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David Korten on 911
Jim Garrison on 911

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The Sun interviews David Korten September 2007

"Living Wealth"
YES! Fall 2007

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In Loving Memory
Donella H. Meadows (1941-2001)
The Global Citizen

Good friends and Bainbridge neighbors. We gather here to mourn and to reflect on the meaning of the tragic loss we have suffered from a horrific, and unconscionable act of terrorism. This act has brought America together as have few other events in our history. We stand united as a nation in our grief for the dead, in our sympathy and support for those whose lives have been disrupted by unbearable loss, and to honor the heroism of those brave souls — the police and firefighters — who gave their lives in an heroic effort to save others.

We gather here in sorrow, in fear, in anger, and in a call for justice. But even in this moment of fear and anger, we are committed to standing firm against the dark forces of hatred and vengeance.

In this commitment, America faces a profound test as we are compelled to confront basic questions. What does it mean to be an American? What are the values that define our nation? For what does our flag, the flag flying above us on this podium, the symbol of our great nation, stand? For justice, love, and compassion? Or for fear, anger and retribution? Jesus, who is revered as prophet and teacher by Christians and Muslims alike, was unequivocal in his call for justice, love, and compassion. In his speech to the nation this week, President Bush called for patient justice.

In the immediate aftermath of the September 11 (911) tragedy, countless media voices drew a sharp contrast between the deeply shared values of Americans and the disregard of the terrorists for justice, life and the rights of the innocent — and then many of these same voices went on to call for America to respond in kind, in denial of these very values. As we speak, the troops, planes, and warships of a powerful American armada are being deployed to we know not where, in pursuit of enemies unnamed.

I know I've not been alone these past few days in experiencing wild emotional swings between great hope and deep despair. I feel hope in the possibility that these terrible acts might in some miraculous way lead our country to a period of reflection on our deepest values, what it means in the very best sense to be American, and what we must do in the days and years ahead to create a world free of the conditions that lead human beings to such desperate acts. I feel despair that our political leaders, the corporate media, and our national psyche appear to be consumed by dark and irrational forces wholly contrary to the American values of justice and respect for life — and that these forces threaten to lead our nation and the world into an escalating spiral of self-inflicted violence and repression. Short of nuclear holocaust, I find it difficult to imagine a greater tragedy in our time than for our nation — in response to the act of a few hateful, individuals — to draw the world into a senseless, vengeful, and self-destructive Holy War between America and the 1.2 billion believers in Islam. 

At this time of national crisis, as our politicians prepare the nation for war and the corporate media fan the fires of hatred and blind vengeance against unseen enemies, the future of our nation — indeed the world — depends on each and ever person of conscience and reason to call out for Justice, not vengeance. Law, not war. Security, not repression. International cooperation, not intimidation.

So what can the rational and compassionate do to maintain space for sanity amidst the dark forces gripping our country? There are many possibilities. We might start with the list of "Ten things you can do to shape history" found on the YES! magazine website. Here are some of them.

At this rally today we are doing all of the above. What we don’t hear or see from the corporate media is the fact that similar gatherings are taking place all across America, initial signs of an awakening of our national consciousness to deeply troubling issues that most of us have too long ignored.

We hear virtually nothing of these initiatives in a corporate press intent on preparing America for war. You can learn about many of them on the YES! magazine website.

Each of these events and initiatives is an invitation to reflection and dialogue on America — its values, role, and purpose in the world. And as we reconnect with the best of what America means to us and to much of the world, we find ourselves confronting as well the often painful gap between our cherished values and the all too common reality of our country’s actions. Several of our speakers today will discuss the troubling details of this gap.

Let me note here, three ways in which efforts to eliminate terrorism and eliminate global corporate rule are linked: 

1. Causes of Terrorism. The global corporations that now dominate the setting of the world's political and economic priorities bear major responsibility for the sense of powerlessness, exclusion, and loss of cultural identity that fuel the hatred and religious fervor behind vicious acts of terrorism all around the world. The corporate global economy is quite literally a suicide economy that is destroying the foundations of its own existence and the survival of the human species by unraveling the social fabric of human civilization, depleting the life support system of the planet, and driving the few to terrible acts of vengeance as their only means of expression. We came face to face with the consequences on September 11. To secure America and the world from terrorism, will require replacing the pathological, money-serving, disempowering, dehumanizing culture and institutions of the global suicide economy with the cultures and institutions of a planetary system of life-serving, locally rooted, culturally diverse, equitable, and democratic living economies that mimic healthy living systems. 
2. Vulnerability to Terrorism: A corporate global economy that features global financial markets driven by the whims of financial speculators, phantom companies such as those of the dot.com craze that turn PR hype into great fortunes, long-supply lines, core industries such as air travel that are subject to volatile swings in consumer confidence, and a commodified labor force subject to massive layoffs that amplify any downturn is inherently unstable and dangerously vulnerable to many forms of disruption — including terrorist attack. When a terrorist disruption hits in the midst of a downturn born of the system's inherent instability — as at present — the consequences can be devastating. Economies with short supply lines and equitably owned, locally rooted capital that address essential needs and provide stable employment — the same features required to remove the social and economic causes of terrorism — are inherently more stable and immune to consequential disruption, whether by terrorists, natural disasters, or shifts in consumer mood. 
3. Threat to Civil Liberties. The tragedy of September 11 is almost certain to be used by those in power to legitimate the suspension of basic rights and the violent repression of dissent. We must be vigilant in defending our basic rights of independent expression, for the unfettered voice of global civil society is humanity's best hope for creating truly democratic and life-serving societies that eliminate the social pathologies in which the terrorist impulse is rooted.

The terrible pain and suffering caused by the terrorist atrocities of Tuesday, September 11, confirmed an important truth: There is no security for anyone — not even in America — in a world in which so many live with the dehumanizing desperation and hopelessness that lead to martyrdom as a source of meaning. No level of defense spending, no missile shield will protect us from such a threat.