To Leaders. To the People. Why We Will Do What We Will Do.

Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash

Let’s talk and put our cards on the table.

When you are plotting a campaign of love and kindness, you do not need to plot in secret. Goodness can be and should be openly plotted. Everyone is invited to contribute however best they can.

Does this sound familiar?

I confess, my writings can often seem monotonous and refreshing at the same time. That’s because I do - intentionally - say the same things, albeit in different ways. But although I repeat myself, the world view I describe is rarely seen or heard elsewhere. What I say rings true-it reflects common experience, and common unspoken thoughts. Thus, it is both monotonous and refreshing.

Our world is in chaos, and is engaged in an orgy of self-destruction because our civilization is built on bad values and corrupted systems. Countries are ruled by elites, and those elites exploit billions of people for their labor and destroy the biosphere because they value the Earth only as a source of raw materials for personal self-enrichment.

But there is a wide gap between the values of our civilization and the values of most people who live within that civilization. Similarly, there is often a gap between the values of the institutions of corporations, and governments, and the people who work in them. Even the top officials often are compromising good values in order to continue being a “pragmatist” in a government awash in corporate money or a corporation that values only profit and never human life or Nature.

Yes, presidents and even corporate CEOs are often decent, well-intentioned people—more often than you think. But, in practical terms, that means little. How nice can you be when your job is, say, a concentration camp guard? Whatever benevolence you can get away with is tiny and the personal risk to you is severe. Your good heart is wasted because your room for maneuver is very, very limited.

Now, this idea may be hard to take. Because it’s easier to simplify and make a clear line between good and bad people. That’s simply not the case. People are, for the most part, surprisingly similar and different behavior is often driven-even controlled-by circumstances and systems.

Always Room For Maneuver

But almost nobody is completely stuck. With some guts and imagination, you can do more. The CEO can do more. The President can do more. Sometimes they actually do nearly all they can do. And while it’s never enough, a valiant effort does make a meaningful difference and deserves our respect.

This is why, although I understand that what can be done within the rules of our civilization are too limited when compared with the scope and severity of our crises, I still champion those who have the guts and imagination to do what they can within existing systems. I don’t see every corporate executive and every high-level government official as stock villains. Some are significantly better than others.

To Our Leaders

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump should understand-we can see who you are and what you are up against. This is why we are all for Harris and opposed to Trump.

Now, before I praise Harris, let me tell you this: I have a bias against her. I remember in 2020 how, when Bernie Sanders was winning and closing in on a big Super Tuesday primary win—possibly guaranteeing his nomination—Harris and others dropped out to unite behind Biden and stop Bernie.

And, it was and remains obvious to me that Sanders is far gutsier and more imaginative than other Democrats when it comes to doing good works and resisting evils promoted by wealthy fools.

Harris was part of a successful maneuver to suppress the best that would be possible under a plutocracy with a nominal form of representative government.

But she’s not a “bad person.” In fact, she is a very good one. She took unpopular positions-signing on to Bernie’s Medicare for All and opposing fracking. Now, as the nominee of her party, she abandoned or at least modified those positions due to “pragmatism.” That is, like every leader in a corrupt system, she compromised.

Yet, there is a chasm between Harris and Trump. Harris is determined to do what good she can, and Trump is determined to do what evil he can. Harris promotes community and caring, Trump promotes selfishness and greed and (astoundingly) anger and cruelty.

We have people who are so disgusted by the corruption in our system, and so wrapped in cynicism that they consider the differences between them to be small. They don’t want to choose between two evils. But there is only one evil vs. a compromised good.

Due to the situation, the horrible values upon which our economic and political systems are built (greed, selfishness, and a “pragmatism” that devalues human life, and our planet itself), what good can be done within these systems IS limited. Furthermore, the best we can hope for is woefully insufficient.

But electing benevolent leaders is a better start, and a significant improvement over maximizing the evil that could be unleashed by choosing the worst leaders.

