It is a design issue.

It is the final rush of political hoopla leading up to the election for our new president. I must say, I was a little upset with comments by Gov. Palin about Obama associating with Ayers. At a time in United States history when we are facing economic collapse, having our military be overstretched, and people loosing their homes, having politicians sling fear-based comments rather than offering us plans for their presidency is shameful.

My position, is that we need new designs for how America functions and operates. This would not be easy. However, continuing to follow the easy path will continue to produce erratic solutions, and an unstable economy and political structure. People, all of us, need to realize that in order to truly change the way our country is progressing will take effort on all of our parts. We cannot leave the future of our country to the politicians, and wall street alone. These people are the definition of doing the same old thing and getting the same results. There are answers out there.

William McDonough in his book Cradle to Cradle, provides a new vision for how we think about how we do things. He and his co-author use the ecological model of there is no waste in nature. In nature the waste of one organism is food for another. We need to take that concept and apply it to how we do business, build everything, run our government, and design our infrastructure. It will take work, take time, and effort. However, in the long run, we will end up with a dynamic and abundantly sustainable framework to lead our country, and the world, in to the future. It is time for a dramatically different way to approach how we do things.  

walking the road

Yesterday I was headed to town to the local market on my way to feed a friend's horse. As I was coming into Pescadero flats I saw a young man walking on the side of the road headed my way. He was hitchhiking, and as I slowed down to pick him up I saw that he had a small sign that said "When did we stop trusting people". He works at one of the local Environmental Education programs here in the Santa Cruz Mountains. 

We talked for the 15 minute ride down to Pescadero, his name is Mark and he is in his early 20's. He was so full of idealism and the energy to change the world. I remember being that way. After I dropped him off and continued on my way to do some food shopping, I began thinking about why that energy seems to fade over the years, I know it has in me to an extent. Had I learned that the nail that sticks up gets hammered down and simply adjusted my actions, or had I spent the time to learn to see from other sides of topics I was passionate about? 

When I was Mark's age I was definitely opinionated. I railed on against things like hunting, evangelical Christianity, human rights abuses. Now keep in mind I did not actually do much to change those things, I was more of a vocal challenger of ideas than an activist. I still have a lot to say on the world today, and often come across as a tad passionate about stories in the news, just as my girlfriend.

So, why do many of us "loose" our passion or energies around topics we are so passionate about as young people? Is it taught to us? Are we domesticated as we grow older? If you look around at the people in your life, how many are still as energized about life, and sucking the marrow out of each day? I had a chance to work with a group of 6th graders last week and being around their energy and zest for being a kid was an amazing tonic to be around. I highly recommend hanging out with kids for everyone who is feeling a little jaded about life.