BROKEN

from Greg Wilson

What has finally occurred to me as one of the main differences between me and someone who writes: 'saving our beloved country and keep our freedom', is, that I believe/recognize our country is broken.  I do not want to save our country in its present form (corruption, war-based economy, destruction of the earth, and oppression of workers, women, LGBT, and anyone outside the successful investor class). Due to corporate personhood, the bill of rights protects the corporate person with the most money. I am living in another complete story------ our country is broken and our economic system is shutting down earth's life-support system. I guess the other story is, don't say these things; defend our country. Any other economic system is socialism. To speak of sustainability and earth rights somehow makes me an enemy, and not someone who is simply struggling to make this country and this land a better place for the people who live here.

Gregory

THE ANTI-SUSTAINABILITY MOVEMENT

from Greg Wilson

    An anti-sustainability movement resulted in the St. Lucie County Commissioners' decision to withdraw from the Seven/50 plan for South Florida, based on fear of the UN Agenda 21. Their fears are expressed by, “they will take away our freedoms and property rights.” There are similar movements against “sustainability” in localities and states across the country.

     I reviewed the actual documents of the Seven/50 plan and Agenda 21. What I discovered is that Agenda 21 and the Seven/50 plans are structured around a policy of decentralization of power and empowering the local community. From local communities managing their own resources (for example, stopping Nestles from draining aquifers for bottled water), to open communications about all business and public intent for a local area. Here are some quotes dealing with local empowerment, a central pillar of Agenda 21 and the Seven/50 plan: “decentralization of decision-making... a decentralized approach to land-resource management... delegating responsibility to rural organizations; decentralize decision-making to the lowest community level... encourage a decentralized decision-making process that would delegate power and responsibility to primary users of natural resources.” Decision-making and funding should happen at the lowest effective level. Local government decision-making and law remains a powerful force in shaping the man-made and natural environments and quality of life.

     The anti-sustainability movement actually fosters outsiders' control by diminishing local control and local efforts to shape the communities in which they live. The outcome of their efforts is the very opposite of what they desire.

Rev. Dr. Gregory Wilson

EARTH RECOVERY MOVEMENT

from Gregory Wilson 

The context in which we live, a brief summary:  Transnational corporations have Bill of rights protections from our Congressional legislative and regulatory processes. In other words the people are subjected to the will of corporations. Environmental degradation is intensifying and the people have little legal power to stop the offenders.  (Corporations have rights to destroy the environment and rights to poison your water, really they do!) Local communities are disempowered by state and federal government agencies which bend to the will of corporations. Many people in local communities believe working to limit the environmental destruction is an attack on their personal freedoms and property rights.   Failing to see poisoning water, air, land, sea, Lagoons, emptying aquifers, flushing toxins from industries into the public domain is the real violation of personal and property rights.

        Much of the opposition to sustainable planning has come to connect anything with these words or ideas, Sustainable existence, smart growth, wild-lands project, resilient cities, regional visioning projects, social justice, community rights, public/private partnerships, sustainable development, earth rights, mitigating climate disruption as an expression of the United Nations Agenda 21, which they fear is a takeover of the world and will take away their freedoms. This group recently defeated and caused the Port Saint Lucie County Commissioners to withdraw from a perfectly reasonable joint effort of seven counties working together to develop a long term plan, 50 years for the future of the area.   From Donald Brown, “the anti-Agenda 21 campaign has been remarkably successful in the last two years in preventing local communities from implementing plans necessary to achieve their democratically derived community aspirations to implement local sustainability programs.”  And further more, “The anti-Agenda 21 campaign has accomplished this by making preposterous claims including that local land-use planning is part of a plot to put the United Nations in control of local and regional planning decisions, rob individuals of their freedoms, and undermine property rights. As we shall see in a future entry in this series, the anti-Agenda 21 campaign that is making these claims has been funded, at least in part, by economic interests that profit from the absence of responsible land use planning and environmental regulation.”  Could it be that local citizens have been tricked by false prophets and are unwittingly supporting the Trans-Nation Corporate structure taking over our nations governing processes?  The very thing they fear they bring upon themselves, tyranny by a one world governing power, only it is an economic power. I suggest they read, Business As A System Of Power, by Robert A. Brady.  