So, here’s what I have to say to Kamala Harris and to Donald Trump.

Harris

Kamala, even within the common view of politics as the art of the possible, you have more guts and imagination than most. You are willing to reach (some) beyond what could be expected-to help people.

Your imagination is better than average-significantly. But it’s still the imagination of a politician who has been working in a system with a bedrock of assumptions, many of which are dead wrong.

People do not need jobs. They need the necessities to sustain a healthy human life-food, medicine, shelter, and the like. Jobs do not give people purpose or meaning. The only jobs that have purpose and meaning are those related to providing what’s necessary. Labor beyond that minimal amount is a waste of our precious short experiences of consciousness, of being.

Jobs and labor should be minimized. We don’t need more jobs. We don’t even need higher paying jobs. We all need food, medical care, shelter-and the time and energy to live. Jobs sap us of our time and energy and are, therefore, more of a drag than a benefit to human life.

Also, as you know, fossil fuels are cooking the Earth and dooming the future of everyone’s children by ruining our climate and biosphere. Politicians may think we can compromise on climate-be pragmatic-but Nature has other ideas.

You may be unable to offer the strong medicine that the situation requires. For that reason, people in the United States and everywhere will find it obligatory to defy you on this, and to defy leaders in nearly every country from China, to Russia, to India, to Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and more.

A paper agreement and even a genuine honored agreement to phase out fossil fuels over decades would be woefully insufficient. It’s not 1980. It’s 2024. We threw away the time that would have allowed for a gradual phased solution. And so, with no rancor towards you, we will defy you in the name of humanity, and on behalf of generations unborn.

At this late date, we believe that instead of growing an economy, we must shrink it by ending production of non-necessities. Anything that is produced for profit, that isn’t needed, creates dangerous avoidable CO2 emissions, and does permanent damage that will be felt-forever-by future generations. It is immoral to produce unneeded things, to produce (unneeded) jobs, and to satisfy (unworthy) greed.

In short, you have our unwavering support for going as far as you can go. But we will defy you to go further. This is what the situation requires.

Trump

Mr. Trump, you are beneath contempt. You are clueless and shallow.

And yet, for all your cruelty and willful ignorance, you are a person and every person’s humanity must be respected. We are determined to disempower you thoroughly and completely. We see you as a psychologically damaged person. While we understand the (justifiable) anger aimed at you, and the idea that you should be punished severely for the evil you have done and continue to do, we would prefer you retire and golf or engage in whatever quiet activities can silence the demons within.

We don’t feel the need to enumerate the evil you espouse and incite. You speak (albeit in a garbled and incoherent way) for yourself. In November, we intend to decisively defeat and put an end to the MAGA movement.

For The People

People everywhere are understandably and justifiably disturb. Bad things are happening in the world. But there is a difference between reality and unreality. There is a difference between hate and love. There is a difference between fear and courage.

Many of us are ready to face the challenges with a recognition of reality, and a response grounded in love and courage. We call ourselves The Saners. We know what’s wrong and intend to fix it.

We know how because others who went before, who ran effective movement, have shown the way. We will use morally grounded nonviolent noncooperation to grind evil to a halt, and to birth a new humane and loving civilization to replace the repellant doomed one we live in today.

We are not powerless. We can control our attention, our thoughts and worldview, and our actions. We intend to strategically withdraw our support for everything that is significantly destructive. We will end the fossil fuel industry. We will end servitude in production of crap for profit, crap the defiles our planet, and jobs that waste lives.

We intend to free people everywhere to live, to own most their time and therefore their lives. Our world will be one in which every human being is granted deserved respect, where our planet is treasured and cared for, and where people have the time to live, to share time with loved ones, to exercise creative expression, to explore the wonders of the world.

We understand this crisis to be a deadly and challenging one, but that we also have an opportunity to bring about the first ever truly worthy and fulfilling civilization in human history.

We urge those of you who have not done so, to join The Saners and help bring this better word into existence. Sign up at WeAreSaners.org/join.