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We Are Saners

WeAreSaners.org

We are a worldwide community, determined to use nonviolent noncooperation to fix the polycrisis, halt climate collapse, and replace this dying civilization with a sane, caring one.

Relentless Kindness to Obliterate the Lie That Human Nature Is Cruel

by | Jan 23, 2025 | General

Photo by Vitalii Khodzinskyi on Unsplash

Why The Saners intend to lead by example.

Our movement is new and small and we can’t do everything at once. I admit, I have trouble accepting this. But I must and I do.

Our group, our community is called The Saners. We have about 2,600 followers here on Medium, but our core membership is the nearly 600 people who signed up to end support of this cruel failing civilization, and replace it with a better one.

We intend to build a society that respects and protects LIFE and OUR PLANET. We choose love, not hate. We choose kindness, not cruelty. We choose peace, not violence. We choose generosity, not greed. We choose universal respect, not selfishness.

Hey, it’s not that amazing. We are simply committed to being nice. Yet some people, a surprisingly large number, feel certain that being nice is impossible. They believe that people are hateful and cruel and selfish and stupid and violent.

We aren’t. We exist. Furthermore, most of those people who are so sure that everyone is evil are themselves personally pretty damn nice!

So, even though The Saners are just getting going, and we have a very busy agenda, visible and relentless niceness in our hearts and behavior is a priority. We intend to make those who insist people are awful rather uncomfortable with their conclusions.

Our Strategy and Morals Coincide

As it turns out, niceness in addition to being the right way to be, is also an important part of our winning strategy. You see, historically nonviolent noncooperation—and not violent insurrections—has proven time and again to be the most effective way to make positive change.

So, yes we are nice because that’s who we are. But we are also nice because it attracts other people of good will, people who are natural allies and ultimately supporters and participants in our movement.

Today, our numbers are too small. But as a group, with our attitude and values and behaviors and ideas, we are a magnet for zillions of people who care, who love their children, their lives, who respect other people, and who want our Earth to be a healthy planet.

We plan to heal starting with ourselves.

How?

The Saners are in a phase of recruiting and spreading our messages. We are also learning how to act as Saners, both together as a community and individually.

First of all, Saners need to meet and talk and strategize and socialize regularly. This is how we become a community, or more accurately, a series of communities across the planet. We are already in more than 25 countries.

Because we are dispersed, in most cases we cannot meet in person. So we meet virtually, in live video chats. (Learn about them HERE.) We also have a (beta) online community, which we hope will become more active in the coming months. And we have begun forming local communities which can meet in person. Those in-person communities will be the engine of our movement in the future.

But talking with each other isn’t enough. We need to be out in the world (and online) talking about our movement, our plans and objectives. And we need to be relentlessly and visibly kind.

Our symbol (taken from our logo) is The Green Dot. This is key. Wearing The Green Dot on your clothes-either as a sticker or a button-sends a message. It identifies us as Saners. So wear it, talk with people. Be kind and thoughtful and attentive to the concerns and needs of others. And, when they ask about The Green Dot, tell them.

Tell them it’s the symbol of The Saners, that we are people who are determined to change the values of our society by embodying better values. That we intend to protect the Earth so we can hand over a healthy planet to the next generation.

That we expect to make cruelty and violence impotent and obsolete by refusing to cooperate with cruelty and encouraging others to do the same.

Tell them that historically our approach—nonviolent noncooperation—has a solid record of defeating the most powerful of cruel empires and ending all kinds of oppression against seemingly impossible odds.

Tell them this. Tell them the truth. And send them to WeAreSaners.org and gently let them know that, if they choose, they can be a part of this. That it’s easy and not a major commitment, that you can do as little or as much as you want. Tell them that if you are capable of being nice, you are already—in spirit—a Saner.

What Does A Saner Do—Now?

You can simply wear The Green Dot and have those conversations when others comment on the Dot. That’s enough. Or you can do more.

You can attend live video chats. Or you can join and participate in a committee. (These committees are just being formed now, and in the coming weeks.) You can read about our movement (including our blog) on the website. You can share our messages on social media using the hashtag #WeAreSaners and the URL WeAreSaners.org. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can join and communicate with other Saners on our online community.

Later, once our communities are bigger and more established—but not too long from now—we will begin a series of escalating actions. We will become ACTIVISTS. We will begin withdrawing our support from cruel and failing institutions, governments, corporations and other entities that bring out the worst in people. We will show, by example, the alternative to the insanity of moderns civilization.

We will ultimately stop working to produce crap, stop wasting our lives in ridiculous labor and instead produce only what’s needed: healthy food, shelter, medicine. We will produce much much less, freeing up time, and we will share so everyone can have a better life-albeit with less stuff-than they have today.

We will remember that our life is really our time, time for ourselves and the time to share with loved ones. Time to express ourselves, to create a kind of art. Time to be in Nature and fully experience the miracle of consciousness, of life.

Today people can’t even envision a better world. They believe people are inherently evil. They think there is no option except to continue on this doomed path to a ruined Earth and endless toil. They believe the only relief is in accumulating (useless) stuff and in distracting ourselves with mindless entertainment.

But we can do better. We will do better. That’s The Saners way.

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