<\/p>\n
I\u2019d like to propose that we make some New Year\u2019s Resolutions that aren\u2019t quite the usual ones.\u00a0 Oh, I think it would be commendable to resolve to lose weight, exercise more or quit smoking, but in the context of this site, I would like us all to consider something more.<\/p>\n
Here, in the space of The Global Conversation, we do a lot of \u201cconversating\u201d…we talk a lot about the state of things, and wonder what we can do to forward a new paradigm.\u00a0 We put theories of what might be done out there, but we never seem to acknowledge much, or for very long, what is actually, and already being done!<\/i>\u00a0 I came upon an article at Truthout<\/b>, by Gar Alperovitz and Keane Bhatt, that intrigued me greatly, entitled \u201cWhat Then Can I Do?\u00a0 Ten Ways to Democratize the Economy\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n This article makes note of the current problems such wealth inequities, politics, \u201csocial and economic pain\u201d, the environment etc., and asks \u201cWhat can one person do?\u201d<\/p>\n Then it proceeds to list the ten ways it feels most of us can, right now<\/i>, begin to create the paradigm we desire.\u00a0 They site examples of how these things are already<\/i> working around the world.<\/p>\n Now, I\u2019m going to admit to you that some of the things, for me, are going to be easy to do, (and I\u2019ll bet you will be able to guess which ones those are), and some have me hoping that those with the background to fully<\/i> understand what the heck they are, see the article, and step up and step in and aid in this creation!\u00a0 Boy am I glad those people exist in this world!\u00a0 But I am willing to bet that there is at least one thing on this list that can help you declare and to do what you have chosen to Be in this world, and that you can resolve to do!\u00a0 (I think the last one is the most fun, but you will definitely have to go to the full article to understand why!)<\/p>\n There are so many, many good things happening out there in our world these days, that are being overshadowed by all of the chaos…I think that articles like this show that CWG\u2019s assertion that just when it feels like you want to quit is exactly when you should strengthen your resolve, because what you have been working for us just over the ridge.<\/p>\n Here, then, is the list, and if you want to see the full article and fill in the blanks, go to this link<\/a>, where, at the end, they also give you the opportunity \u201cto start a conversation…\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1.\u00a0Democratize Your Money!<\/b><\/p>\n Put your money in a credit union-then participate in its governance.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0Seize the Moment: Time For Worker Ownership!<\/b><\/p>\n Help build a worker co-op or encourage interested businesses to transition to\u00a0 \u00a0 employee ownership and adopt social and environmental standards as part of their missions.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0Take Back Local Government: Demand Participatory Budgeting!<\/b><\/p>\n Organize your community so that local government spending is determined by inclusive neighborhood deliberations on key priorities.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0Push Local Anchors to do Their Part!<\/b><\/p>\n Make nonprofit institutions like universities and hospitals use their resources to fight poverty, unemployment, and global warming.<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0Reclaim Your Neighborhood With Democratic Development!<\/b><\/p>\n Build community power through economic development and community land trusts.<\/p>\n 6.\u00a0Public Money for the Public Good!<\/b><\/p>\n Organize to use public finances for community development.<\/p>\n 7.\u00a0Stop Letting Your Savings Fuel Corporate Rule!<\/b><\/p>\n Get your workplace to offer more retirement-plan opportunities for responsible investment.<\/p>\n 8.\u00a0Democratize Energy Production to Create a Green Economy!<\/b><\/p>\n Get involved in public and cooperative utilities to fight climate change.<\/p>\n 9.\u00a0Mobilize the Faith Community!<\/b><\/p>\n Get your religious organization to move its money to a local financial institution involved in community development.<\/p>\n 10.\u00a0Make Time for Democracy!<\/b><\/p>\n Fight unemployment by joining the fight against work.<\/p>\n ( for full article<\/a>)<\/p>\n So, what can you do? \u00a0Resolve to start Doing your Being this year!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n (Therese Wilson is a published poet, and is the administrator of, and Spiritual Helper at, the global website at\u00a0<\/i>www.cwghelpingoutreach.com<\/i><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0She may be contacted at:\u00a0<\/i>Therese@TheGlobalConversation.com<\/i><\/a>.)<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019d like to propose that we make some New Year\u2019s Resolutions that aren\u2019t quite the usual ones.\u00a0 Oh, I think it would be commendable to resolve to lose weight, exercise more or quit smoking, but in the context of this site, I would like us all to consider something more. Here, in the space […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1411],"tags":[62,576,1469,795,669],"class_list":["post-7501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anyone_listening","tag-cwg","tag-democracy","tag-new-paradigm","tag-new-years-resolutions","tag-therese-wilson"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7501"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7506,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7501\/revisions\/7506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}