Our
Manifesto is a creative fusion of many bits of inspirational writing,
some of them our own.If, kind Visitor, you recognize some of the
phrasing, or even
whole
passages lifted wholesale from other inspiring works, none of them
attributed to
the original author(s), remind yourself that our goal here is not to
achieve some level of academic purity but to offer a polyphonic chorus
of many voices, past and present.
Thus prepared, read on.
Fair
Planet Manifesto
There is an urgent Need and a
fervent Desire for
a new Spirit in the World today.
All around us we see unmistakable signs that Humankind is rapidly
approaching unprecedented challenges. The brief era of
easily-extractable, non-renewable natural resources' use, which made so
many of our technological civilizational advances possible, is rapidly
coming toan
end. A different guiding philosophy for advancement of humanity
must now be sought.
In the last several hundred years we have accomplished so much
individual and cultural consciousness growth. Our minds have unraveled
many physical mysteries of the Universe. We have created magnificent
works of art, we have learned how to make a plethora of objects - both
useful and delightful.
Alas, too few of our achievements have benefited more than a few. For
the vast
majority of recorded history, inequality, injustice and inhumanity has
been the sad hallmark
of our existence. In every place on Earth, in every age, a Few have
sought relentlessly and unmercifully to subjugate and control the Many.
Coercion, Connivance and Corruption have become the favorite
methods of enforcement by a Few of their unfairly-gained
material-wealth advantages.
Worse yet, we have allowed unrestrained Greed, Mendacity and
Rapaciousness to become the most
effective and much emulated means of being and remaining Self-centered
- thus set
apart from, and turned against true needs of the Human Community.
The Future must not become just a continuation of the Past. We
therefore declare,
before the whole World, our Guiding Principles.
In recognition of our common Humanity, We, the
People of this Fair
Planet hold these Truths to be Self-Evident.
- All Women and Men are
equal. Equal -
but neither same, nor interchangeable. There are no exceptions
- whatsoever - to
this basic premise. No person's life has less, or more, value than
anyone else's. No one's "birthright" is greater than any one else's.
- If Liberty and Equality, as is thought
by some, are
chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all
persons alike share in the government to the utmost. Freedom
and Justice can only be continuously created through active
participation in the life of the community - local and Planetary.
- We are a part of Life on our planet.
It is our duty
to act as wise Stewards, not Owners, of Earth's natural resources. To
this end, we must transform unsustainable production and consumption
practices that have hitherto characterized the direction of
technological development.
Since, in a way,
there is never anything totally new under the Sun, it's never a bad
idea to check out the stuff that' "already on the Books". We recommend
the following statements of Principle:
