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Departments International Issues For Love or Money Oh, the drama. A suicide epidemic manifests in struggling Europe: "On March 28, Giuseppe Campaniello set himself on fire in front of the Equitalia office" — Italy’s tax-collection agency — "in Bologna after he received a final notice about the doubling of a fine he could not pay," Newsweek reported last week. "He died in a burn ward nine days later." Economics is a cruel game. The stakes are life and death. The driving theory is simplistic, mechanical, with a cauldron of emotion and judgment bubbling just below the surface. "Today many people want much bigger government and still more handouts; these freeloaders want others to pay for their sloth," writes Richard M. Salsman in Forbes. "‘Soak the rich,’ they cry, for the rich allegedly have no right to the wealth they’ve actually earned, but the freeloaders supposedly have a ‘right’ to the wealth they didn’t earn." The world I live in vibrates with desperation. Here in the U.S., our suicides may be quieter, but we also get another kind of story, what you might call the slasher story, as human service budgets get pared to the bone. For instance, the mother of Xavius Scullark-Johnson, who died two years ago at age 27, has just filed a lawsuit against several employees of the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Her son was three months away from finishing his probation-violation sentence at the Rush City correctional facility when he suffered a seizure in his cell — but was left untreated, lying on the floor in his own urine. When a doctor was finally notified of his condition the next morning, he told a corrections officer to call 911, but the nurse on duty turned the ambulance away when it showed up. Scullark-Johnson died a few hours later. Turns out that ambulance runs at the state’s prisons are carefully monitored in order to cut costs. A Minnesota Department of Corrections spokesperson explained, in an email to Huffington Post, that "the department must balance the needs of our offender population with the limited resources appropriated by the legislature." Money rules, OK? Get used to it. Yet once again I find myself caught in a downward spiral of incredulity . . . that this is our world, that we serve such a preposterous god. When money is no longer casually omnipresent, the question hovers: What is it? How does it work? How is it that money has decreed an abundance of plastic trash in the world, an abundance of handguns and drone technology and junk food, but a shortage of ambulances for dying prisoners, a shortage of mercy? Is money the necessary precondition of all human organization, the final arbiter of possibility? We certainly live our lives as though it is. We play politics as though it is. And we govern ourselves as though it is. But what is it? "Money," writes Charles Eisenstein in his book Sacred Economics "is a system of social agreements, meanings, and symbols that develops over time. It is, in a word, a story, existing in social reality along with such things as laws, nations, institutions, calendar and clock time, religion, and science. Stories bear tremendous creative power. Through them we coordinate human activity, focus attention and intention, define roles, and identify what is important and even what is real. Stories give meaning and purpose to life and therefore motivate action. Money is a key element of the story of Separation that defines our civilization." Money is the agent of separation and scarcity. At the dawn of the historical era, we took a leap out of the circle of life: "And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’" And so we have done, and now a huge number of us — perhaps a majority — believe, in ways both fiercely rational and utterly crazy, that this era is over. And as I write this, as I scream "change the story," I realize I am bending economic theory to the breaking point, but I don’t think there’s any alternative. If nothing else, money is the root of all cynicism, and any proposed change in our way of doing business with one another and Planet Earth that smacks of idealism will be hounded to death by the debt collectors unless money itself loses its power to mesmerize and galvanize. And when that happens, we can begin to remember an earlier humanity, which functioned with a gift economy: Every exchange created connection. We valued and encouraged generosity because more for me meant more for you. How do we begin saying no to a world of debtors’ hell? Can we begin with a suicide note? "Dear love," read the farewell letter from the Bologna man who set fire to himself in front of the tax-collection agency, "I am here crying. This morning I left a bit early, I wanted to wake you, say goodbye, but you were sleeping so well I was afraid to wake you. Today is an ugly day. I ask forgiveness from everyone. A kiss to you all. I love you, Giuseppe." ------------------ Robert Koehler is an award-winning, Chicago-based journalist and nationally syndicated writer. His new book, Courage Grows Strong at the Wound (Xenos Press) is now available. Contact