The individuals who seek only money and power are depraved of well-being. Money doesn't buy happiness; but it can buy power, a sick power of superiority. My dream is we measure our government by a Well-Being Index when every piece of legislation has to show its benefit to the well being of all the people. In my world the WBI would replac…
The individuals who seek only money and power are depraved of well-being. Money doesn't buy happiness; but it can buy power, a sick power of superiority. My dream is we measure our government by a Well-Being Index when every piece of legislation has to show its benefit to the well being of all the people. In my world the WBI would replace GNP as the measure of wealth in this country and in the world. Native Americans measure wealth by the generosity of a person, that through giving what they have more than enough of strengthens the well being of the entire tribe or community. It has also shown that one major element of well being is having Meaning in one's life by being part of something larger (like defending democracy) than yourself and giving to others. This gives one real happiness that glows for a long time. We, the People, all of us this time.
Cathy, I wish I knew how to further your message. This Greek proverb embraces it: “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” Yet semi-consciously I castigate myself for not having early on made a resolution to a single minded acquisition of money. This is a fearful emotional response to financial insecurity. As a young man I hated the notion of a commitment to making money. Later on I would see the result of shrewdly acquisitive people who behind a cordial veneer seemed to be telling me, "I got mine, the rest be damned." Say what we will, the veneration of wealth is in the soil and air of this nation. Those who don't subscribe to that ethos will pay a price. The culture will remind you: Your destiny isn't in your aspirations, it's in your bank account. Well, I'm being called away. I'll look for your posts. I'll keep planting trees.
Some people are money motivated in career terms and do make a commitment to making money and/or preserving the privilege that goes with it, with no regard for those people being exploited as a result. But it is possible to work for reasonable financial security while helping to make this world a better place--with generalized well-being, equal opportunity, and planting trees.
Yes, Ellie. The “well-being index” as Cathy describes above, restructures what it is to have money…which, in its present form, can darkly ascend to being a worshipped golden calf. Utterly ridiculous in my opinion.
Money is a tool, a means to an end. Never to be intended as an end to a means. Avaricious greed of a self chosen few offsets the inner resources that every human has the inalienable right to develop in order to prosper and be well.
Let’s end just kicking the can down the dusty, bloody road. Ukraine people have shown us what it really is to rise up. Not just with words such as these but with everything one has got to push back against greed. Push back so hard on the door of bigoted greed opening outward that the result of our truth is to slam it and “close it more snugly” as Ogden Nash might describe it.
And certainly, it is not age that determines who stands up. This is a multigenerational effort. We all have sunflower seeds in our pockets.
Words to live and stand tall by, Christine! And to push back hard enough to slam shut that door of bigoted greed. I'm planting sunflower seeds in milk-jug greenhouses here in central Wisconsin (where we just got an inch or two of snow last night to "water" them), and carrying envelopes of seeds to hand out in my pockets.
Well said. And what healthy, practical, generous styles you have in making the milk-jug greenhouses as well as giving packets of seeds to other people.
I'm getting a little jump on spring germination and growth by putting my Sugar Snap (edible-pod) peas in a moist paper towel and saving a week or two of germination time when I plant them on St. Patrick's Day. (Here in central Indiana--and perhaps zone 5 as a whole--we plant the Sugar Snaps traditionally on St. Patrick's Day.) The pea shells will soften and some will germinate by the time I plant them. Some years I've planted them when it was snowing out, just to stay on traditional schedule; and they grew just fine. The cold bursts just seem to add body to their crunch. Seems to me like Indian children of times when their mothers would bathe them in cold streams to make their bodies and immune systems stronger.
Seeds are a true symbol of hope. They illustrate birth and rebirth through germination. They further show us that we can grow and thrive. As my friend Henry Thoreau said, "Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed... Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders." That could also be a nice message to put on your packets. I do this already when giving out seeds.
Far out Ellie! Waiting on broccoli seeds for the sprout "farm." and slowly assembling 2 large raised beds for the back deck. Easy access from my chair. One bed for herbs, the other for veg. I never thought about giving seeds away (how selfish is that?) But when I'm growing I share. Until these perfect beds became available I could only grow in Homer buckets on bricks, but as you well know, we just gotta grow!
I characterize the vast majority of the working middle class (painting with a very broad stroke) all around the world--who work with integrity--as examples of pursuing reasonable financial security while helping to make this world a better plan.
Yes, me, too. For many people who grow up in any kind of poverty, including the childhood low on love and respect, see money as proof of their worth and value. Lots of implications and offshoots to this reality. Working middle class are quite often people who know when enough is enough because they didn’t grow up in the scarcity of fiscal or emotional poverty. Again, one purpose of a social safety net is to provide the “climate” for taking care of such basic needs for everyone.
Mario, I share your history of an early aversion to amassing money for its own sake. So I don't have any now. I have no regrets! Amassing power and wealth would have distracted me from the really important things in life -- the absolutely wonderful people who came my way, and enjoyment of the creation we all call home.
We have a welcome mat by our front door which has the welcoming words of Thoreau printed on it. "It is surprising how many great men and women a small house will contain."
Can't take the credit Heydon. Had a wife with a truck load of common sense. Part Cherokee, she grew up dirt poor and learned from it. All I had to do is behave myself. Well, I guess I did make good choices -- thanks!
Mario, I'd suggest you explore Dr. Martin Seligman's Theory of Well Being and take the survey https://www.viacharacter.org/ He also has some TED talks and books - one is titled "Flourish". The theory of the character strengths questionnaire is that if you go into a profession which aligns with your top five character strengths you will flourish.
Great Britain and a number of other countries have already adopted a WBI.
Mario I am reminded of seeing forests planted in England 500 years ago with a beautiful focus on the future. In the American colonies, there was an ordinance in 1636 to prevent the chopping down of magnificent trees [but that was to preserve them as masts for British war ships]. From acorns….
There is one industry in many places of the world, and in the common good of America, where the well being index is a primary motivator or work in that industry. That being public education. Every teacher, however skilled or new, accept as a professional oath that the well being of children is central and essential to creating community, resourcefulness within individuals, and heightening problem solving and critical thinking skills. In other words, a model for creating peace and love within oneself and towards others.
Yet today we witness an attack on public education. The only “critical theory” I’ve ever seen promoted in a classroom is development of critical thinking skills which certainly is essential as children navigate acceptance of differences as a building block to success and innovation. It’s a 1+1=3 type skill. Children gain traction in all areas of life when they understand differences are the melting pot that cooks up the very element essential to sustaining our existence. The Light within all of us. Peace, not war.
I loathe the efforts to clone our children with hate towards others and school them into putting a foot on the neck of someone “below” them instead of reaching and giving a “hand up” which is the natural, human instinct of a child.
Salud, Cathy. May we all jump on the well-being train. Doesn’t need fossil fuels to run. Just our Light.
