We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Allies okay road map out of Afghanistan

from The Star website in Toronto. The Canadian paper is treating the NATO-Afgan war's end as if it were a done deal--more so than any other source I've seen. Maybe they're right and moves are well underway to set up a client state like has happened to Iraq. Clearly the war is very unpopular in all the NATO countries. I just find it hard to believe that the Afgan people would ever tolerate such an arrangement. Of course, the Western powers need a face-saving excuse to leave, and maybe the Afgans will provide them with one. After most of the NATO forces leave, they can then put an end to this puppet government.