Dear Friends and Followers,
Excuse my absence …
I’ve taken this “lockdown” COVID period to go within … to assess our radically shifting world conditions, the disintegration and irrelevance of our two political parties, the massive street violence we are experiencing across the United States, the potential for an unintended Nuclear War with all treaties soon expiring, my family responsibilities, my approaching mid-80 lifespan … and CCI’s future.
With COVID as a cover, I retreated to my 4th floor condo like a hermit while keeping up with Internet news and TV channels I seldom watched in the past. I’ve consulted with a few VIP’s via email and attempted to create several options for new CCI projects/programs after COVID diminishes.
Being one accustomed to creating solutions, my prognosis for solutions and the future today is guarded … if not nil.
This perfect storm for disaster we are experiencing has no adequate potential leaders in positions near power. In any case we will elect a deeply flawed-person as president of our nation-in-jeopardy. Persons who are following this first-ever-such national dilemma are predicting that only a mass awakening of American people will change the outcome –– and I’m not sure this can happen.
As a population today, we Americans are a lightweight people, we probably always were, due to being cut off from the cultures of other countries abroad. With oceans to protect us, it’s been easy for our primarily white population to become fixated on attending to our comfortable lives, getting what we desire, entertaining ourselves, leisure travel, not often thinking out of our small life-boxes. Meanwhile, other people in the U.S. that we’ve paid less attention to are wrecking city centers, setting fires, looting stores and pulling down statues. Simultaneously, COVID virus levels are climbing again with worries about economic collapse around the corner. Where or how this will resolve itself, no one knows.
What can or should people like ourselves do amid some of these first-ever, unexpected circumstances?
Educate, Educate, Educate … is the only solution I can see.Commit ourselves to better understand and delve into America’s past, our earlier relations with other nations and peoples, ask the tough question about what both Democrats and Republicans are spouting, what our military industrial complex has created about which we know little and myriads of other issues that we’ve not asked about to date.
We need serious mass discussions across the U.S. by people from numerous levels of life … not to prove anyone wrong or right, but just to begin to get ourselves and other persons to think, share ideas and listen to other points of view and head toward constructive resolutions.
For those old enough to remember the 1960’s, you will recall that nation-wide discussion groups sprung up due to one book, “I’m Okay, You’re Okay?”. It was covered in every major magazine and newspaper for the next few years. This book and subsequent “I’m Okay/You’re Okay” meetings woke me up as a 25-year-old. I’ve not been the same since. Just now, I pulled the book off of my shelves to see if it has relevance for today. In concept it does.
Today a mass movement might be instigated by “How to become an Okay citizen and how to accept others as Okay citizens” (with programs to support those who have been discounted). Internationally, it can be “How to become an Okay nation, How to accept others as Okay nations”. Will someone please write such a treatise? Or a plan for discussion meetings? I think several of you readers have the insights and skills to do this!
The 1960’s were about learning personal psychological Okay-ness. The 2020’s could be about broader awareness of our history (making amends where needed) and accepting other nations’ histories (instead of condemning them) … with a better sense of world cooperation as a goal.
It wouldn’t clear up COVID, but could go a long way to ridding our national prejudices toward our citizens of many colors … and internationally would rid us of the scourge of sanctioning/threatening/using our military might against others … to make us aware of the horrendous suffering and death caused by our U.S. “Might makes Right” policies.
We privileged Americans need a total overhaul in our mentality, a knowledge of our impact on others and the world. We claim to be such a “GREAT COUNTRY.” Let us reflect and examine our history and get ourselves reoriented in that direction.
It will take all of us being educators to awaken America at this late date. Write us if you have ideas on how we can get started with our families, friends, neighbors, colleagues, fellow Rotarians and anyone with whom we meet.
Thanks for being where you are, doing what you are doing.
Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives
PS: I think my hermit period is over. More upbeat, informative and program-oriented emails will follow. I’ll be grateful for comments pro or con to the above.
I think I will experiment with a group meeting at our condo (when COVID permits) to experiment with a discussion on the above.