Wonderful, yet teachers are one of the most exploited groups in our society in terms of low pay and long hours rather than a profession highly valued for its impact on the well being of children and the values in our society. The CXRT laws in Texas that says you can't teach anything that would make a young white boy uncomfortable will produce a generation of dumb wimp's who can't handle any of the difficulties of life. I think the objective by those passing these laws are to keep people dumb and ignorant and therefore more malleable and controllable. We need to teach resilience and openess to ideas and perspectives of others.
It is the least among us who bring nourishment that ensures survival and have the greatest appreciation of that which is of greatest value being life...and well-being. Salud to Cathy and you.
I was fortunate to be able to be a professor from age 58 to 80, when it would have been impossible to subsist on the community college compensation for a non-tenured professor. Some of my colleagues had to teach at three different community colleges simply to subsist. Meanwhile, a richly-paid administrative branch more than doubled.
Cathy, this is revolutionary! I would gladly campaign and vote for a WBI to replace the GNP. When was the last time any of us actually used the GNP to measure something? Is our country based on wealth, or people? This may be a little naive of me, but go with it -- I'm trying to make a point here....
I think this is right in line with what Dr. Richardson wrote about -- an adjustment to Democracy to meet another rising threat.
If they had a WBI by each state, where would our two states (TX and GA) rank?
Thanks Cathy, my head.will be buzzing with this great thought for days! Fight on in Texas.
Great Britain is already doing this and several other countries. In President Biden's interview with Heather he talks about the US was the only government formed around an idea which is democracy. Personally, while I have mostly enjoyed living in Texas for twenty years, I am quite worried now that the rights of people are being taken away and a minority government is in place. We need to start with our local communities with WBI. I wouldn't recommend trying to replace GNP, it is useful for some things. It doesn't have to be WBI OR GNP; it can be WBI AND GNP. I'm an AND philosophy person; not an OR. I want to make more and bigger pies for all of us to share rather than the thinking that if someone gets more of the pie, you're losing your share. Dr. Martin Seligman's Theory of Well Being (he has several TED talks you could listen to) is a good way to start thinking about all this. Five elements (abbreviated PERMA) of Well Being are Positive emotions (but these are fleeting), Engagement (being so engrossed in what you are doing you lose track of time), Positive Relationships (my premise is even one real relationship counters loneliness), Meaning (you are doing something larger than yourself) and Accomplishment. I start with what I call Big Talk rather than Small Talk. Things like "What was the best thing that happened to you today?" My favorite is "What is your dream?" My favorite answer is "I'm living my dream." When someone's eyes light up you know they are thinking of their dream. You can create a meaningful connection with a total stranger in less than a minute.
Cathy, what is Texas doing about its slide into authoritarianism? Reports sound like a great deal of apathy. Major urban and suburban areas growing rapidly with people moving in from more liberal democratic who simply want to enjoy the fast road to greater prosperity and lower costs, and letting Republicans do whatever they want with state government.
I listened to an hour podcast about women's health & abortion rights, with a young devout Christian Texas woman talking about her difficulty having children with two stillborn pregnancies that she carried to term knowing from her doctors that their were physical problems with the fetuses. Her well known mega church supported her decision not to abort, but gave her no comfort when live healthy babies did not result. She was contacted by other Christian women in her church faced with similar pregnancy issues who couldn't bear living with a diagnosed fetus that could not survive to or much beyond birth. She came to believe that women like her are being abandoned by their churches, that abortion has a place and purpose, and that the decision should be with the mother, father and their doctor. She expressed great concern for the families that are put through the harrowing experiences that she and her husband went through by people who are intervening in the lives of people who need help not judgement and punishment. I got out of this podcast that we live in a world where those who live the "good life" think that those who have challenges are to be rejected and hidden from sight as they might contaminate or rub off on the "good life". So we repress, reject, conceal and legislate away everything we don't want to know about. Iui s this Texas?
The Texas anti-abortion law gives life of the fetus, a potential human priority over the life of the woman,. an existing fully cognizant life. It takes away all rights of the woman to make any decision about her own right to life with its no exceptions even with the fetus barely viable much less because of rape or incest or health concerns for the woman. It goes further and gives vigilantes literally anyone the right to bankrupt the woman by suing her and her doctor and even the Uber driver who drives her to the clinic. And, this law which takes away existing Constitutional rights of half the population is being upheld bu the US Supreme Court becauise they are anticipating taking away rights from people for the first time in the history of the Court. They are basing their position on potential future law not existing constitutional law. I think that what the SCOTUS does with Roe v Wade in the next month or so will create a backlash throughout the country and you'll see a women's movement like none we've ever seen and a huge backlash from the electorate throughout the nation. The Gross Old Patriarchs of the Republican Party will be scorned and voted out of office despite the gerrymandering. Governor Abbott's answer to this heinous law is a promise to eliminate rape in Texas! Good luck with that approach. The only effective way to even begin to eliminate rape is penectomy and that should make men quite squimish about rights over their own bodies. Hopefully, the stupidity of his promise will bring Beto the governership. I hope I'm right about the ire messing with women's rights will trigger. The whole country not just Texas should be aware and respond to SCOTUS dismantling democracy itself through Citizens United legalizing bribery of elected office holders, gutting voting rights and taking away rights from all citizens. This isn't simply a Texas problem but whether democracy or autocracy will prevail. We the People, ALL of us this time.
Cathy, you’ve expressed this so clearly and it gives me chills. The chills are more like excited goosebumps not fearful ones as you have so much faith that we will rise up and “The Gross Old Patriarchs of the Republican Party will be scorned and voted out of office despite the gerrymandering”! Make it so, Lord!!!
Humble Cathy Learoyd of Texas did not specifically answer what Texas is "doing about its slide into authoritarianism." Unfortunately, she is not the Queen of Texas to act unilaterally for the whole state, but in her capacity as a citizen, I can vouch that she is very engaged through a grassroots organization and with her legislative representatives.
Moreover, as she points out, "This isn't simply a Texas problem but whether democracy or autocracy will prevail." It's on all of us.