     As a result of the foundational element of this anti sustainability movement is centered around the UN Agenda 21, represented as an effort to take over our government and take away our freedoms  and property rights I reviewed the actual document. What I discovered is that the UN Agenda 21 is structured around a policy of decentralization of power and empowering the local community. From local communities managing its own resources, (Nestles could not come in and legally take water and drain aquifers for bottling purposes, for example ), to open communications about all business and public intent of a local area. ( in other words no selective news provided by the media controlled by corporations). Below I have gleaned some of the more direct sections dealing with the local empowerment center pillar of the UN Agenda 21. 

Ideas on local community empowerment directly from the document UN Agenda 21:

·         Development patterns; participation of the general public, especially women and indigenous people;

·         involvement of youth; roles of the private sector, local organizations, non-governmental organizations and cooperatives;

·         decentralization responsibility and incentive systems; and dissemination of information and public relations

·         decentralization of decision-making, provision of infrastructural facilities and equipment, intersectoral coordination and an effective system of communication;

·         Adopt policies at the national level regarding a decentralized approach to land-resource management, delegating responsibility to rural organizations;

Management-related activities 12.57. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the relevant international and regional organizations, should: a. Adopt policies and establish administrative structures for more decentralized decisionmaking and implementation; b. Establish and utilize mechanisms for the consultation and involvement of land users and for enhancing capability at the grass-roots level to identify and/or contribute to the identification and planning of action; c. Define specific program/project objectives in cooperation with local communities; design local management plans to include such measures of progress, thereby providing a means of altering project design or changing management practices, as appropriate.

To strengthen and develop the management and the internal capacities of rural people's organizations and extension services and to decentralize decision-making to the lowest community level. Develop guidelines for decentralization policies for rural development through reorganization and strengthening of rural institutions.

Efforts will be needed to ensure that the necessary infrastructure facilities for research, extension and technology activities are available on a decentralized basis. Development and strengthening, as appropriate, of cooperation, including mechanisms where appropriate, at all levels concerned, namely:

At the lowest appropriate level, delegation of water resources management, generally, to such a level, in accordance with national legislation, including decentralization of government services to local authorities, private enterprises and communities.

32.4. The sustainable development of people in marginal and fragile ecosystems is also addressed in Agenda 21. The key to the successful implementation of these programs lies in the motivation and attitudes of individual farmers and government policies that would provide incentives to farmers to manage their natural resources efficiently and in a sustainable way. Farmers, particularly women, face a high degree of economic, legal and institutional uncertainties when investing in their land and other resources. The decentralization of decision-making towards local and community organizations is the key in changing people's behavior and implementing sustainable farming strategies. This program area deals with activities which can contribute to this end.

32.5. The following objectives are proposed:

 To encourage a decentralized decision-making process through the creation and strengthening of local and village organizations that would delegate power and responsibility to primary users of natural resources.

 It seems that UN Agenda 21 is a process that would protect local communities from Federal government influenced by multinational corporations from structuring and ruling over local communities. In this effort it is reminiscent of Jeffersonian Democracy. “The Jeffersonians believed in a republic, as form of government, and equality of political opportunity, with a priority for the "yeoman farmer", "planters" and the "plain folk."

To learn more,  come on out to the Treasure Coast Unitarian Universalist Church at 7.00 pm on December 16th 2014; 21 Central Parkway, Stuart.

Presenter Rev. Dr. Gregory Wilson

Earth Rights and Recovery Talk

from Greg Wilson

The Seven50 Plan and the SE FL Regional Climate Change Action Plan (RCAP) are serving as national models of how to address climate change impacts through sustainability planning on a regional scale.

 Jan Booher will be speaking at the Treasure Coast Unitarian Universalist Church, 21 SE Central Pkwy, Stuart, FL 34994,Monday night October 21st, 7:00 to 8:30.  Jan is knowledgeable about this plan and has been working with this group for over 2 years. There will also be music and a new song about the Indian River Lagoon by DockStreet Band.

Please come and hear the facts. It is time our leaders took a long term view in leading this region rather than the short term.

HEALING OUR WORLD: SAVE THE LAGOON

from Gregory Wilson

Talk at The Gathering: Our Children, Climate, Faith Symposium

 By Gregory Wilson

The future and our youth.

Chris Jordan asks, creator of the film Midway, both Elegy and Warning asks, “Do we have the courage to face the realities of our time and allow ourselves to feel deeply enough that it transforms us and our future?” [Here is our decision point.] Come with me on a journey through the eyes of beauty across an ocean of grief and beyond.

