With U.S. Abdicating Leadership on Climate, Is Any World Leader Likely to Give This Speech? The Podium Waits

Imagine for a moment that world leaders in government and business have come under the spell of the mystique of the natural world and Earth so strongly that they move beyond the mystique of their country, products, and profits. And imagine a global forum of these leaders at which they take turns at the podium to talk about how the mystique of Earth is impacting them and their work. It could be a United Nations Assembly or the World Economic Forum at its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The audience includes leaders of nations, an array of women and men who are CEOs of business and finance, leaders in academia and religion, and lead‐ers of nonprofits. Speeches tell about the mythology of Progress that encircles the globe and manifests as increased technology and consumption of goods in more countries. The U.S. president, after speaking of the needs of a rapidly growing human population, the desire to foster strong economies, and the wellbeing of citizens, speaks to how our decisions are impacting Earth, our common home. The president continues:

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The "American Dream" Needs a Major Makeover

The makeover of our national mythology that Earth is writing doesn’t talk about us as consumers but as spiritual beings who behave most wisely when we feel awe in the presence of her evolutionary mysteries. We are wisest, her dreams says, when we study the flowers, trees, microbes, marine life, and insects for how to do economics. There we see radical interconnectedness instead of competitive advantage and unending growth. But don’t wait for someone else to transform the American Dream to a compelling, useful mythology for the 21st century. Ponder your personal mythology as Question 5, page 27, in Blinded by Progress asks you to do. Get your own mythology to contrast strongly with the American Dream of the past and speak up in solidarity with Earth. It’s the Earth Dream, not the past American Dream, that we want to drive our lives is it not?

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