David, let me try to answer your specific question about what Texans are doing about the slide into authoritarianism. There are all sorts of organizations here in Texas that are fighting for democracy. Tasks they are focused on include Fair Maps Texas fighting against gerrymandering, Texas Civil Rights Project fighting the voter suppression laws first through legal methods. we just had a primary that shows the extreme right conspiracy Republicans are quite alive and well in Texas. There is no fraud in Texas. The moderate Republicans that have been in charge of elections in Texas over the past decade or more did an excellent job in choosing voting machines, setting up the ERIC data base to prove there is no fraud, making the right choices on election procedure. It has only been recently that Texas with Abbott going so far to the Trump side of the Rep. party. He's competing with Florida's de Santis (both have Presidential ambitions) in who can be the most cruel and take away the most rights. After the invasion of Ukraine I've heard that Trump campaign signs have disappeared in some areas. The primary was a mess so many of us are spending a lot of time in educating voters on the ID laws and how to fill out the confusing forms. We are focusing on registering the youth just turning 18. Getting out the vote will determine who wins in Texas in November 2022. The Republicans and even the white population are now minorities in Texas. Beto is energizing the Democrats but he needs a Democratic majority legislature to turn things around. While there are still a lot of Texans who love Trump, I also had a Trump supporter volunteer that she would probably not vote for him in 2024 -- too much chaos. I do think most people in Texas believe it is still a democracy. I don't. People like me are spreading the word that we now have an autocracy. Read David Pepper's book on Laboratories of Autocracy to see the 30 actions he recommends to get back on the track of democracy. Something like 141 out of 254 counties have no Democrats running against Republicans. that has to change. Of particular concern besides the legislature is the possibility extreme Republicans ready to turn over elections will become Election Officials and the Attorney General. It isn't a pretty picture and I don't know what to tell you on when Texas will turn purple at least. Hopefully the Ukraine war is showing all of us that democracy is worth fighting even dying for in Texas and the other 19 states that are now autocracies. Hope this gives you a bit of a picture about Texas.
I haven't read through all of the comments, so forgive me if this has already been said, but I believe the pioneer of the Wellbeing Economy movement was the country of Bhutan. They created a Gross National Happiness(GNH) index to gauge the wellbeing of its citizens. GNH is inspired by the Buddhist concept of “The Middle Path” and seeks to balance multiple goals. The Bhutanese government uses a policy screening tool to help the GNH Commission assess policy proposals against its GNH framework and set conditions for businesses to add value to society and the environment. (Just try to imagine the U.S. Congress engaging in this kind of conversation on the floor!) Inclusion of the environment-- not just what is best for human inhabitants--is critical for determining the real, sustainable size of that pie that we want everyone to have an equal, or at least fair, portion of.
This conversation also brings to mind the book of another brilliant Heather--Heather McGhee--The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. In it, she uses history and data to tell a very compelling and heartbreaking story of how we are living in a zero-sum paradigm in which at least half our country resists anything that could contribute to a public good that includes people they see as unworthy (aka BIPOC, immigrants and other marginalized groups). McGhee points to that period Cox Richardson references "...after Black and Brown veterans coming home from World War II demanded equality, that New Deal government, under Democratic president Harry Truman and Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower, worked to end racial and, later, gender hierarchies in American society..." as when public goods in this country--from parks/pools (draining the public pool is a metaphor she returns to throughout the book) to schools to healthcare--have been systematically gutted with the full support of many who stand to benefit from them most (aka poor white people).
Given all that we as a country, have already been willing to give up to ensure that all people are not treated equally--that all people do not prosper--it's a little hard to imagine right now that the threat of losing our democracy will be the thing that finally galvanizes us. But I'm trying.
Yes, Bhutan is the leading country in promoting well-being. I'll just note that Dr. Seligman finds the word happiness and the smily faces that go with not a good representation of the fullness of well-being. Positive emotions like happiness are of the moment like enjoying a good ski run and dissipate quite quickly. Longer range lasting positive feelings come from doing things for others and having meaning in your life doing something larger than yourself. Yes, Heather McGhee book is very fine. Yes, it's time to bake more and bigger pies together so we all get to share in the wealth of well-being.
One of the biggest failures of the 1950s programs with long range impact we're seeing today was the discrimination against blacks and browns in the GI Bill meant to enable GI's to buy homes and create equity that is inherited by the next generation.
Besides winning against Governor Abbott, Beto needs a Democratic majority legislature to work with him! Please support Democrats running for state office!!! It's critical!
Please donate to Democrats running for state legislature! It will be difficult for Beto to have an impact with the current Republican majority Texas legislature!!!
Good suggestions, Cathy. I'm going to add more of "What is the best thing that happened to you today?" to my conversations. It's also a good question to ask yourself before going to sleep.
Here is a wonderful TED talk on Gratitude that I like to watch every few months. The voice is Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast. In the late 1990s I heard him speak at a seminar on religion in the 21st century. It was so beautiful. He so obviously had well-being mastered. I was saying to myself whatever he has, I want to have too. I felt rude that I was staring at him in awe but I couldn't help it. https://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_nature_beauty_gratitude?language=en
Cathy, this video lowered my blood pressure, so thank you for posting this! If we just take the time to see and engage beyond our noses, positive things can happen. Through a child’s eyes and the wisdom of Brother Steindl-Rast, we would be so much better off in the world. Perhaps this could be taught as just “critically hopeful theory”.
I like your "critically hopeful theory". I might do a variation on that like RHT - Resilient Hope Theory. The analogy I like to use is a fat kid being uncomfortable with being bullied about heirs (his/her) weight and so the teachers can't teach nutrition. The schools need to address bullying, good self image and resilience rather than stop teaching knowledge of history and other subjects. In teaching history, I would teach not taking people out of the context of their time or judging them by today's "standards". The LGBTQ attacks are making trans children feel uncomfortable but Republicans don't care about that. They don't have the right to push their religious beliefs on the rest of us.
Good and purposeful analogy! The collective hatefulness is beyond anything we have seen in our lifetime. No one is safe in these states. Nary a person!
Cathy, this reminds me of one of my earliest sermons on the story of the Procrustean Bed!
Gist: Ol' Procrustes wanted everyone to be the same length, so he fashioned a stretching/trimming (!) bed to do it. But Creator celebrates Diversity. Kicker: Do we have a Procrustean bed somewhere in our closets? The sermon was well received, made us all think....
Interesting analogy, Gus. Wasn't familiar with that part of Greek mythology. Sounds as cruel and unthinking about the consequences as the CRT and trans politics we're seeing now.
George, it is simply gob-smacking how much there is to be grateful for! We don't even have to think too hard about it. Even in the very, very hardest of times. Thank you for reminding me of Ekhart's writing.
Gus, Stanley Goodman sent me a podcast that is very informative. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scene-on-radio/id1036276968?i=1000545055844 This podcast is triggering some big thoughts about well-being as an economic system as well as general well-being. In that sense WBI would replace GNP. I was thinking of them as being able to coexist. But if GNP is basically supporting only the chrematists, i.e. people accumulating money for its own sake, than it should be replaced.
Thank you Cathy, I have both podcasts bookmarked and intend to listen soon.
By the way, I'm open to both indexes, as you suggested -- so long as the GNP is useful for economic monitoring and not just a chrematist harvesting tool. I'm an 'And' person too! But the four R's (Russians, Republicans, Racists, Reapers) are making it somewhat difficult to stay focused....
This link should bring you to a podcast on GDP, its history, implications, and alternatives to it. The podcast is about an hour but worth several listens. It’s from people at Duke Univ. They even mention Bhutan, which measures Gross Domestic Happiness and, to some extent, operates accordingly.