My words are to us in relation to how we live our lives, realizing the youth—children are watching and the how we might awaken those still sleeping.

First let share the theological understanding that shapes the expression of my faith.

 Theology

I call it a healthy theology. Theology celebrates life and listens for the cries of the suffering, upon locating those who are suffering seeks to comfort the suffering, works to heal those who are suffering, discover the origin of the suffering and then develops a plan to alter the causes of the suffering and then takes action to change the societal patterns that cause the suffering and then works toward transformation of society so that society moves toward life and the fulfillment of the life for all humans and all the participants on earth and indeed the earth her self.

Listening for the cries of those suffering

Cormac Cullinan author of Wild Law, teaches the the economic and militarily dominant cultures are moving to all parts of the world imposing a model of the world in which exploitation and extraction of resources and the culture that develops to support this exploitation has primacy over all life. Local communities are pressured to abandon their way of life, their traditions, languages, values and become consumers and producers in the exploitation culture.

Bruce Alexander the author of The Globalization of Addiction, observes that the imposing of this same system: the exploitation of the planet for power and profit called the free market system has torn people away from “ the close ties to family, culture, and traditional spirituality that constituted the normal fabric of life” which results in dislocating them psychologically and spiritually from the earth, normal social life, one another and themselves. This dislocation results in the normal human coping response of this type of pressure and objectification; addiction of some sort.

Signs of Addiction as a way of life

Why in 1999 In the United states alone places the annual cost of substance abuse to the Nation to be $510.8 billion. This is a thread in the tapestry of our culture.

We can see the outcome of global agriculture on the small farmer in India- 200,000 farmers in India committing suicide in the last decade, in the increasing of poverty in this country, the denial of and absence of any real attention to over population, and more directly related to this conference the injustice caused by the dominate exploitation/extraction culture continuing and intensifying the same economic, energy development patterns and now the resulting climate disruption.

Climate Disruption and Culture

Climate disruption is an outcome of the intertwining of our economic, political, theological, religious, and social institutions over the last 400 years. It is an expression of these power structures joining forces. Climate disruption is an inevitable character in this story. We can not simply stop the patterns that produced climate disruption. We must change the entire story and value structure.

Globalization of Addiction and Recovery

Who would have written the story in which we now live? nobody. Yet here we are, Dead Zones are normalized -- over 400 and increasing, climate disruption, floods, droughts, oil catastrophes/spills normalized, wars normalized, poverty normalized, pollution normalized, anxiety and depression has been normalized and the practices that produced these patterns which govern our lives are also normalized.

We face the greatest challenge to human survival, climate disruption and our children are watching, excuse me for my candor, a bunch of intoxicated men blowing up mountain tops, poisoning pristine Canadian forest, killing the gulf of Mexico, blowing good water and toxins in the earth which shift the ground enough to cause earthquakes and poison the aquifers, all to get more of the stuff that is heating up the planet. And no group with enough power to call an intervention. As Thomas Berry said “we are blinded by the dream of manifest destiny.” We live a dream while cutting off the branch we are standing on.

  

From Theology to Recovery Spirituality

And the cries of the earth increase and we are calling upon the faith communities to act and enact a healthy theology. A theology that moves us to confront the evil of our day, the movement of life toward death.

The core and central space of spirituality can be seen not in the actions of people, of Jesus in Jerusalem, of Siddhartha in the forest after leaving his future kingdom, of Eve Ensler in the Congo, of Will Allen protesting Vietnam and spending a year in jail, of Amelia Himes Walker, Alice Paul and 14 other women, standing in front of the White House demanding the right to vote and ended up tortured.

The heart of spirituality is in the decision making process of Jesus standing on the edge of Jerusalem and deciding to cross the line to enter Jerusalem, of the living room conversation in which that group of women finally said let's go to the White house, when Siddhartha saw the poverty and suffering and realized even as King because of the power structures he would not be able to end suffering and poverty, he had to leave his power and wealth to find another way, create another story. It is the inner workings of making a decision to do what is right, moved by compassion and integrity for the other that is the heart of the mature spiritual life. Which moves us to feel the connection to all living beings including the earth.

Revelation

What Jesus showed us by his decision to enter into Jerusalem is that empires and religious structures designed for power join together to: murder innocence. Is this not what Thomas Berry points to when he describes the worldview of the Europeans 400 years ago landing on the North American continent. For them it was not a land to be loved and held in sacred trust. But a land of abundance waiting for exploitation by the sacred chosen people. To quote: "We saw a continent awaiting exploitation by the chosen people of the world... In reality, we were a predator people on an innocent continent." It is clear that the power structures will murder innocence in order to continue this extractive culture. They will move us toward death squeeze life from every tar sand, every oil and gas hidden deep within, and then discard the remaining poisons into the air, nicely labeled as externalities. The addiction is driven by a blinded commitment to the myth of manifest destiny, A dream became the real and the real a shadow.

Waking Up

Too many of us humans as Jean Houston would say have been mesmerized by the hypnotic trances forced into the air waves and in our imaginations, and many of our heroes are in a slumber living in the shadow land of the dream of manifest destiny, the dream of progress.

We need places and spaces to help others awaken. Yes we are called to protest, gathering in events like this to learn and gather strength and encouragement, to run for office, stand in front of the machine, abandon our lives of quit desperation, we are also called to move toward those who are asleep and to wake them. To stimulate their inner curiosity that has been numbed.

Good People

They are good people. They are not paying attention to where their food comes from, where their water flows from, to the meaning of the storms and droughts. They hear the scientist and believe the charlatans. In their dreamlike state they are not able to see the incongruity between political speak and the tangible world in which they live. They are good people who have eaten the poisoned apple of sleep.

An aspect of our calling is to call attention to climate disruption, its causes and possible alternative ways of being in this world, in such a way that their minds become stimulated and they begin to listen.

We need some form of recovery groups to break us out of this addictive cycle to reinvigorate the human spirit so that we can sense that we are part of the spirituality of this planet. And feeling our connection to being a participant of this great and wonderful living being we call Earth, we will garner the strength to intervene in this march toward death.

In these spaces we must speak gently but the truth, and provide comfort for the despair that will come when people wake up and face for the first time the realization that the planet is moving toward lifelessness. And help them move through that stage of grief and awakening. We offer support and then we offer relationship to heal and to act against those oppressive forces and participate in a way of life that moves us toward life. To join the vision many of us have of loving this Earth and loving life and doing what it takes to ensure that we continue into the future. When we do this young people would hear the new voices of the adult world and they will see a different way of being.

Groups

In these recovery groups, "we must recover our vision" our ability to move out of the dream of being the chosen people to be in the reality of being participants in and on this wonderful planet. We need to begin to see the whole of this land, of this Earth and that we are part of the whole. Our health as humans is directly related to the health of this planet.

We need to come to the realization that “the planet Earth is a one-time project – there is no real second chance. We need to understand that the land's primordial powers have been debilitated and we must be involved in the future of bringing health to this planet in some comprehensive manner.”

In this recovery process we need to change deep within our souls so that we once again develop the capacity to have communion with this living being Earth. When we take this action youth will see us and they will know there is an alternative. They will see that there is a choice not to be in the dream that moves toward death but to be with a community that recognizes its place as an expression of this marvelous planet. And that community will work to transform this culture into a culture of life. When they see that they will know that they are cared for and that their future is cared for and we will be bringing up fine mature adults for the next generation.

HEALING OUR WORLD AND OURSELVES

from Gregory Wilson

Many of you are aware that we sponsored The Healing Our World and Ourselves conference last February. (http://healingourworldandourselves.org/) Irene Keim of The Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth, (http://uuministryforearth.org/ ) recently wrote a review and summary of the conference:

Healing Our World and Ourselves

By Irene Keim, UU Church in the Pines, Brooksville, FL and UUMFE Board Chair (May 2013)

In February 2013, three accomplished keynote speakers from three different disciplines and participants from many UU congregations in Florida came together to explore ways we can connect the dots to heal ourselves and our world in the face of social, political, and environmental challenges. The speakers and their topics were:

•  “The Rights of Earth” – Patricia Siemen, Director of the Center for Earth Jurisprudence, Barry University School of Law;
•  “Maintaining the Right To Be Heard” – David Cobb, National Projects Director of Democracy Unlimited and the national spokesperson for Move to Amend; and
•  “Addictions in the Broadest Sense” – Bruce Alexander, professor and author of The Globalization of Addiction: A Study in Poverty of the Spirit.
  The speakers provided many ideas to ponder. For example:

• Real change happens when human beings raise hell. 
• Environmental law is based on property law, not rights of Nature.
• Social movements need to do homework and build coalitions BEFORE deciding strategies.
• We can’t win at Whack-A-Mole.
• There is no ‘away’ for all of our stuff.
• The faith community is one of the pillars of the movements founded in sustainable values.
• Humans must reclaim our ecological identity.
• It is important that we listen to Earth before we speak up for Earth.
• Two of the most damaging addictions in society are the addiction to money and to the media circus.