him at koehlercw@gmail.com or visit his website at CommonWonders. © 2012 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC. Courage Grows Strong at the Wound (Xenos Press) is now out. The book is a collection of my essays fused into several narratives. They run the gamut from the highly personal (dealing with grief, the death of my wife, single parenting) to the acutely political. The book is about the quest for both inner and outer peace, the urgency of both, and the fragile future we are giving birth to. “Koehler’s points are made with a combination of journalistic acumen and spiritual precision. He takes you by the brain and will not let you go to sleep, will not let you shut down, will not let you look away – and yet, in the same essay – will not let you lose hope, and will not let you stop believing in the spirit of goodness that lies within us.” – from the foreword, by Marianne Williamson The price, which includes shipping and handling, is $25. If you would like to place your order, please specify how many books and make out check for the appropriate amount to Robert Koehler. Please include your mailing address! Mail to: Robert Koehler 6729 N. Ashland Chicago, IL 60626 The book will be sent to you as soon as possible. All books will be signed, of course. |
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Recent International Issues Articles Ten of my favorite things about 2012 Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities Pile of Skulls Internal Security Act clamped on Bangkok to stifle coup demand Brand Names and Mass Graves Internal Security Act clamped on Bangkok to stifle coup demand Panetta expects Taliban won't turn Petraeus's adultery into propaganda Obama following his grandfather to Burma Two Members of Pussy Riot Sent to Russian Penal Colonies New demands for an immediate coup in Thailand China mourns Sihanouk's death & continues advancing in Cambodia Empire and its Consequences 13 Murders on the Mekong River International Peace Day from Kabul, Afghanistan The Innocence of U.S. Foreign Policy Funding teachers doesn't get embassies attacked Love, Hate and Indifference: singer/songwriter/activist David Rovics The Hidden Agenda of Green Party VP Candidate Cheri Honkala A Black, Green and White Talk with Shamako Noble of Hip Hop Congress New American judge may help bring five more Khmer Rouge to trial Julian Assange, International Intrigue and What’s Going On With Ecuador Yes We Camp Beyond Money Love is the key ingredient for successful social movements, not religion, per se. 1,500 fake "Bomb Detectors" fail to stop explosions in Thailand SPECIAL REPORT -- EXPOSING U.S. AGENTS OF LOW-INTENSITY WARFARE IN AFRICA: The Neocons vs. the ‘Arab Spring’: Back on the Warpath Iran and everything else Beyond the two-state solution Thailand's robots can save your life or kill you, but not yet love you War and Climate Change Flesh-eating fish are feeding on tourists' feet Veterans For Peace supports U.N. committee in questioning U.S. recruitment, killing of children Seeking a Visa for Dr. Wee Teck Young NASA's atmosphere probe is grounded by Thailand's squabbling For Love or Money Julian Assange's Artful Dodge Turkish court indicts Senior Israeli Military Officials in murders on Gaza flotilla: On the Second Anniversary of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Aung San Suu Kyi leaves Burma after 24 years No one hears the poor Millions of Illegal Methamphetamines Made From Medicine in Thailand's Hospitals FBI seizes server from progressive internet service provider Thaksin wants to avoid assassination and prison in Thailand Via campesina and allies call for global solidarity in fight against land grabs Proud to wear a forbidden burqa in France A message of peace and friendship from Iran Aung San Suu Kyi stoops to conquer Burma Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities Why Israel attacked Gaza: Bibi stirring trouble Columbus Activists Look South to help build Global Justice Movement Alcohol & politics: A volatile mix in Thailand Activists Call for Kroger's Support of Migrant Farm Worker Rights Large coalition asks for Obama's Nobel Peace Prize to be rescinded Iranians allegedly posted "Baked Clay" signs to attack Bangkok Alleged Iranian bombers cavorted with Thai women in beach resort Cold war in warm waters: US-China's dangerous contest for Asia-Pacific Three alleged Iranian bomb-makers arrested after bungling the plot Happy savages Food Sovereignty Activist Calls for Alliances between Progressives and ' Radicals ' Alleged Iranian bomb-maker blows off his own leg Obama's Super-Bowl Fumble on Iran A Banquet Feasts on Yingluck's Troubles in Thailand Thai government promotes Red Shirt leader & pro-Mugabe supporter Terror suspect says ammonia in his "Cool Packs" not for bombs Alleged terrorist reveals stockpile of bomb-making chemicals in Bangkok Church of the Dude, inspired by The Big Lebowski, sets up in Thailand A tale of 2 countries Aljazeera coverage: The revolution will be televised, and also manipulated Read International Issues Articles by Year: |
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