Thank you. Very informative. Will use the word chrematists now for those who accumulate money for its own sake. CEOs make 351 times as much as the average worker in their corporation. I can understand CEOs getting paid better for making decisions that could make or cost the company millions, but that does not excuse this kind of excess. Hollowing out the middle class which is happening today reduces the ability of consumers to support the capitalistic system and eventually lead to its collapse! Oligarchic kleptocracy is NOT capitalism.
Stanley, I've been looking for a new economic system to replace capitalism and its venerability to chrematist. Now I realize it will be based on the common good and the well-being of people. So what would a WBI economy look like? I'm going to think and explore that idea. Thank you for nudging my brain along!
Stanley, This podcast is triggering some big thoughts about well-being as an economic system as well as general well-being. In that sense WBI would replace GNP. I was thinking of them as being able to coexist. But if GNP is basically supporting only the chrematists than it should be replaced.
I think someone should write a spec fiction about someone who wakes up one morning and finds her/him/themself in an alternative universe where money is worthless and all "wealth" and transactions are measured by and dependent on cooperation and compassion. Long ago, there was a corporate diversity training game called Bafa Bafa that sort of simulated this. What if our ability to thrive and "succeed" were tied to how much we helped others thrive and succeed?
Happy Daylight Savings Time Cathy. I like the concept of a Well Being Index. It represents a sea change from a materialist/scarcity model to a people centered/inclusive one. My brushes with material success have shown me that resources, or lack of them, is not the problem (though being poor enough to be food insecure really, really sucks), it's what I tell myself about whatever condition I'm in that is the problem. When I was a poor case manager working for a human services agency, I told myself I was "less than". When I joined the middle class by becoming a Nurse Manager, I was, well, smug about it.
Wealthy people seem to think they are wealthy through some special ability, when really, most of them are just lucky. Poor people are often blamed for their condition, when really, they are just unlucky. A focus on a well being Index would be a way to get us to stop focusing on all the self-talk about how superior/inferior we are and focus on really being useful to one another.
I like your phrase "a materialistic/scarcity model to a people centered/inclusive model." I like the political cartoon that shows a man of privilege ready to start a race with a female. The man's track is clear while the woman's path is an obstacle course. The man says "What's wrong; it's the same distance., isn't it?" People with privilege so often think they succeeded through their own merits and are totally unaware of how privilege have given them a huge advantage.
As we wait for the well-being index to be initiated and enforced, it's worth noting the Happiness level survey conducted by the United Nations which measures Happiness in individual countries. It's a thorough survey asking people in each country how they feel about the legislated system they have in place, especially about how they feel they're treated economically.
It's no surprise to me that the Scandinavian nations rank highest in the Happiness index. Finland
Denmark
Switzerland
Iceland
Netherlands
Norway
Sweden
Luxembourg
New Zealand
and Austria were the top 10 nations in the 2020 Happiness survey. A highlight of these nations is their pursuit of economic justice. Their citizens feel that they are cared about.
The U.S. ranked 19th in that survey. We are constantly told that the U.S. is the wealthiest nation in the world. Yet, I believe we now have the greatest wealth disparity in the world. How does that happen? Can't we at least take care of the basic living needs of all our citizens? Can't we aspire to some day be the leading nation in the Happiness survey?
Yup, you hit the nail on the head . . . until, when, and if we take care of the basic needs of people our "well-being" index will continue to lag. It doesn't matter about feel good projects if people who are supposed to be getting assistance cannot afford housing, education, and health care. Collectively, we donate $billions to worthy causes and charities but it doesn't move the needle for folks because for so many they are one paycheck away from financial disaster due to illness, education debt, unfordable housing.
I may be financially secure (for now!) but families I mentor (as well as my biological kids) have a different economic and physical climate environment to face. I have a personal "feel good index" for the joy of families, but my well-being/happiness index is not high as I know what they all face (through no fault of their own) and of course as "Mom", I worry!
Mentoring a group of former S. Sudanese refugees for 20 years (and still going) has provided me with the highest happiness factor . . . the life change glow is hard to describe but you know it when you see and feel it! But, that makes no sense to the dictators or oligarchs of the world whose wealth and power is obscene. And, they are not the ones reading or educating themselves, nor do they have any moral/ethical compass to see past the bows of their massive yachts or armies.
That a few men have the power, will, and desire to destroy so many lives, entire cities, and countries (perhaps the world if the nukes start flying) is overwhelming. It is incomprehensible to me that we are so far off the rails of humanity. Frankly, I don't know if it is even possible to stabilize the world to be a safe place to live.
Janet Kudos for mentoring S. Sudanese for 20 years. Back in 1954 I made a documentary SUDAN: LAND OF CONTRASTS, with a substantial portion on southern Sudan. In February, 1955 troubles began there. These were bad, but nothing compared with the discovery of oil and the dredging of the Sudd.
The Arab north, especially with a military dictatorship, exacerbated the troubles in the southern Sudan. After South Sudan obtained its independence (2011?) the bloody tribal fighting made the place even more horrendous.
I had a favorable opinion of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan under its first prime minister, Ismail Azhari. I even practiced with the Sudanese national soccer team before they played against Egypt in Cairo. In Egypt there was great discrimination against Black people. [Egypt was governed by Black Sudanese 700-600 BCE].
Subsequently the Sudan and the Southern Sudan went to hell in a hand basket. I found this dreadfully sad. The last time I saw the Southern Sudan was when, as a Foreign Service Officer, in 1965 in northern Congo, when I saw the Mbuti pygmies [gentle hunting and gathering people}, who I had first photographed in 1954.Sad, sad, sad.
My Rotary club has sponsored water projects in southern Sudan for more than a decade.
I fear that our only really unique achievement as a species will be that we were the only creatures who actually saw our own extinction coming...and were still unable to stop it.
During the last election, my spouse and I decided there needed to be, at a minimum, a cabinet-level commissioner of well-being, with Marianne Williams as the first appointment
The individuals who seek only money and power are depraved of well-being. Money doesn't buy happiness; but it can buy power, a sick power of superiority. My dream is we measure our government by a Well-Being Index when every piece of legislation has to show its benefit to the well being of all the people. In my world the WBI would replace GNP as the measure of wealth in this country and in the world. Native Americans measure wealth by the generosity of a person, that through giving what they have more than enough of strengthens the well being of the entire tribe or community. It has also shown that one major element of well being is having Meaning in one's life by being part of something larger (like defending democracy) than yourself and giving to others. This gives one real happiness that glows for a long time. We, the People, all of us this time.
Cathy, I wish I knew how to further your message. This Greek proverb embraces it: “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” Yet semi-consciously I castigate myself for not having early on made a resolution to a single minded acquisition of money. This is a fearful emotional response to financial insecurity. As a young man I hated the notion of a commitment to making money. Later on I would see the result of shrewdly acquisitive people who behind a cordial veneer seemed to be telling me, "I got mine, the rest be damned." Say what we will, the veneration of wealth is in the soil and air of this nation. Those who don't subscribe to that ethos will pay a price. The culture will remind you: Your destiny isn't in your aspirations, it's in your bank account. Well, I'm being called away. I'll look for your posts. I'll keep planting trees.
