Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community

The Great Turning: by David Korten Korten's Thesis: We face a defining choice between two contrasting models for organizing human affairs-- Empire and Earth Community. Facing the possibility of global chaos due to global warming, US debt, peak oil and extinction of many species we must make a choice if we are to survive the future. Korten's Thesis: We face a defining choice between two contrasting models for organizing human affairs-- Empire and Earth Community. Facing the possibility of global chaos due to global warming, US debt, peak oil and extinction of many species we must make a choice if we are to survive the future. Empire organizes by domination at all levels, from relations among nations to relations among family members. Empire brings fortune to the few, condemns the majority to misery and servitude, suppresses the creative potential of all, and appropriates much of the wealth of human societies to maintain the institutions of domination. Earth Community, by contrast, organizes by partnership, unleashes the human potential for creative co-operation, and shares resources and surpluses for the good of all. Supporting evidence for the possibilities of Earth Community comes from the findings of quantum physics, evolutionary biology, developmental psychology, anthropology, archaeology, and religious mysticism. It was the human way before Empire. The choice is ours to make. "The Great Turning" is the action issue for UUJEC this year. Read the articles on this topic and send for our Great Turning packet. What the Great Turning means to Me To me the Great Turning means the turning point -- right now -- in human history when the human spirit must, of life-or-death necessity, finally free its wings of enough mud and clay to begin to soar. For thousands of years our species has lived under conditions that have forced upon us fear and egoistic, "me-first" qualities. There was always an "out-group" out there somewhere who could threaten the "in-group" we belonged to, and as a result, our paradigms of togetherness have been "security through sameness and conformity," "security through accumulation of force," and "security through accumulation of wealth." Those paradigms have, with the globalization and universal interlinkage of the human habitat, been brought face to face with their own negative results: the possibility of global nuclear winter based on irreducible human differences, political hostility, and military violence, and the possibility of run-away climatic and ecological disruption based on economic abuse of the biosphere, each one or both together ending in a full-fledged Extinction Event. The alternative paradigm, toward which we must make the Great Turning, is "security through partnership." Other terms include "security through symbiosis," "security through mutual aid," "security through both sides winning," "security through prefering thy neighbor to thyself." Earth Community is, like God, transcendent. It looms beyond us, both as a past that was and is now lost and as a future that could be again but may fail to be born if we do not ACT. And yet, unlike the traditional God of past religions, Earth Community -- or the lack of it -- is also right here, right now, in our breath, in the food we eat, in the news we hear and see, in the diversity we can turn to almost anywhere. It is the medium in which we have our being. The Great Turning is my own turning. It is me summiting myself, climbing the mountain of my own inner potential for being engaged. Every free hour, every free minute that I can take another step upward, counts!! by John Dale, Board Member Email Newsletter Sign up for the UUJEC internet newsletter. It will come to your email address one or two times a month. It will contain the latest news on economic justice and UUJEC.

YOUR TURN Archives: Issues 1-7 8. Consciousness 9. The Earth Charter NEWS The Suicidal Planet a review (more....) The IMF's Historic Transition: Is Less Better? (more....) McCain the War Hero Candidate by Charlie Derber (more....) NAFTA is bad for Mexico (more....) Howard Zinn: The End of Empire? (more....) The War and the Working Class (more....) Pitfalls in NAFTA (more....) Iraq costs US $12 Billion per month (more....) War Is Hell, but What the Hell Does It Cost? (more....) Hey Homeowners, Bush Blames You -- Not Iraq -- for Our Tanking Economy (more....) Which is closer to your vision of North America? (more....) Immigrants Come Here Because Globalization Took Their Jobs Back There (more....) Hey Bush, Stimulate My Interest Rate (more....) How to Pull Out of a Recession--the Fastest and Most Ethical Way, Not the Bush Way (more....) Worker Rights Abuse Out of Control in China (more....) Welcome to Third World, USA (more....) Tent City in Suburbs Is Cost of Home Crisis (more....) Beyond the Point of No Return It's too late to stop climate change -- so what do we do now? (more....) New Documentary on Immigrant Workers (more....) Big Box Living Wage Ordinance (more....) Peru Free Trade Agreement a Disaster for Farmers Everywhere (more....) Boycott Burger King (more....) Another CAFTA Disaster (more....) Hunger Stalks World's Wealthiest Country (more....) Website Counter

The Meaning of Economic Justice Economic justice means building a fair economy that works for everyone. It means fair trade policies that protect workers' rights to organize and to receive a living wage for their work at home and abroad. It includes budget and tax policies in which corporations and wealthy individuals pay their fair share, and which support good schools and childcare, affordable healthcare and housing, retirement security, and a safety-net for those in need. It promotes the common good by funding public services. It means calling for new national priorities that reduce wasteful military spending and redirect tax dollars to helping our children, elders, and communities meet their needs. It includes notions of a social contract in which society and individuals fulfill their mutual responsibilities to each other. Economic justice also embraces a vision of economic human rights. - AFSC Three UUJEC Board members Say Impeach NOW A report from Marcia Meyers of Portland, Oregon, Michael Greenman of Columbus,Oho , and Carl McCargo of Springfield, MA Impeachment is an economic justice issue. Up to 3 trillion dollars may be spent on this illegal war. Money that could and should be spent on health care, housing aid, for improving our infrastructure and as a result providing hundreds of thousands of good paying jobs. We want all troops withdrawn promptly, and war funds redirected toward social needs at home and humanitarian aid in Iraq. Flood Congress with Impeachment Resolutions If Bush and Cheney are allowed to leave office without being impeached then a very dangerous precedent will be set! Future Presidents will be able to mislead Congress into costly wars, spy on millions of Americans, and torture prisoners who have never had their day in court. They will point to Bush and say "He did it. So can we." Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation are people who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the awful roar of its waters. This struggle may be a moral one or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. What we learned when we spoke to the office of 32 congress people. 1. They need more calls for impeachment from their constituents before they will/can actively and aggressively move toward impeachment. 2. There is acute awareness and concern on capital hill about the actions of the Bush administration. The missing ingredient is the voices of the people. What do we do now We contact all our grassroots constituents. Inform them how the "flooding" plan works and ask them to petition their congressperson to implement the "flooding" plan. This is the most important step in the process of a successful impeachment. It is up to us. Time Frame We must act fast.