Shaking the Foundations of History - The Great Adventure

Civilizations have a set of components that characterize each one as distinct. Each civilization is made up of societies, genetic pools, cultures, organizations, literature, governance methods, technologies, languages, philosophies and religions, arts and so on.

Each civilization goes through a cycle in which they begin, exist for a period and become dominant. Then they recede and eventually disappear into the dusts of history.

Underneath it all there are the foundations of history which are largely permanent. These are the backdrop and the dynamics of the movement of events which together we call history. [I prefer the term Accounts of Human Activity or AHA, for we must distinguish natural and geological history, which influence us, as distinct from human activity.] Occasionally these foundations need to be shaken, renewed and restored.

There have been Momentous crossroads throughout the history of western civilization in which conditions had become untenable and impossible to sustain. This set of conditions forces people to action and reminds us that “Necessity is the mother of invention.”

One example of this phenomenon is found in the Fourth Century when the Roman Empire finally collapsed and left a huge vacuum which no one seemed able to fill. Chaos and despair became widespread. The “Peace of Rome” or Pax Romana vanished and chaos descended upon Europe and threatened everything and everyone. People believed that the end of the world had come. [Many believe the same today.]

Then a book entitled The City of God was published by “Saint” Augustine. He was an intellectual priest and philosophy teacher who had been touched by God. This provided a new Vision for humanity in Europe for a thousand years...well actually 1100 years. For that is when the next BIG crisis of history hit Europe...at the end of The Dark Ages. The solution came in the person of another Christian leader and theologian named Martin Luther.

Like Augustine Luther received his education in the church as it existed at that time...and then he tore down that church and recreated it in keeping with the times, the challenges, the conditions...and the Truth. He transformed church, state, culture, literature, nations, governance practices, understanding of human liberty and dignity and much more. He even gave us the Christmas tree and wrote carols on his guitar. He used all media forms and outlets to communicate his message of hope.

Luther's action is now known as The Reformation and this ushered in what history calls The Enlightenment - the age of science and provable truth. Everything changed down to the foundations. The foundations of history had become loose and lax and weak and useless and needed to be restored with new ideas and new lifestyles and even technologies like the movable print printing press which Luther used to spread his message of renewal.

Big changes were introduced out of sheer necessity but that 'necessity' did not compare with what we face. There has NEVER been anything vaguely akin to what we face in terms of complexity and magnitude. Fortunately we have the examples of those who have gone before to guide us in our striving for survival and success as a nation, as a people, as a species, as a civilization...and as individuals.

Now we are in the midst of a set of challenging conditions that is unprecedented in history. Humanity has never faced such a complex and potentially threatening situation at any time in recorded history.

The widespread militarism that grows and destroys, coupled with an all-encompassing environmental Crisis that is global in magnitude add up to a VERY big threat to our children, our way of life, our planet itself and humanity at large. No one can escape the danger at this point. We must change or perish. We need “a way through the fire.”

So we need viable solutions that recognize the reality in which we live and which reach out to shake the very foundations of history while helping us to navigate safely through the dangers. We must change and we must do it efficiently for time is at a premium now. We are literally at the “Do or die!” stage.

How shall we respond to this threat to our families, communities, nations, values and so forth? Will we capitulate and kow ourselves and let the Crisis wash over us like helpless lambs in a tsunami? Or will we stand and fight for our lives, our children and the world we love...the beautiful blue planet.

What applied to Britain on June 4, 1944 applies to the Whole Earth today, for we now realize that we are an island in a hostile universe...floating in an ocean of dark matter and rapidly destroying our life-giving environment and each other.

The Threat is real and the danger is near. Winston Churchill's words still apply -

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."

If we hope to succeed we will have to work together - for the mess is too big for any one person. I am presently engaged in a plan of action that seeks to change far more than our national economy. We MUST change our civilization or we will not survive.

We are standing at a crossroads of history and upon a high rampart where the future of democracy and liberty are at stake and the threatening voice of tyranny shouts for victory with a crooked grin. Shall we believe the loud shouts of a cowardly liar or should we refuse to surrender?

We are in possession of a great opportunity and I propose that we embark upon a Great Adventure...a Great Undertaking to save ourselves and the Earth. If we succeed they will talk of our efforts and time for a thousand years.

If we fail there can be no guarantees of anything. But we have a duty to our nation, people and families to try. What a Grand Opportunity has been given to us, unlike any in any age past! This is the exhilaration of real life on Planet Earth. It can leave you breathless and carry you over the rainbow!

Certainly Canada cannot repel and survive a military assault from a powerful nation, nor can we invade other territories and take things by force. We need a diplomatic, scientific and rational solution and that is what I am proposing – Sustainability in all things.

I urge all people to consider a new economic model that rejects violence, slavery and war as a basis for economic gain - The Peace-based Economy. These cannot be sustained for long at this point. Survival will require peace on a grand scale.

This is the direction of Hope. If we can alter our thinking and behaviour and values enough to cease from destroying the planet and each other, then together we can easily build a hopeful Canadian future in the 21st Century.

I ask for your help in behalf of the children who suffer most from the threat and the fears associated with it. The future is quite literally in our hands. Let us treat it with care, respect, gratitude and generosity.

It helps to keep perspective on history and remember what happened in the past. As the 20th Century philosopher George Santayana famously said, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

“Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me.”
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