Some people are money motivated in career terms and do make a commitment to making money and/or preserving the privilege that goes with it, with no regard for those people being exploited as a result. But it is possible to work for reasonable financial security while helping to make this world a better place--with generalized well-being, equal opportunity, and planting trees.
Yes, Ellie. The “well-being index” as Cathy describes above, restructures what it is to have money…which, in its present form, can darkly ascend to being a worshipped golden calf. Utterly ridiculous in my opinion.
Money is a tool, a means to an end. Never to be intended as an end to a means. Avaricious greed of a self chosen few offsets the inner resources that every human has the inalienable right to develop in order to prosper and be well.
Let’s end just kicking the can down the dusty, bloody road. Ukraine people have shown us what it really is to rise up. Not just with words such as these but with everything one has got to push back against greed. Push back so hard on the door of bigoted greed opening outward that the result of our truth is to slam it and “close it more snugly” as Ogden Nash might describe it.
And certainly, it is not age that determines who stands up. This is a multigenerational effort. We all have sunflower seeds in our pockets.
Salud, Ellie! We are the truth of Peace. ☮️
Well said, Christine. Money is a tool. And Ukrainians are showing us what it means to rise up.
Words to live and stand tall by, Christine! And to push back hard enough to slam shut that door of bigoted greed. I'm planting sunflower seeds in milk-jug greenhouses here in central Wisconsin (where we just got an inch or two of snow last night to "water" them), and carrying envelopes of seeds to hand out in my pockets.
Well said. And what healthy, practical, generous styles you have in making the milk-jug greenhouses as well as giving packets of seeds to other people.
I'm getting a little jump on spring germination and growth by putting my Sugar Snap (edible-pod) peas in a moist paper towel and saving a week or two of germination time when I plant them on St. Patrick's Day. (Here in central Indiana--and perhaps zone 5 as a whole--we plant the Sugar Snaps traditionally on St. Patrick's Day.) The pea shells will soften and some will germinate by the time I plant them. Some years I've planted them when it was snowing out, just to stay on traditional schedule; and they grew just fine. The cold bursts just seem to add body to their crunch. Seems to me like Indian children of times when their mothers would bathe them in cold streams to make their bodies and immune systems stronger.
Seeds are a true symbol of hope. They illustrate birth and rebirth through germination. They further show us that we can grow and thrive. As my friend Henry Thoreau said, "Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed... Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders." That could also be a nice message to put on your packets. I do this already when giving out seeds.
Great job Heydon. First People culture and Thoreau in the same post. Thanks!
Yes, Eileen!
Far out Ellie! Waiting on broccoli seeds for the sprout "farm." and slowly assembling 2 large raised beds for the back deck. Easy access from my chair. One bed for herbs, the other for veg. I never thought about giving seeds away (how selfish is that?) But when I'm growing I share. Until these perfect beds became available I could only grow in Homer buckets on bricks, but as you well know, we just gotta grow!
Well said as always Christine and Ellie!! Money is a means. It is what you do with it AND how you “make” it. People make the choices.
Ellie, I agree, and I know several shining examples of folks like that. But sadly they are the exceptions.
If I have learned anything in 72 years it is this: you can't buy self hood.
Someday maybe Putin or Jabba might learn that, but it will be too late....
I characterize the vast majority of the working middle class (painting with a very broad stroke) all around the world--who work with integrity--as examples of pursuing reasonable financial security while helping to make this world a better plan.
Understood! I was talking about the wealthy people who do use their wealth and power for humanity. I wasn't specific, I will learn from this.
Yes, me, too. For many people who grow up in any kind of poverty, including the childhood low on love and respect, see money as proof of their worth and value. Lots of implications and offshoots to this reality. Working middle class are quite often people who know when enough is enough because they didn’t grow up in the scarcity of fiscal or emotional poverty. Again, one purpose of a social safety net is to provide the “climate” for taking care of such basic needs for everyone.
Yes, I certainly agree.
I totally agree with your thinking Deborah. I learn so much from all of you.
Mario, I share your history of an early aversion to amassing money for its own sake. So I don't have any now. I have no regrets! Amassing power and wealth would have distracted me from the really important things in life -- the absolutely wonderful people who came my way, and enjoyment of the creation we all call home.
Gus, sounds to me like you've made good choices.
We have a welcome mat by our front door which has the welcoming words of Thoreau printed on it. "It is surprising how many great men and women a small house will contain."
Can't take the credit Heydon. Had a wife with a truck load of common sense. Part Cherokee, she grew up dirt poor and learned from it. All I had to do is behave myself. Well, I guess I did make good choices -- thanks!
Love your doormat!
Yup.
Mario, I'd suggest you explore Dr. Martin Seligman's Theory of Well Being and take the survey https://www.viacharacter.org/ He also has some TED talks and books - one is titled "Flourish". The theory of the character strengths questionnaire is that if you go into a profession which aligns with your top five character strengths you will flourish.
Great Britain and a number of other countries have already adopted a WBI.
Oooh. Adding this resource to chapter about social capital.
Mario I am reminded of seeing forests planted in England 500 years ago with a beautiful focus on the future. In the American colonies, there was an ordinance in 1636 to prevent the chopping down of magnificent trees [but that was to preserve them as masts for British war ships]. From acorns….
There is one industry in many places of the world, and in the common good of America, where the well being index is a primary motivator or work in that industry. That being public education. Every teacher, however skilled or new, accept as a professional oath that the well being of children is central and essential to creating community, resourcefulness within individuals, and heightening problem solving and critical thinking skills. In other words, a model for creating peace and love within oneself and towards others.
Yet today we witness an attack on public education. The only “critical theory” I’ve ever seen promoted in a classroom is development of critical thinking skills which certainly is essential as children navigate acceptance of differences as a building block to success and innovation. It’s a 1+1=3 type skill. Children gain traction in all areas of life when they understand differences are the melting pot that cooks up the very element essential to sustaining our existence. The Light within all of us. Peace, not war.
I loathe the efforts to clone our children with hate towards others and school them into putting a foot on the neck of someone “below” them instead of reaching and giving a “hand up” which is the natural, human instinct of a child.
Salud, Cathy. May we all jump on the well-being train. Doesn’t need fossil fuels to run. Just our Light.
💜☮️
Wonderful, yet teachers are one of the most exploited groups in our society in terms of low pay and long hours rather than a profession highly valued for its impact on the well being of children and the values in our society. The CXRT laws in Texas that says you can't teach anything that would make a young white boy uncomfortable will produce a generation of dumb wimp's who can't handle any of the difficulties of life. I think the objective by those passing these laws are to keep people dumb and ignorant and therefore more malleable and controllable. We need to teach resilience and openess to ideas and perspectives of others.
It is the least among us who bring nourishment that ensures survival and have the greatest appreciation of that which is of greatest value being life...and well-being. Salud to Cathy and you.
