News and philosophy

The news on the environmental front seemed to perk up a bit these past few weeks. A cap and trade bill narrowly passed in the House. Some conservatives actually stood on the floor of the House to say global warming was a "myth. Meanwhile, my own liberal representative voted against the bill because it wasn't strong enough.

It feels as if my children's future is going to be determined by the unpredictable outcome of a school yard scuffle. Our leaders cannot even agree on the meaning of basic terms or what represents the good, so how can they solve the problem? It drives home to me that it only a change in philosophy-- a change in our understanding of the nature of reality and our place in it-- can save the future.

I used to have a knee-jerk reaction to capitalism, evil money-grubbing capitalism was the enemy. But that's not true. From the right mindset, capitalism can be our savior. But we need the right mindset, an accurate mindset, a holistic mindset that takes in the whole, that understands the good and the just. If we want to save the world, we need to promote this perspective, vote from this perspective, legislate from this perspective.

Human evolution should lead more of us to this perspective over time. But it seems to me that especially with global warming, there is a big hill coming up, and we don't have enough speed, and for just a little while, we are going to have to get out and push.