Is Short-Termism Blighting Our Future?
In the UK our government recently agreed with other European heads of state, how much each country would contribute to the European Union. Now many people in the UK feel that giving hundreds of millions of euros to the EU is a waste of money, especially in such difficult times, yet our government agrees to it, not because it has no choice, but because it recognises the importance of being part of something that is bigger than the sum total of its parts. Whether the EU really does have that much value is open to debate, but the point I’m making is this: by signing up to be part of the EU, every member state accepts a responsibility to contribute to the whole, to the collective, even if it does not agree with every individual decision being made.
Why can’t we have an independent body whose remit it is to solve the issue of supplying the whole of humanity with an abundance of clean energy? Imagine a global organisation whose tasks were to make sure everyone got food, shelter and electricity and to make sure that these basic needs were met in a sustainable way. Imagine such an organisation that could not be influenced by politicians, lobbyists, big business or fickle public opinion. An organisation founded on doing what is right and just.
Many people may think that this is merely the ramblings of a deluded soul, but I’m prepared to accept the criticism because I believe in what I’m saying. To continue to hold true to a belief even when things get tough requires a deep level of trust. Whether we trust in God, the Universe, ourselves as individuals, or in humanity as a whole does not matter: what matters is that we can trust in something or someone. Where there is trust, fear cannot take root.
When fear takes hold we become selfish and act short-sightedly. When we trust we resolve to do what is right, regardless of the sacrifices we may need to make. I believe humanity as a collective intelligence is capable of doing what is right. We have an abundance of food on this planet. That’s an incredible achievement. Let’s share it. And let us create an abundance of energy and share that too.
I won’t go so far as to say that the messages put out by mainstream media are deliberately controlled and manipulated to make us feel disempowered – I don’t know if that is true – but if we buy into this reality too readily we can very easily begin to feel that we have very little power and that we live in a world of scarcity. Yet if we detach ourselves from the newspapers and TV news for a while, then turn our attention within, we can soon become aware of a different reality, one of personal power and abundance.
As John Lennon said “you may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one”, and as another wise man once said, the future exists first in imagination, then in will, then in reality. If I can imagine a future where no-one goes without food, water or energy, I’m sure there are plenty of others who can too. Now let’s apply our will to making it a reality.
Rob Butler is the webmaster for Inergy UK Ltd which is actively involved in researching and promoting new forms of clean energy.
Photo Credit: edible_plum via flickr (CC license)
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