Loopholes and “Merchants of Fake Change”

Today’s Thought:  Anand Giriharadas, author of  the forthcoming Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, has received recent coverage in The New Yorker and The New York Times.  Here is a quote from Giriharadas’ book which brings forward a nuance to remember when we think that philanthropy alone is an answer to a social problem:  “Fake change isn’t evil; it’s milquetoast.  It is change the powerful can tolerate. It’s the shoes or socks or tote bag you brought which promised to change the world.  It’s that one awesome charter school — not equally funded public schools for all.  It is Lean In Circles to empower women — not universal pre-school.  It is impact investing — not the closing of the carried-interest loophole.”   My belief about this quote from the opinion page of The New York Times on August 26th is that we need both strategic and compassionate private sector philanthropy, and we need holistic public policy that isn’t a reaction to what has already happened, but anticipation of what’s going to happen in the next five and ten years and beyond.  This is quite a battle, requiring that we the people speak up again and again.

Background about The Postcard Storm: People participating in The Postcard Storm with Friends for Civil Action have a variety of religious and secular viewpoints and political outlooks, but share a common desire for an inclusive, kind world.  As a political moderate, I personally am interested in political policies that focus on outcomes.  The Friends for Civil Action movement looks at ten outcomes we should all want: a habitable planet, good healthcare, quality public education, public safety, economic well-being, freedom, enrichment of experience, problem-solving capacity, hospitality, and kind behavior.  Because these outcomes are largely interdependent, reducing tactical options to either/or actions will rarely effectively address the complicated matters at hand; yet, that seems to be how options continually get framed.  The likelihood of the political arena beginning to function at a high enough level to meet all the facilitation needs government faces in these highly chaotic times seems slim to me.  A partial promise lies in speaking up for what we believe is right. Governing is complicated, and the voices of we, the people, are needed.

For people and groups interested in learning more about The Postcard Storm, ten outcomes we should all want, copies of a short book describing the collective actions of Friends for Civil Action is available online from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  Onward we go in pursuit of kindness, purpose, and hope.  Molly Sharpe

Faithful Action

Today’s Thought: People participating in The Postcard Storm with Friends for Civil Action have a variety of religious and secular viewpoints and political outlooks, but share a common desire for an inclusive, kind world.  Today’s thought comes from a story in The New York Times headlined A Leader in the War on Poverty Opens a New Front:  Pollution.  In the article, a Baptist minister in North Carolina the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, is quoted as saying, “Jesus said love your neighbor. I don’t care how many times you tell me you love me, if you put coal ash in my water, you don’t love me.  Because if there was nothing wrong with the coal ash, then put it in the wealthy communities.”

Background about The Postcard Storm:  As a political moderate, I personally am interested in political policies that focus on outcomes.  The Friends for Civil Action movement looks at ten outcomes we should all want: a habitable planet, good healthcare, quality public education, public safety, economic well-being, freedom, enrichment of experience, problem-solving capacity, hospitality, and kind behavior.  Because these outcomes are largely interdependent, reducing tactical options to either/or actions will rarely effectively address the complicated matters at hand; yet, that seems to be how options continually get framed.  The likelihood of the political arena beginning to function at a high enough level to meet all the facilitation needs government faces in these highly chaotic times seems slim to me.  A partial promise lies in speaking up for what we believe is right. Governing is complicated, and the voices of we, the people, are needed.

For people and groups interested in learning more about The Postcard Storm, ten outcomes we should all want, copies of a short book describing the collective actions of Friends for Civil Action is available online from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  Onward we go in pursuit of kindness, purpose, and hope.  Molly Sharpe

 

Let’s Ask the Right Questions

This past Sunday at St. David’s Episcopal Church in downtown Austin during adult class, I heard J. Douglas Harrison, an ethicist and technology expert, talk about Artificial Intelligence.  He raised questions about the impact the coming switch-over to automated transportation will have on the economic future of many people:  over the next fifteen years people who drive for a living will lose their jobs. I thought for the first time about how the President is addressing the wrong question as he works to roll back emission standards.  Certainly, why he would do that or why Congress or a State Legislature would abdicate the facilitating role they should be undertaking with industry, scientific experts and economic experts is a question for our time, impacting all time on our planet.  Around us record wild fires rage.  However, in putting the focus on car emissions, we root ourselves in the past.  We’ve got new and bigger problems.  Going back to previous standards doesn’t help.  To arrive at useful answers, we have to begin with the right questions.  Then we need to get informed people, from many sectors, at the table to discuss and implement workable transitions.  If we just jerk from left to right political postures and back again, we aren’t problem solving or dilemma managing.