"In the kind of world we have today,
transformation of humanity might well be
our only real hope for survival."
- Stanislav Grof
This book is not meant to be "interesting" or "thought-provoking." It is not meant to be "hypothetical" or "pie in the sky."
This is a mission book. A blueprint for building a better world.
If you are reading this book, then you probably want to make the world better. But with big complex problems like climate change and economic inequality, you can be forgiven for perhaps feeling helpless, and powerless to make any kind of real change.
The fact is, by yourself, you really are mostly helpless, and so am I.
But together we can make a real difference, and this book explains how...
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of how to build a better world, I think it's important for us to take a moment to explore the why.
Look. I'm just an average, middle aged, working class, dad.
But there are two things you should know about me.
First, I love my kids more than anything, and I'm not willing to have them inherit a world that is full of pollution, poverty and hate. Second, I won't stand for bullies, despots or demagogues, and I certainly won't stand for them burning up my children's future so they can add another zero to an absurd fortune that they couldn't spend in a thousand lifetimes.
So here is my Vision for the future...
Our children will inherit a world
that is clean and environmentally sustainable,
as well as socially and economically fair.
They will live and raise their own children
in a world that works for everyone.
I just think the world should work for everyone. Don't you? Is that a Vision that you can align with and embrace?
But let's be honest. That is not the direction this country is headed. At all.
So how do we change our direction?
I mean, this is a big, diverse country and admittedly there is no way to make it turn on a dime. Right?
But history tells us that it does turn, it can change, and revolution is not unheard of...
In fact, this country was built on revolution.
The first shot of the American Revolution (the "shot heard round the world") was fired on April 19th, 1775. That shot sparked the battles of Lexington and Concord. However, it would be another 15 months before the colonials officially declared their independence on July 4, 1776.
Why did it take them so long?
Because the people weren't united.
They were divided on what actions to take and which direction to move.
Some wanted independence. Others wanted to sue for better treatment from the Crown. And still others, particularly the land owning elites who were heavily invested in the status quo, wanted things to stay the same.
Into this confusion and uncertainty stepped Thomas Paine with his book "Common Sense", published anonymously in January of 1776.
In his book, Paine outlined a clear argument for independence. This book was (and still remains) one of the most widely circulated and read books in American history. It was discussed in the streets, read aloud in taverns and town halls. George Washington had it read aloud to his troops. It was instrumental in getting the colonials on the same page and allowing them to organize and take unified action.
It's important to note here that during those 15 months, it wasn't necessarily the events or circumstances that changed.
The thing that changed, was people's thinking about independence.
Over those few short months, that book allowed them to change their collective conversation and shift their cultural identity from that of colonials, to that of independent Americans.
Their labor was being exploited, and they were being taxed by the Crown without the benefit of representation, but they saw a larger possibility for themselves. So they chose to revolt and declare their independence.
That was almost 250 years ago, but if we're honest, aren't things pretty much the same now?
Our labor is still being exploited for the profit of a few.
We are still being taxed without the benefit of representation.
We've just traded the Crown for a handful of wealthy elite capitalists.
And like that "shot heard round the world" haven't we also heard the shots in the ongoing skirmishes and battles between love and hate, courtesy and contempt, peace and conflict, cooperation and divisiveness, creation and destruction, human flourishing and human exploitation?
It's not the sound of a musket shot that we hear now...
It's the sound of hunger, poverty, and increasing homeless (Thornton, 2023) while the wealthiest in this country exponentially increase their riches.
It's the sound of the devastating wreckage (Smith, 2023) and increasing death toll (World Economic Forum, 2024) from extreme weather events caused by global warming.
It's the sound of a ten year old girl being forced to carry her rapist's baby (Folkenflik, McCammon 2022). The sound of a newborn struggling for breath before he dies in his mother's arms minutes later because she was forced to carry him to term against her doctor's advice (Cohen, Hassan, 2023). The sound of the heartbreak and trauma of millions of women who continue to have their right to choose taken away.
It's the sound of the seemingly endless stream of senseless shootings, and the scores of dead children in our schools.
And it's the sound of one man gasping his last words "I can't breathe," while another man kneels on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds until he is dead.
"I think I heard a shot..."
- Rage Against the Machine
Listen...
Haven't you heard a shot?
I know I have.
For me, it was the sound of children and toddlers being torn from their mother's arms at the border as part of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policy. Under that policy, more than 5,000 children were forcefully removed from their families with no intention of returning them. To this day, despite the Biden administration's best efforts, and the combined efforts of private and non-profit groups, many of these children remain separated from their families.
While the majority of Americans want our government to address all of these issues, the powers-that-be refuse to take any meaningful action.
What is that, if not exploitation? What is that, if not taxation without representation?
What kind of system is this?
The system we find ourselves trapped in is not working, and the shots have already been fired.
So here we are again, divided over what to do about it.
Some of you understand that a system that produces these kinds of outcomes can no longer be ignored, bargained with or reasoned with, and must be replaced by a better, more humane system.
Some of you want to just "sue for better terms" from the current system, and hope for a little lower taxes and some marginally improved treatment by your Capitalist betters.
Some of you have actually invested in the apocalypse, are profiting off of this corrupt system, and are happy to continue to profit off of the labor and suffering of others and the despoiling of our planet.
However, if we really want to build a better world and leave a legacy for our children that we can be proud of, then the time for indecision and division is past. Now is the time for us to be united.
Because if we're being honest we have to acknowledge that we are running out of time.
If our elected leaders can't be trusted to work towards this better future... then what are "we the people" going to do about it?
The real problem is not Trump, or Biden, or any single politician or political party.
The fault lies in us.
The real problem is the toxic culture of contention and avarice that we have allowed to take hold, fester, and grow. We have allowed ourselves to become a society that has normalized and even celebrates engineered inequality, indifference to suffering, and the exploitation of our fellow humans and the planet we call home.
It is this culture that must change, and we start by changing the conversation.
Our forebears changed their identity from that of Colonials, to that of independent Americans. Now we must change our own culture and identity from passive observers and armchair critics, to that of responsible human citizens and the architects of our children’s future. We must change our conversation.
That new conversation begins with this book.
I'm not delusional. I know that I'm no Thomas Paine and this is no "Common Sense."
But I do have a plan, and I truly believe that it will make a difference.
I have researched and found existing solutions to these big and complex problems and created a strategy for implementing them.
If we work together these solutions will work.
I have also created a nonprofit, the Better World Coalition, that we can use as a vehicle to implement every strategy and solution found in this book.
That's my part.
But I can't do it alone. I need your help.
So here's your part. Here are the three things that you can do to help move this forward.
Read this book with an open mind and the intention of understanding the strategy.
Accept the challenge to contribute in some way.
Then together, enjoy the ever increasing benefits of that better world.
If we fail to act, things will get worse than they are now. Maybe even catastrophically worse.
If we accept the challenge and choose to act together, we can build a future that is unrecognizable to us in this moment. A real transformation.
So, let's get out there and build that better world.
~
J. Thomas Dunn
Director of Vision,
Better World Coalition