The unique learning experience of the conference was, however, the interaction of these creative leaders. None of the three had met or shared ideas before the conference, yet in a panel discussion after their individual presentations, they modeled for the audience how to begin to illuminate the intersection of their fields of concern and expertise, how to do some systems thinking. For many of us venturing out of our congregations into the wider community, this was a valuable exercise. Wisely, the conference planners allowed time later in the conference for the connecting to others, processing the ideas flowing around us, and planning the next steps. One session to facilitate this connection to action was a panel of activists from Florida including myself, who represented UU Ministry for Earth.

The creative exchange of information and ideas at the conference was the result of visioning by three different organizations: the UU Church of Brevard, Florida provided much of the planning and organizing; the UU Legislative Ministry of Florida participated in the planning and is supported in part from a grant from the Fund for UU Social Responsibility; and the members of the First Unitarian Church of Orlando hosted the event. The conference was so meaningful for the attendees that planning for the next conference began the very next week and a Facebook group has kept issues and information flowing across the state. The next conference is scheduled for Feb 21/21 2014 in Orlando. 

CANADIAN GENOCIDE

from Greg Wilson

On Saturday, June 8^th from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m., Rev. Kevin Annett will be speaking at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brevard. Kevin is co-founder of the International Tribunal into the Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS), which initially focused on crimes against humanity in western Canada committed against the Mohawk and six other Native North American Nations. Kevin will not only share his painful and heroicstory, he will also describe how the colonization of all peoples by trans-national corporations is in everyone's backyard. Kevin has become an expert in identifying themes of modern colonization and in identifying the connections between colonization, genocide and trans-national corporations, some including religious institutions. Using his work we can see the attention we need to pay to local and national legislation. Come and meet a dragon slayer, honor his work and life and learn how to focus our activism to quell the fire of the dragon.

We will also hear good old-fashioned (but current) protest songs from DockStreet Band.

We look forward to sharing this event with you and our community. We support the Native North American fight for justice, and opportunities for their stories to be heard, We can learn from their history and see more clearly what is happening all over this land. Almost single-handedly, former Canadian clergyman Kevin Annett has for over twenty years documented and exposed the deliberate mass murder of aboriginal children in Canada's Indian residential school system, and brought to trial those responsible.

Rev. Kevin Annett has become an expert at identifying themes of modern colonization and in identifying the connection of colonization, genocide and the role of some transnational corporations including religious institutions. He is the author of many books on the subject of genocide, the crimes of religion, and child abuse and trafficking, and he is an award winning documentary film producer. For more information, visit his website http://canadiangenocide.nativeweb.org/ index.html.
Using his work we can see the attention we need to pay to local and national legislation. Come and meet a dragon slayer, honor his work and life and learn how to focus our activism to quell the fire of the dragon.
For more information, check out: http://itccs.org/ and http://hiddennolonger.com/

Take Action: South Florida's Conservation Lands Need You

from Greg Wilson
SFWMD Evaluating 100,000 acres of conservation land for surplus in St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach Counties.
This is something that might interest the Treasure Coast Progressive Community.
Is anyone going to the meeting? I am reworking my schedule so I might be able to go.
For the meeting date,time,place see: https://www.facebook.com/groups/267565753376232/ 
The meeting is scheduled for April 19 from 10-12 in West Palm Beach. 
Check the page for follow up conversation and plans.

For more information from the Florida Audubon Society about this, click here

HEALING OUR WORLD

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

From Gregory Wilson
This you tube video could serve as a model for Florida, where residents take charge of their energy needs: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvbwpKBXe6M&feature=youtu.be

In the spring of 2012, hundreds of Vermonters submitted short films about Vermont's transition to a sustainable energy future through a statewide project organized by Bright Blue EcoMedia. This is a Mooretown based non-profit company that produced the award winning PBS series Bloom. The film features ordinary people including teachers, students and citizens, as well as key political leaders and advocates such as Senator Bernie Sanders, VT Representative Sarah Edwards, and 350.org founder Bill McKibben. It's a video worth watching.