I was fortunate to be able to be a professor from age 58 to 80, when it would have been impossible to subsist on the community college compensation for a non-tenured professor. Some of my colleagues had to teach at three different community colleges simply to subsist. Meanwhile, a richly-paid administrative branch more than doubled.
Cathy, this is revolutionary! I would gladly campaign and vote for a WBI to replace the GNP. When was the last time any of us actually used the GNP to measure something? Is our country based on wealth, or people? This may be a little naive of me, but go with it -- I'm trying to make a point here....
I think this is right in line with what Dr. Richardson wrote about -- an adjustment to Democracy to meet another rising threat.
If they had a WBI by each state, where would our two states (TX and GA) rank?
Thanks Cathy, my head.will be buzzing with this great thought for days! Fight on in Texas.
Great Britain is already doing this and several other countries. In President Biden's interview with Heather he talks about the US was the only government formed around an idea which is democracy. Personally, while I have mostly enjoyed living in Texas for twenty years, I am quite worried now that the rights of people are being taken away and a minority government is in place. We need to start with our local communities with WBI. I wouldn't recommend trying to replace GNP, it is useful for some things. It doesn't have to be WBI OR GNP; it can be WBI AND GNP. I'm an AND philosophy person; not an OR. I want to make more and bigger pies for all of us to share rather than the thinking that if someone gets more of the pie, you're losing your share. Dr. Martin Seligman's Theory of Well Being (he has several TED talks you could listen to) is a good way to start thinking about all this. Five elements (abbreviated PERMA) of Well Being are Positive emotions (but these are fleeting), Engagement (being so engrossed in what you are doing you lose track of time), Positive Relationships (my premise is even one real relationship counters loneliness), Meaning (you are doing something larger than yourself) and Accomplishment. I start with what I call Big Talk rather than Small Talk. Things like "What was the best thing that happened to you today?" My favorite is "What is your dream?" My favorite answer is "I'm living my dream." When someone's eyes light up you know they are thinking of their dream. You can create a meaningful connection with a total stranger in less than a minute.
Cathy, what is Texas doing about its slide into authoritarianism? Reports sound like a great deal of apathy. Major urban and suburban areas growing rapidly with people moving in from more liberal democratic who simply want to enjoy the fast road to greater prosperity and lower costs, and letting Republicans do whatever they want with state government.
I listened to an hour podcast about women's health & abortion rights, with a young devout Christian Texas woman talking about her difficulty having children with two stillborn pregnancies that she carried to term knowing from her doctors that their were physical problems with the fetuses. Her well known mega church supported her decision not to abort, but gave her no comfort when live healthy babies did not result. She was contacted by other Christian women in her church faced with similar pregnancy issues who couldn't bear living with a diagnosed fetus that could not survive to or much beyond birth. She came to believe that women like her are being abandoned by their churches, that abortion has a place and purpose, and that the decision should be with the mother, father and their doctor. She expressed great concern for the families that are put through the harrowing experiences that she and her husband went through by people who are intervening in the lives of people who need help not judgement and punishment. I got out of this podcast that we live in a world where those who live the "good life" think that those who have challenges are to be rejected and hidden from sight as they might contaminate or rub off on the "good life". So we repress, reject, conceal and legislate away everything we don't want to know about. Iui s this Texas?
The Texas anti-abortion law gives life of the fetus, a potential human priority over the life of the woman,. an existing fully cognizant life. It takes away all rights of the woman to make any decision about her own right to life with its no exceptions even with the fetus barely viable much less because of rape or incest or health concerns for the woman. It goes further and gives vigilantes literally anyone the right to bankrupt the woman by suing her and her doctor and even the Uber driver who drives her to the clinic. And, this law which takes away existing Constitutional rights of half the population is being upheld bu the US Supreme Court becauise they are anticipating taking away rights from people for the first time in the history of the Court. They are basing their position on potential future law not existing constitutional law. I think that what the SCOTUS does with Roe v Wade in the next month or so will create a backlash throughout the country and you'll see a women's movement like none we've ever seen and a huge backlash from the electorate throughout the nation. The Gross Old Patriarchs of the Republican Party will be scorned and voted out of office despite the gerrymandering. Governor Abbott's answer to this heinous law is a promise to eliminate rape in Texas! Good luck with that approach. The only effective way to even begin to eliminate rape is penectomy and that should make men quite squimish about rights over their own bodies. Hopefully, the stupidity of his promise will bring Beto the governership. I hope I'm right about the ire messing with women's rights will trigger. The whole country not just Texas should be aware and respond to SCOTUS dismantling democracy itself through Citizens United legalizing bribery of elected office holders, gutting voting rights and taking away rights from all citizens. This isn't simply a Texas problem but whether democracy or autocracy will prevail. We the People, ALL of us this time.
Gross Old Patriarchs - perfect!
Cathy, you’ve expressed this so clearly and it gives me chills. The chills are more like excited goosebumps not fearful ones as you have so much faith that we will rise up and “The Gross Old Patriarchs of the Republican Party will be scorned and voted out of office despite the gerrymandering”! Make it so, Lord!!!
Humble Cathy Learoyd of Texas did not specifically answer what Texas is "doing about its slide into authoritarianism." Unfortunately, she is not the Queen of Texas to act unilaterally for the whole state, but in her capacity as a citizen, I can vouch that she is very engaged through a grassroots organization and with her legislative representatives.
Moreover, as she points out, "This isn't simply a Texas problem but whether democracy or autocracy will prevail." It's on all of us.
David, let me try to answer your specific question about what Texans are doing about the slide into authoritarianism. There are all sorts of organizations here in Texas that are fighting for democracy. Tasks they are focused on include Fair Maps Texas fighting against gerrymandering, Texas Civil Rights Project fighting the voter suppression laws first through legal methods. we just had a primary that shows the extreme right conspiracy Republicans are quite alive and well in Texas. There is no fraud in Texas. The moderate Republicans that have been in charge of elections in Texas over the past decade or more did an excellent job in choosing voting machines, setting up the ERIC data base to prove there is no fraud, making the right choices on election procedure. It has only been recently that Texas with Abbott going so far to the Trump side of the Rep. party. He's competing with Florida's de Santis (both have Presidential ambitions) in who can be the most cruel and take away the most rights. After the invasion of Ukraine I've heard that Trump campaign signs have disappeared in some areas. The primary was a mess so many of us are spending a lot of time in educating voters on the ID laws and how to fill out the confusing forms. We are focusing on registering the youth just turning 18. Getting out the vote will determine who wins in Texas in November 2022. The Republicans and even the white population are now minorities in Texas. Beto is energizing the Democrats but he needs a Democratic majority legislature to turn things around. While there are still a lot of Texans who love Trump, I also had a Trump supporter volunteer that she would probably not vote for him in 2024 -- too much chaos. I do think most people in Texas believe it is still a democracy. I don't. People like me are spreading the word that we now have an autocracy. Read David Pepper's book on Laboratories of Autocracy to see the 30 actions he recommends to get back on the track of democracy. Something like 141 out of 254 counties have no Democrats running against Republicans. that has to change. Of particular concern besides the legislature is the possibility extreme Republicans ready to turn over elections will become Election Officials and the Attorney General. It isn't a pretty picture and I don't know what to tell you on when Texas will turn purple at least. Hopefully the Ukraine war is showing all of us that democracy is worth fighting even dying for in Texas and the other 19 states that are now autocracies. Hope this gives you a bit of a picture about Texas.
