TREES OF LIFE:FORESTS IN PERIL
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THE LONG STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM AND EQUALITY

7/19/2018

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Independence Day and current politics triggered my interest this month and lead me to review the problems we have encountered in our search for an egalitarian democratic system of government. The concept of democracy has a long history dating back to the 4th and 5th century BC. Democracy basically, defines a system which provides for the people of a tribe to participate in the decision making for the tribe. It literally means, rule by the people. If a democratic government is to be established, at least five fundamental questions must be addressed; what is the appropriate unit or association within which the government will exist, who among its members should enjoy full citizenship and which members will participate in governing, which organizations and institutions will be needed, when citizens are divided, who will prevail and how is a majority defined.
History confirms that early efforts to set up a democratic decision-making process, by the people, were initiated in the Roman Empire and ancient Greece as far back as late 400BC. During this period, the world was governed primarily by Anarchists, Monarchs and Oligarchies. Oligarchies are government units controlled by a very small group of influential people, usually closely associated with a single Anarchist or Monarch. Early efforts to establish democratic systems were isolated to small units such as tribes or communities, which are a part of a larger Empire. There is no evidence of an attempt to govern a country or empire using democratic principles.
Efforts by the indigenous people on the American continent to implement democratic principles, started decades ago and appear to have been more successful. The indigenous people of the America's were a more matriarchal society, allowing for a more equitable involvement of the people, including women. The elder women, of the Native American tribes, played key roles in the tribal decision-making processes and the tribe functioned under the concept of balance. Probably, the best known and studied democratic system on the North American continent was developed by the Iroquois Nation and known as the Iroquois Confederation. The confederation initially involved 5 nations but later expanded to 6, resulting in a governing body representing the Mohawk's, Oneida's, Onondaga's, Cayuga's, Seneca's and Tuscarora's.
The struggle for democratic government for the people and by the people, took decades to develop and a democracy for an entire country did not occur until the 18th century. In 1744, Chief Canasattego of the Iroquois Nation in a speech to the Council of Governors of the Thirteen Colonies, recommended the formation of the Confederation of the Thirteen Colonies. Benjamin Franklin spent considerable time studying the Iroquois Constitution in preparation for the writing of the Constitution of the United States of America and concluded, " for all their government is by counsel of the sages; there is no force, there are no prisons, no officers to compel obedience or inflict punishment." Equality for each member of the tribe was clearly stated in the Constitution of the Iroquois Confederation, and initiated the concept of "Egalitarian Democracy".  
Based on the Iroquois Confederacy, our founding fathers set out to establish the first Egalitarian Democratic government for an entire country, an experiment the world had never experienced before. It was a long hard road but, under strong leadership by dedicated patriarchs and the example of our Native American brothers and sisters, we completed the task and developed the United States of America which became the most affluent Nation on the planet. In the beginning, only the men were allowed to participate in the governing process. Not until 1870 where people of different races recognized as full citizens with the right to vote, and not until 1920 were women recognized as voting members of the government. Yes, it has been difficult but, for the past 242 years it has worked reasonably well. We did find it necessary to amend our constitution to improve and protect the rights of all citizens and provide for a growing population. 
I am convinced we must understand the long struggle we have experienced in establishing this democratic system, in order to appreciate the historical significance of how the United States of America achieved it's world leadership position and a government that represents and protects the rights of ever individual member of this great country. Our ancestors have literally given their lives to protect this democratic process that allows each of us the opportunity to live free in a country where all members are to be treated equally. Historically, democratic concepts have been challenged to survive for extended periods of time. Two-hundred forty-two years represents one of the longest democracies on record. Changes that are occurring in our government today, require the close attention of every eligible voter in our country. Our founding fathers wrote the Constitution to include checks and balances to assure an equable distribution of power designed to prevent un-acceptable changes to our government that could result in deterioration of our democratic principles. We  must never forget that the government is us, you and me, and it is our responsibility to determine who will represent our interests and what solutions are acceptable to solve the complex issues we face as a Nation. When our government was established, the elected representatives were labeled as "Public Servants ". I wonder how many would classify themselves as public servants today! We must remain on high alert for efforts to limit our citizens access to their voting rights, efforts to discredit the free press, actions to destroy the rule of law and control our judicial system, proposals to expand and control our military and outside efforts to influence our election of people to represent the citizens of our democratic union. The right to vote, guaranteed in our Constitution, is our method of protecting the egalitarian democratic principles our country is based upon. When we become apathetic and followers rather than leaders, the opportunity for loss of our individual freedom and equality will be threatened.
Protecting the freedom and equality of our citizens and incorporating the advanced knowledge of the scientific and spiritual communities, which we have discussed before, provides our hope for the future of life on this majestic planet!! Future generation are depending upon us!       
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INDEPENDENCE AND FREEDOM