CITIZEN V. CORPORATE RIGHTS

From Reverend Gregory Wilson 

From where do we derive our rights as people?

Is it from the government, the constitution, or the bill of rights?

If it is from any of these, they can be taken away, modified, have their meaning changed, or enforced for a particular group. What if our rights were derived from the seventh principle of the Unitarian Universalist faith which: affirms and promotes respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

What if, simply being a part of the interdependent web of existence was the source of our rights? Then no king, queen, president, or legislative body could take or alter the meaning of our rights.

WHERE IS GOOD GOVERNANCE?

From Rev. Gregory Wilson

The earth -- and her people -- are disturbed and stressed and cry out. What are the issues we need to focus on? Issues of beliefs, moral preferences, and social values affect how we are governed. How the country is actually governed determines how we live day to day. Helping the earth to heal is not related to social or religious issues. What if you win politically and the law supports your religious position, but you can not take your grandchild to the Indian River Lagoon to fish or swim because it is dead? What if you win politically and choice for women is restricted, while corporations get the right to vote, and human citizens no longer matter in our representative democracy because our representatives represent The Corporation? Each of us has only so much life energy and only so much time to spend on activism and to fulfill our civic responsibility. The process of governing is beyond our two party system and most Americans agree the process of governing is defined by the Constitution. This is where we need to focus: the process of the Constitution and the life process of the planet. We, as humans, need to be healthy and we need a healthy planet in order to nurture our families and communities' well-being. We need a say in our government and the health of the planet. We need space to nurture our spirituality and connect with nature and those around us.

THE U.S. CONSTITUTION - A PIECE OF HISTORY

by Greg Wilson

photo credit

The notes from the committee that met before the final draft of the constitution can be found at http://nhccs.org/Mnotes.html. James Madison's notes give us a picture of the minds of those who formed the draft of the constitution and in some cases the minds of those who sent them -- the people they represented. For example, from the Friday night discussion of September 14, 1787; Mr. KING, said, “The States will be prejudiced and divided into parties by it. In Philadelphia and New York, it will be referred to the establishment of a Bank, which has been a subject of contention in those Cities. In other places it will be referred to as mercantile monopolies.” 

        Reading Madison's notes is much like hearing the conversations of a committee that writes or rewrites the by-laws of any church's or non profit. The committee will meet, discuss, edit, agree and disagree, and then bring a draft for the congregation or group to vote upon. As members consider the nature of the by-laws, they consider how the church or organization is going to run, the agreements and objections some members might have, models of other by-laws, what is right and not right, and how to structurally protect the organization and its members. The protection is both internal and external. This comparison points to the nature of the constitution as a document of structure; how the country will operate, how the philosophy of representational democracy will be enacted, and how there is built into the very structure protections of the State in relation to the Federal government, protections of the individual from both the State and Federal government, and protections from the different subgroups that make up the whole. 

     One thing that is not in the Constitution are protections for the Earth. Yet they are there indirectly. When as the Declaration of Independence declares, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, ....... laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” All these unalienable rights require a healthy Earth to be actualized. One day these Rights might be found more directly in the laws of our land in the form of: Every component of the Earth community has three rights: the right to be, the right to habitat, and the right to fulfill its role in the ever-renewing processes of the Earth community. We are on our way but not there yet. I wonder what the formation committee conversation would be like to include these rights in our Constitution? 

       We are particularly interested in Friday September 14^th as it deals with incorporation and who will mange the corporations: the Federal government or the State. We know that in 1819, John Marshall brought the Federal government in to manage contracts and corporations under the federal government's authority. This was a shift, I believe, from the intention of the constitution. Further, it honored a charter signed by King George in the 1750's that went against the people of New Hampshire. I thought King George's rule was one of the reasons for the revolutionary war. A decision by the New Hampshire State legislature was invalidated and the signature of King George once again ruled the people of the USA. This begs the question: Whose side are they on anyway? 