I haven't read through all of the comments, so forgive me if this has already been said, but I believe the pioneer of the Wellbeing Economy movement was the country of Bhutan. They created a Gross National Happiness(GNH) index to gauge the wellbeing of its citizens. GNH is inspired by the Buddhist concept of “The Middle Path” and seeks to balance multiple goals. The Bhutanese government uses a policy screening tool to help the GNH Commission assess policy proposals against its GNH framework and set conditions for businesses to add value to society and the environment. (Just try to imagine the U.S. Congress engaging in this kind of conversation on the floor!) Inclusion of the environment-- not just what is best for human inhabitants--is critical for determining the real, sustainable size of that pie that we want everyone to have an equal, or at least fair, portion of.
This conversation also brings to mind the book of another brilliant Heather--Heather McGhee--The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. In it, she uses history and data to tell a very compelling and heartbreaking story of how we are living in a zero-sum paradigm in which at least half our country resists anything that could contribute to a public good that includes people they see as unworthy (aka BIPOC, immigrants and other marginalized groups). McGhee points to that period Cox Richardson references "...after Black and Brown veterans coming home from World War II demanded equality, that New Deal government, under Democratic president Harry Truman and Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower, worked to end racial and, later, gender hierarchies in American society..." as when public goods in this country--from parks/pools (draining the public pool is a metaphor she returns to throughout the book) to schools to healthcare--have been systematically gutted with the full support of many who stand to benefit from them most (aka poor white people).
Given all that we as a country, have already been willing to give up to ensure that all people are not treated equally--that all people do not prosper--it's a little hard to imagine right now that the threat of losing our democracy will be the thing that finally galvanizes us. But I'm trying.
Yes, Bhutan is the leading country in promoting well-being. I'll just note that Dr. Seligman finds the word happiness and the smily faces that go with not a good representation of the fullness of well-being. Positive emotions like happiness are of the moment like enjoying a good ski run and dissipate quite quickly. Longer range lasting positive feelings come from doing things for others and having meaning in your life doing something larger than yourself. Yes, Heather McGhee book is very fine. Yes, it's time to bake more and bigger pies together so we all get to share in the wealth of well-being.
Just must add: wonderful letter, comments, links and reflections. Thank you all for teaching and enriching my world nearly daily!!!
One of the biggest failures of the 1950s programs with long range impact we're seeing today was the discrimination against blacks and browns in the GI Bill meant to enable GI's to buy homes and create equity that is inherited by the next generation.
Go Beto
Go Beto!
Besides winning against Governor Abbott, Beto needs a Democratic majority legislature to work with him! Please support Democrats running for state office!!! It's critical!
YES! Beto!
Go Beto by donating to his campaign. I just did. Turn Texas blue.
Please donate to Democrats running for state legislature! It will be difficult for Beto to have an impact with the current Republican majority Texas legislature!!!
Turn Texas back to democracy!
I'm investing in his campaign even tho I live in MD. We need more good candidates country-wide who believe in democracy!
Please donate to Democrats running for the Texas State Legislature or Beto's governorship will be super difficult!
Cathy, any specific candidate recommendations for us?
AshleyR and Kathy, I need to make a list now that the primary results are in. Give me a few days to respond.
Cathy, I’ve donated to Cisneros. Who else to support in Tx??
AshleyR and Kathy, I need to make a list now that the primary results are in. Give me a few days to respond.
Good suggestions, Cathy. I'm going to add more of "What is the best thing that happened to you today?" to my conversations. It's also a good question to ask yourself before going to sleep.
Here is a wonderful TED talk on Gratitude that I like to watch every few months. The voice is Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast. In the late 1990s I heard him speak at a seminar on religion in the 21st century. It was so beautiful. He so obviously had well-being mastered. I was saying to myself whatever he has, I want to have too. I felt rude that I was staring at him in awe but I couldn't help it. https://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_nature_beauty_gratitude?language=en
Cathy, this video lowered my blood pressure, so thank you for posting this! If we just take the time to see and engage beyond our noses, positive things can happen. Through a child’s eyes and the wisdom of Brother Steindl-Rast, we would be so much better off in the world. Perhaps this could be taught as just “critically hopeful theory”.
I like your "critically hopeful theory". I might do a variation on that like RHT - Resilient Hope Theory. The analogy I like to use is a fat kid being uncomfortable with being bullied about heirs (his/her) weight and so the teachers can't teach nutrition. The schools need to address bullying, good self image and resilience rather than stop teaching knowledge of history and other subjects. In teaching history, I would teach not taking people out of the context of their time or judging them by today's "standards". The LGBTQ attacks are making trans children feel uncomfortable but Republicans don't care about that. They don't have the right to push their religious beliefs on the rest of us.
Good and purposeful analogy! The collective hatefulness is beyond anything we have seen in our lifetime. No one is safe in these states. Nary a person!
Cathy, this reminds me of one of my earliest sermons on the story of the Procrustean Bed!
Gist: Ol' Procrustes wanted everyone to be the same length, so he fashioned a stretching/trimming (!) bed to do it. But Creator celebrates Diversity. Kicker: Do we have a Procrustean bed somewhere in our closets? The sermon was well received, made us all think....
Thank you!
Interesting analogy, Gus. Wasn't familiar with that part of Greek mythology. Sounds as cruel and unthinking about the consequences as the CRT and trans politics we're seeing now.
Yup. My point exactly.
Thanks again Cathy! You are truly a gift to us, and to your state!
A wise person, Meister Eckhart, once wrote, "If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is 'Thank you,' it will be enough."
George, it is simply gob-smacking how much there is to be grateful for! We don't even have to think too hard about it. Even in the very, very hardest of times. Thank you for reminding me of Ekhart's writing.
Now I have one more thing to be grateful for. Thanks for your note, Gus.
Go Beto!!
Gus, Stanley Goodman sent me a podcast that is very informative. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scene-on-radio/id1036276968?i=1000545055844 This podcast is triggering some big thoughts about well-being as an economic system as well as general well-being. In that sense WBI would replace GNP. I was thinking of them as being able to coexist. But if GNP is basically supporting only the chrematists, i.e. people accumulating money for its own sake, than it should be replaced.
Thank you Cathy, I have both podcasts bookmarked and intend to listen soon.
By the way, I'm open to both indexes, as you suggested -- so long as the GNP is useful for economic monitoring and not just a chrematist harvesting tool. I'm an 'And' person too! But the four R's (Russians, Republicans, Racists, Reapers) are making it somewhat difficult to stay focused....