7/4/2018

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I usually try to stay focused on concerns for the natural world but, today as we celebrate Independence Day, I feel the need to re-trace our footsteps and consider the changes we have, and are experiencing in our political institutions. It has been 242 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence and changing times are concerning many Americans.
Most of us are unaware, that our Democratic form of government did not originate with our early European settler after their arrival to the new continent. They were actually attempting to escape the Anarchy and Monarchy forms of government that were prevalent throughout Europe. They were searching for religious freedom and freedom of choice. Our Egalitarian Democratic form of government was actually patterned after native democracies of North America. The early eighteenth century was a period of struggle for the colonists, against the empires of France and England. The colonists turned to the Iroquois for support against The French. This provided their initial exposure to the Iroquois and other native leaders and their political systems. In 1744, Chief Canassatego advised the assembled colonial governors on the Iroquois concepts of unity and recommended the formation of the Federation of the Thirteen Colonies, following the principles of the Iroquois Federation. This was the beginning of our egalitarian democratic system that vaulted the United States to a world leadership role. Listen to the words of the great chief Canassatego, " Our wise forefathers established Union and Amity between the Five Nations. This has made us formidable; this has given us great Weight and Authority with our neighboring Nations. We are a powerful Confederacy; and by your observing the same methods, our wise forefathers have taken, you will acquire such strength and power. Therefore whatever befalls you, never fall out with one another." Yes, it was the Native Americans that introduced us to the free democratic form of government, which spread to Europe after they observed the success of our country. It was now necessary to develop a governing body capable of implementing this democratic government based on equality, freedom and independence, a government by the people and for the people. This was accomplished by electing individuals known as public servants, to represent the citizens. To begin with, these representatives spent only 2 to 4 months on the job. With the passage of time, these representatives became known as politicians and spent their entire year as a governing body. Term limits were placed on the President but, members of the legislative branch had no limits and their goal became election and re-election. We must remember the purpose of the government was to protect our freedom, equality and independence by establishing reasonable rules and regulations for our society, and pooling our financial resources to solve major complex problems, unsolvable by individuals.  
It was not long before efforts to influence the decisions of our government began to surface. With no limits on time in place or costs to secure an elected position, the wealthy began buying influence by financing candidates and hiring lobbyists. Today, there are 3 lobbyists for every elected representative in our Nation's Capital. We now spent as much as 2 BILLION dollars per candidate in a Presidential election that pays $400,000.00 per year for four years. One candidate spent 49 million dollars just to secure the party nomination in the primaries. Campaign financing  is resulting in elected candidates being committed to the sources of the financing rather than the voting public.
For the past several years, we have observed attempts to influence the vote by gerrymandering districts to include people that tend to vote for one party or the other. Major efforts have been implemented to restrict voter access by restricting the number of voting sites, particularly in areas of minority and lower income populations live. Stricter voter registration requirements that tend to restrict some members of our society have been debated and implemented.
Yes, much has changed in our political systems and it seems many recent changes are moving toward a more autocratic approach to maintaining power. How do we re-focus our political system on freedom, equality and independence of the people and for the people? It was the people of this country that provided the leadership when we were establishing the frame-work for the foundation of our egalitarian democratic government and it is the people that must provide the direction for our elected representatives, public servants, through the power of their vote.
Looking back historically, we can view some of the changes implemented in the formation of autocratic governments. Movements toward autocracy requires control which is done by a variety of restrictions tending to control the voting process, increased emphases on military might, efforts to discredit the rule of law and political roles for the military leaders. Think about it! What kind of future do we want? It is up to the people but, for me, I want to hold on to what we have built and work to improve it!    
 


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