Janet, a conference attendee, posted the comment below several weeks ago.  This is a great springboard for dialogue – we invite your ideas and feedback about sacred activism in everyday life:

So, the theme/title of the ISL annual conference was sacred activism. I’d like to hear from participants (as opposed to presenters) about the roles they play in sacred activism. How do people in the trenches carry out what we learned about sacred activism, and what does it look like in the 8-5 work day (or whatever configuration you’d like to go with)? Is it more than working at a soup kitchen once a month, for example. I felt totally inspired and challenged by what I heard, but I want practical ways to be a sacred activist while working and caring for a family. How do you do sacred activism?

We invite feedback on the following:

ECONOMY INTEREST GROUP

Discussion Saturday, April 18

Assumptions we brainstormed:

Ø      Knowing one facet of trading, the intricacy of the loans is scary because it was gambling

Ø      We will do mergers, fire thousands, and extract $$ for management . . . this has failed and must be improved

Ø      Federal Reserve will bail out the banks – money supply & inflation

Ø      20’s & 30’s will never have the financial security their parents had

Ø      Coming out we will have inflation . . . first deflation

Ø      Widening gap between have’s and have-not’s

Ø      Unless there is a grassroots movement to influence our leaders for good regulation . . . require campaign finance reform

Ø      Because of debt & dysfunctional economic system, we will never have the time of cheap oil again . . . we need graceful descent . . . change our values

Ø      People who have power and wealth will not give up . . . fear the reaction, lust for power

Ø      Some of the leaders will embrace servant leadership . . . change those companies

Ø      We need to have a grassroots movement, but first we need articulate and literate grassroots

Ø      We could pass a law of a 15:1 ratio of executive pay for top 1500 firms

Ø      Experiments going on throughout nation, learn about other economic systems

Ø      We can’t go back to rural system

Ø      “Transition towns,” local living economies, community-building, is an example of an alternative

If we developed a plan for fair, just, and moral economic system, the plan would include the following:

-         De-leverage the corporation (separate chairman & CEO, grow by efficiency, service and manufacturing – not acquisition)

-         Process to compute triple bottom line (people, planet, profit)

-         Where everyone has basic needs met (housing, universal health care, safety, education)

-         Training program for literacy (ecology, economy, entrepreneur)

-         Groups to support (envisioning, problem-solving) – use Internet

-         MASSIVE increase in transparency in regulation – change accounting rules

-         Sense of personal responsibility (a citizen, not a consumer)

-         More employee-owned entities

-         Micro-enterprise opportunities

-         Empower, recognize and support new entrepreneurs

-         Give priority to sustainability

-         Revise taxes to make more simple and progressive

-         Ensure that we do not treat the Wall Street as the other

-         Whatever we create, we must take into account the world

-         Revise our assistance – World Bank & IMF – to empower the developing world

-         Re-think NAFTA because it only benefits the U.S.

-         Challenge (cut the link) of unlimited growth (sustainable living)

-         Business will be accountable to local communities

-         Return to local financial institutions (break up large banks)

-         Recognition that diversity is necessary and good

Hey everyone!  The blog is now up and running.  This is the first time I’ve ever set up a blog, so I’m learning as I go.  Some of you pros can give me some pointers!