The Greatest of All Sins - Avarice

In response reader Bush's recent comment, "And there is what some alternative?" to my post Global Corporations Demand Equally Global Citizens...

I do not seek an alternative to “Global Corporations.” I accept the phenomenon as a market-driven fact with many positive results, low-cost goods among them. I can even tolerate some of the corporate obscene excesses such as multi-million dollar executive pay and bonus, while average-joe-workers make McDonald’s wages. All this I can tolerate just as our ancestors tolerated the “Robber Barons” of the late 1800s through the Great Depression Era. That is, up to a certain point.

In the United States, the current economic crisis clearly has proven that we have no alternative but to accept, as our ancestor did, that certain men / women who achieve powerful corporate positions and unlimited wealth, operating under their own recognizance — without higher regulation / oversight — will succumb to unbridled self-interest. I believe we must call it as it is: “the greatest of all sins” — AVARICE.

Just as our ancestors, we are now forced to become less trusting, naïve and hopefully, enlightened. We now know that the few, the well-positioned, modern day, international robber barons have given their souls to the gods of avarice and created this world-wide calamity.

Our clear alternative, as I see it, is to create Global Citizens — people of like interest joined together in common cause regardless of nationality. What is common cause? Thomas Jefferson declared: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Together, disregarding international boundaries, just as the Global Corporations have, we must put the lid back upon the Global Corporate Pandora’s Box. That means, put the regulations back in place where they have been disassembled, as in the U.S., and erect new ones to protect and defend our common good.

Unless we do so, our Unalienable Rights will be lost to the dark abyss. And the Dark Ages will once again be reprised. RB

Transforming Rustbelt Image into EcoLiving Sanctuary

Imagine… a summer evening.
The warm breeze touches your hair.

You breathe in magical fragrances.

The flowers are in bloom
The grass is sweet.
Leaves rustle ever so lightly.

Hear the water? Hear the music?

Give yourself a moment and just enjoy. Feel the enchantment...

You can slow down and take it easy. Live a little! You’re home… on Grosse Ile, your own island within the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.

It’s not just any island, but an unparalleled eco-friendly environment, with exceptional schools, crime-free neighborhoods, and championship professional and collegiate sports teams, world-class symphony and theater only 20 minutes close-by... and that's just the beginning...

Am I dreaming? Certainly. Can the transformation from a "rustbelt, failed auto manufacturing" image into an "ecoliving sanctuary" be accomplished? You bet! We are already well along the path, today!  Go to: http://www.oppgrosseile.org  See Crain's Detroit Business, Brightside Video.  RB