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Out with the bad and in with the good. We want this madness to end. We want to fight back and to win. But there’s so much wrong with the world that it can be overwhelming. Daunting. Crushing.
I won’t be crushed. And neither will you. Too much is at stake to give up, and underlying it all is something that everyone has the power to influence: values. Will we surrender to hatred and cruelty is the question and the answer is “no” that we won’t. We will embody, promote and accept nothing less than love. And positive decisive action.
Yet so far, the Saners (our movement for the Earth and humanity) seems like a small, nearly inaudible cry in the wilderness. We number only in the hundreds. We seem to have trouble getting noticed and even getting started in our bid to change the world for the better.
But the potential, our potential not only as a movement, but as a species is huge. Up until now, we’ve ruined our potential by championing greed and power lust and excusing cruelty and hatred. Our values, or at least the values of this human civilization, are terrible. In fact, the civilization’s values are in direct opposition to the values people want and believe in, and actually feel in their individual lives.
WE don’t hate. Not really. We love. We love our families and friends. We are friendly with strangers. We like to laugh and play. We want to really live and share the wondrous experience of living. We want to share the joy of existence and to communicate these feelings in art and other forms of self-expression.
We KNOW how to live, and WE have humane values and instincts. But they are hijacked. We are like unwilling gladiators, thrown into a hostile situation. We are told to fight, given only the choice to fight or die. And then we are told that we are violent, that killing is our Nature.
And we buy into it. How much despair, how much surrender, how much defeatism is generated, and sustained, and spread through this lie? In all probability, you have internalized that lie. I know that I have. But I’ve also brought it out into the open, exposed it, analyzed and recognized that it is a pernicious lie. It is the lie that protects greed and cruelty and destruction of the Earth and brutality by everyone towards everyone—and indifference to the fact that our civilization is intentionally destroying our children’s planet and their future.
A Simple Symbolic First Step
You care. The first step is show that you care, and that you don’t buy the bullshit. That YOU won’t be a part of the problem. That you won’t spend your precious life, your limited time on this Earth silently going along with the unacceptable. That you are ready to take a different approach, a positive approach and to seize the initiative.
But getting started seemed to be difficult, even impossible. And sustaining a new course? Doesn’t seem to be happening. We need to crack this.
I came up with an idea. A symbol. A simple symbol that gets attention, that raises questions, that starts a different kind of conversation. A symbol that says, we care about life and about the Earth and each other. A symbol that says we aren’t powerless slaves, serving a stupid brutal and suicidal elite.
A symbol that insistently say, no DEMANDS, a new way—one that’s powered by love.
We love our children. We love our planet. We love life. We love creating. We are tired of and rightfully cynical towards institutional hatred, cruelty, competition, greed, destruction. We are SO DONE with all that.
We are offering love and a new direction to anyone and everyone who’s ready for something new and better.
The Saners is now also The Green Dot Revolution. Wear the dot. Every goddam day. Wear it on your shirt, or—if you are feeling playful and silly—on your nose or your forehead! (Ok, mostly I’ll be wearing it on my shirt.) But wear it!
It’s no coincidence that the green dot is the key element of the Saners’ logo.
What will wearing the dot do? It will raise questions and start conversation and introduce new, better possibilities.
What’s that?
A green dot.
Why are you wearing a green dot?
It’s a symbol of love and the Earth and a better direction. It’s the first flower of something new.
Um. Okay.
I’ve decided that I’m not going along with the craziness and cruelty in the world. That I’m going to take care of the Earth and of the children. I won’t surrender to the anger and hatred and stupidity.
How does a green dot do that?
It starts conversations like the one we are having now. Would you like a green dot?
Hmm. Maybe.
Here. We call ourselves The Saners. You can learn about us at WeAreSaners.org. If you want, I’ve got a flyer for you. Or you can just remembers the web address. WeAreSaners.org.
That wasn’t hard at all, was it? It gets easier once you’ve done it the first time. You are starting a conversation. You are recruiting Saners—gently without pressure or stress.You are offering people what most people actually desperately want. Hope and a way to make all this cruel craziness go away. An alternative.
Wearing the green dot is good for you. And it’s good for others. It’s a statement that you care about our planet and our future and that life matters to you.
Wear the dot. (Go to a stationery store and buy a whole package of green dots!) When someone asks about it, answer them. Offer a green dot and give the web address. You are spreading the word and recruiting new Saners. Without disrupting your day or making much of an effort at all.
We can and probably should get started now, even if it is starting small. But be aware: this isn’t an isolated or meaningless act. It’s part of a bigger strategy. It’s the start of bigger things. It’s part of our growth strategy, adding members and introducing new possibilities and promoting the values that lie inside of nearly every person, the better angels of our Nature.
Really do it! Get the dots. Wear them. Print out a few flyers and keep them in your bad. Don’t try too hard, but when someone asks about the dot, have the conversation.
Oh, and if you haven’t done so already, signup for the Saners email list at WeAreSaners.org.
I like the Green dot! Not sure about the name Saners, but love the values and approach! We have a Climate Emergency Unit here, associated with the David Suzuki Institute
Thank you, Louise!
The name Saners comes from the idea that it’s literally insane to destroy the biosphere of the planet we all live on. We are drawing a distinction between our movement and the status quo.