I’m not a particularly organized person. I don’t make the bed in the morning. The clothes in my closet aren’t arranged by color or type. My shoes are everywhere – the closet, under my desk, just outside the utility room door in the garage. But I am organized about things that are important to me – my writing, my dream journals, and my morning perusal of headlines.
When I get up in the morning, one of the first things I do is retrieve my phone and my iPad from my office. As I prepare my breakfast (nearly always the same – grapefruit, English muffin, coffee), I head online and glance through headlines on various news sites.
One recent morning, here are some of the headlines I saw:
REBEL RANCHER CAUGHT IN RACIST RANT
RUSSIA MAKES AGGRESSIVE MOVE TOWARD UKRAINE
VETERANS’ CEMETERY WON’T ALLOW “THE ASHES OF A COUPLE OF OLD LESBIANS” TO BE BURIED TOGETHER
WATER BECOMING MORE VALUABLE THAN GOLD
ISRAEL CALLS OFF PEACE TALKS AFTER PALESTINIAN DEAL
All of these headlines, except for the last one, are negative. The Occupy Amazon headline is about how three books currently on Amazon’s bestseller list – somewhere in slots 1-5 – are about income inequality not only in the US, but worldwide. It’s about how trickle down economics – a long time philosophy in the University of Chicago school of economics – doesn’t work. Not only does it not work, but it creates an even greater disparity between the rich – and everyone else. Naomi Klein, in her brilliant The Shock Doctrine, explains trickle down in a way that even non-economists can understand.
If I were going to rewrite the news as a reflection of a society in which I would be honored to live, these headlines would read:
REBEL RANCHER BECOMES A VEGAN
RUSSIA AND THE UKRAINE UNITE IN PACT OF PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE
VETERANS’ CEMETERY BURIES “THE ASHES OF A COUPLE OF OLD LESBIANS” TOGETHER
WATER IS NOW MORE PLENTIFUL THAN GOLD – AND IT’S FREE!
ISRAEL AND PALESTINE SET NEW PRECEDENT- PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE
OCCUPY AMAZON: EQUALITY HAS ARRIVED
My ideal society is straightforward:
The people – not banks or corporations, politicians or lobbyists – are the backbone of civilization
Universal health care in the purest sense of the word. No one goes bankrupt over health care. It’s a RIGHT not an insurance postscript
Free energy & free Internet
Insurance companies no longer exist
Not a single soul on the planet goes to bed hungry or scrambles for the next meal
The two-party political system is dead
The NSA – and all of the US government acronym agencies – are history. We’re told the truth about everything – even Roswell and aliens!
Organized religion is abolished as a political entity and is taxed just like the rest of us
The 2nd amendment to the constitution – that we have the right to bear warms – is eliminated because there’s no need for it. Crime is non-existent.
The living and the dead are seen as two sides of consciousness and communicate regularly. It’s like ET calling home.
Synchronicity is recognized as a unifying force
That list doesn’t go far enough, but you get the general idea. My ideal society is the paragon of the Aquarian Age, a time when we are all supposedly truly equal, in every sense of the word. A level playing field.
In my ideal world, we – the inhabitants of planet Earth, of this space/time continuum – are as conscious as the planet is. We understand who we are, how we got here, and where we’re going. We embrace each moment, savor it, and move forward collectively as a species to discover the unknown, to peel away the layers of what we don’t grasp.
Collectively and individually, we create a world free of war, conflict, hunger, angst. We create a paradise on Earth.
Okay, so we’re not there yet. But hey, we can dream, right?And maybe that’s where it starts- first in dreams and then those dreams spill out into the physical world.
Thank you………so well said, an exercise I wish everyone would do. What kind of world would we have, indeed, if we thought in terms of reconciliation, consensus, peacemaking, and inter-connection, instead of war, hate, difference, conflict? What you really suggest here is a different paradigm.
I like your rewrites!
I like your headlines much better. and your insights? I think you should run the country
Excellent post. Great points.
I love the headline rewrites!
Hey, Debra! Good to see you.
I agree with Mike except in my perfect world organized religion is more a cultural service business to the community. Churches and spiritual leaders could maintain and educate the rich history and rituals that were part of our evolution on this planet. Since I have my dad’s small collection of 19th century religious books, I know organized religion today lacks the magic and wonder of the past. Plus, the music!
Great points, Teri!
And yes, the music…
Hold that thought!
Newspapers / headlines are usually negative because, unfortunately, it’s what attract readers. ‘24,000 Planes Land Safely Today At London’s Heathrow Airport’ wouldn’t get much attention.
Your society sounds ideal. But I would question if it is right that society should ‘abolish’ anything?
Yes, we can dream – it’s a positive step forward.
Abolish may be too strong a word. You’re right, Mike. Mitigate?? Adjust?
Educate?
Perfect.