"Chrematist." Word of the Day....
This link should bring you to a podcast on GDP, its history, implications, and alternatives to it. The podcast is about an hour but worth several listens. It’s from people at Duke Univ. They even mention Bhutan, which measures Gross Domestic Happiness and, to some extent, operates accordingly.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scene-on-radio/id1036276968?i=1000545055844
Thank you. Very informative. Will use the word chrematists now for those who accumulate money for its own sake. CEOs make 351 times as much as the average worker in their corporation. I can understand CEOs getting paid better for making decisions that could make or cost the company millions, but that does not excuse this kind of excess. Hollowing out the middle class which is happening today reduces the ability of consumers to support the capitalistic system and eventually lead to its collapse! Oligarchic kleptocracy is NOT capitalism.
Stanley, I've been looking for a new economic system to replace capitalism and its venerability to chrematist. Now I realize it will be based on the common good and the well-being of people. So what would a WBI economy look like? I'm going to think and explore that idea. Thank you for nudging my brain along!
Stanley, This podcast is triggering some big thoughts about well-being as an economic system as well as general well-being. In that sense WBI would replace GNP. I was thinking of them as being able to coexist. But if GNP is basically supporting only the chrematists than it should be replaced.
I think someone should write a spec fiction about someone who wakes up one morning and finds her/him/themself in an alternative universe where money is worthless and all "wealth" and transactions are measured by and dependent on cooperation and compassion. Long ago, there was a corporate diversity training game called Bafa Bafa that sort of simulated this. What if our ability to thrive and "succeed" were tied to how much we helped others thrive and succeed?
Happy Daylight Savings Time Cathy. I like the concept of a Well Being Index. It represents a sea change from a materialist/scarcity model to a people centered/inclusive one. My brushes with material success have shown me that resources, or lack of them, is not the problem (though being poor enough to be food insecure really, really sucks), it's what I tell myself about whatever condition I'm in that is the problem. When I was a poor case manager working for a human services agency, I told myself I was "less than". When I joined the middle class by becoming a Nurse Manager, I was, well, smug about it.
Wealthy people seem to think they are wealthy through some special ability, when really, most of them are just lucky. Poor people are often blamed for their condition, when really, they are just unlucky. A focus on a well being Index would be a way to get us to stop focusing on all the self-talk about how superior/inferior we are and focus on really being useful to one another.
I like your phrase "a materialistic/scarcity model to a people centered/inclusive model." I like the political cartoon that shows a man of privilege ready to start a race with a female. The man's track is clear while the woman's path is an obstacle course. The man says "What's wrong; it's the same distance., isn't it?" People with privilege so often think they succeeded through their own merits and are totally unaware of how privilege have given them a huge advantage.
As we wait for the well-being index to be initiated and enforced, it's worth noting the Happiness level survey conducted by the United Nations which measures Happiness in individual countries. It's a thorough survey asking people in each country how they feel about the legislated system they have in place, especially about how they feel they're treated economically.
It's no surprise to me that the Scandinavian nations rank highest in the Happiness index. Finland
Denmark
Switzerland
Iceland
Netherlands
Norway
Sweden
Luxembourg
New Zealand
and Austria were the top 10 nations in the 2020 Happiness survey. A highlight of these nations is their pursuit of economic justice. Their citizens feel that they are cared about.
The U.S. ranked 19th in that survey. We are constantly told that the U.S. is the wealthiest nation in the world. Yet, I believe we now have the greatest wealth disparity in the world. How does that happen? Can't we at least take care of the basic living needs of all our citizens? Can't we aspire to some day be the leading nation in the Happiness survey?
Yup, you hit the nail on the head . . . until, when, and if we take care of the basic needs of people our "well-being" index will continue to lag. It doesn't matter about feel good projects if people who are supposed to be getting assistance cannot afford housing, education, and health care. Collectively, we donate $billions to worthy causes and charities but it doesn't move the needle for folks because for so many they are one paycheck away from financial disaster due to illness, education debt, unfordable housing.
I may be financially secure (for now!) but families I mentor (as well as my biological kids) have a different economic and physical climate environment to face. I have a personal "feel good index" for the joy of families, but my well-being/happiness index is not high as I know what they all face (through no fault of their own) and of course as "Mom", I worry!
I like your wording: depraved rather than deprived.
It was intentional. Thank you.
Yep - thought so …
Mentoring a group of former S. Sudanese refugees for 20 years (and still going) has provided me with the highest happiness factor . . . the life change glow is hard to describe but you know it when you see and feel it! But, that makes no sense to the dictators or oligarchs of the world whose wealth and power is obscene. And, they are not the ones reading or educating themselves, nor do they have any moral/ethical compass to see past the bows of their massive yachts or armies.
That a few men have the power, will, and desire to destroy so many lives, entire cities, and countries (perhaps the world if the nukes start flying) is overwhelming. It is incomprehensible to me that we are so far off the rails of humanity. Frankly, I don't know if it is even possible to stabilize the world to be a safe place to live.
Janet Kudos for mentoring S. Sudanese for 20 years. Back in 1954 I made a documentary SUDAN: LAND OF CONTRASTS, with a substantial portion on southern Sudan. In February, 1955 troubles began there. These were bad, but nothing compared with the discovery of oil and the dredging of the Sudd.
The Arab north, especially with a military dictatorship, exacerbated the troubles in the southern Sudan. After South Sudan obtained its independence (2011?) the bloody tribal fighting made the place even more horrendous.
I had a favorable opinion of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan under its first prime minister, Ismail Azhari. I even practiced with the Sudanese national soccer team before they played against Egypt in Cairo. In Egypt there was great discrimination against Black people. [Egypt was governed by Black Sudanese 700-600 BCE].
Subsequently the Sudan and the Southern Sudan went to hell in a hand basket. I found this dreadfully sad. The last time I saw the Southern Sudan was when, as a Foreign Service Officer, in 1965 in northern Congo, when I saw the Mbuti pygmies [gentle hunting and gathering people}, who I had first photographed in 1954.Sad, sad, sad.
My Rotary club has sponsored water projects in southern Sudan for more than a decade.
I fear that our only really unique achievement as a species will be that we were the only creatures who actually saw our own extinction coming...and were still unable to stop it.
I've missed hearing from you,Dirk! Well said!
Thank you, Hope! It's good to see your name, too.
We will stabilize it, rest assured, but what we have to go through to get there is the issue.
Hear hear!
During the last election, my spouse and I decided there needed to be, at a minimum, a cabinet-level commissioner of well-being, with Marianne Williams as the first appointment
We should live as well as the cabinet level WBI commissioner.
Love that idea!
Well said. Well commented upon.
(Your use of the word "depraved" is accurate though I think you meant "deprived".)
Yes, but "depraved" works so well in this context!
No, my use of depraved was thought about and intentional.