     In addition, the Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 518 (1819), was a landmark decision from the United States Supreme Court dealing with the application of the Contract Clause of the United States Constitution to private corporations. The case arose when the president of Dartmouth College was deposed by its trustees, leading to the New Hampshire legislature attempting to force the college to become a public institution and thereby place the ability to appoint trustees in the hands of the governor. The Supreme Court upheld the sanctity of the original charter of the college, which pre-dated the creation of the State. The decision settled the nature of public versus private charters and resulted in the rise of the American business corporation and the free American enterprise system.

THE EARTH IS DISTURBED

Written by Rev. Greg Wilson

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The earth is disturbed, stressed, and cries out. Only the earth’s first generation people can hear. The rest of the humans species is numbed auditorally , visually, gustatorally, olfactorally, and kinestheticly. Numbed by the layers of cultural indoctrination and centuries of being disconnected from the earth. The voice of the earth is crying all around us, deserts where there were none, dead zones where life flourished, food with out nutrients, air that is foul, acidified oceans, and so on… In order to belong to this culture based on power one must let go of the value of earth. The abstract value system becomes more primary than clean water. The Achuar, an indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest, a first generation people. “Having made their home in the rainforests of Ecuador and Peru for centuries, they have much wisdom to offer about living in harmony with the natural world and with one another.

In the 1990’s, facing oil development on their ancestral lands, Achuar elders decided to reach out to the modern world that was threatening their very existence. They issued a call for allies who would work to “change the dream of the modern world” and transform the culture of overconsumption driving the destruction of the rainforest.”, and the destruction of much of the depth of the planet. The Achuar people called out for help to the people of the North and The Pachamama Alliance was formed. An answer to the call for help. We at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brevard heard their call and this conference is an answer to that call. The Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of Florida has partnered with us in answering this call. Your response to this conference is also an answer to that call. Come join us to develop an on going response to this planetary crisis. The conference covers three areas; The Earth, Human governing processes and the spiritual recovery from being indoctrinated to a harmful way of life. To learn more please visit our web page: http://healingourworldandourselves.org/

LISTENING FOR TURTLES

    a poem by Rev. Gregory

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You and I find ourselves in this room.

There are thousands of rooms.

Yet here we are in this room.

Shall we create laws to obey.

Give out ID badges.

Set lines on the ground where we can

and can not go.

Or shall we dance in every square inch of this room.

Sing until the sound pushes out the walls.

Until there are no walls.

Spend our lives exploring, Dancing, singing,

breathing

being  still,

so still ………

we hear the walk of turtles

as we sit on a log by the river.

A shadow passes across my leg

as the wind moves a cloud.

Antonin Scalia Defends Poor Thinking Skills

by Greg Wilson

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1)"It isn't a living document," Scalia said. "It's dead, dead, dead, dead." Yet, he supports corporate personhood. Important dates for giving life to corporations: 1803, 1819, 1876 (for details click here). Notice all dates are after the signing of the constitution. Therefore he supports a living Constitution, which is liberal, except it is liberal for the transnational corporations. So, reviewing Scalia's record, he is liberal, and believes in a living Constitution, which means he is deceiving a particular group of people who believe in states rights. The Koch brothers do not believe in state rights and Scalia does not support the anti-Federalists perspective. 

2) Scalia said, " That interpreting laws requires adherence to the words used and to their meanings at the time they were written." Then how can he favor federal government dismissing the anti-Federalist position? You must not only consider words but also ideas. What did he say to the incoming Republican Congressional House members in 2010? Read the Federalist papers! He did not say, read the Constitution, which balanced federal power (centralized power) and state power (more local power, self determination by local communities). I think he has replaced the anti-Federalist position with the book, Business As A System of Power", written in 1943 by Robert A. Brady

3) "There's nothing in there about abortion. It's up to the citizens. ... The same with the death penalty." Then how can he over-turn congressional legislation created by the people's representatives when the people have spoken. He favors judicial review established in 1803 after the signing of the Constitution. Further evidence he practices a living Constitution.

4) "If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder? Can we have it against other things?" I find him a fraud and particularly reprehensible in comparing a state of being homosexual with murder – a criminal act. "If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder?" This is two different categories and represents sloppy thinking. If you have ill-moral feelings toward that which exists, a tree, a river, a heterosexual, a homosexual, women, men, a mountain, a butterfly, then you need to get into therapy and free yourself from displacing feelings from unresolved childhood negative experiences. I say this out of care: if you have negative feelings for what exists, it is projection, and your attachment to that inner knot, that inner twisting of your spirit needs care to be liberated. It is time, you can be freed.