In the past, most activism has followed the following path. Demonstration on Immigration Reform will be held and that is the only issue referred to. Earth Day is about the environment and that is the only issue discussed on that day. May Day is about Labor and Immigration (due to the obvious connection with labor).
This year, a call is going out to have all issues relating to people, planet and peace connect over 10 days beginning with Earth Day and ending (?) with May Day. The reason I put a question mark after ending, is that we hope that this will really be just the beginning of a worldwide movement of making connections.
We are very much at a tipping point in our world. We have reached a critical CO2 mass in our atmosphere of 400 parts per million . (The Guardian, November 6, 2013) There is a shortage of potable water in California and other locations in the world. Meanwhile, fracking and the transportation of tar sands and Bakken oil threaten Mother Earth. (go to Tar Sands Free Midwest on Facebook)
The fight for a minimum wage in order for people to have the basic necessities of life is being blocked by the desire for more and more profit. Labor is being cut, while the average CEO is making 273 times the average pay of their employees. (Washington Post, June 26, 2013).
The social safety net is being dramatically unravelled, while the call for tax cuts for the wealthiest is often heard.
Pope Francis recognized this when he stated in “The Joy of the Gospel”Paragraph 56 : “While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few. This imbalance is the result of ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation.”
Individual groups cannot really make the impact that is needed. Combined efforts can begin to shape a new future in which everyone has what they need and the earth and all that dwells upon it is secure. A new world is possible, if only we act.
To find out about events happening in your area, please go to http://globalclimateconvergence.org .
instruments of peace 