Mississippi God Damn
The ongoing water crisis in capital city Jackson is torturous for those folks living there, and plenty hurtful to the rest of us who are paying attention.
It was a combination of a century of neglect, bad government and heavy rains.
The neglect stems for Mississippi being the racist, often hateful and corrupt state that it. Nina Simone said it best in her 1960s classic song. Jackson Mississippi is about 150,000 citizens, about a quarter of which live in the government’s definition of poverty. And it’s 82% black.
Their water system has been utterly neglected. They were already operating on backup pumps because of disrepair. Don’t drink the water warnings were regular, with so many pipes over a century old. And then a climate chaos fueled storm. So much neglect. And a state government who has fostered that neglect for a generation. A state government of white men.
As Natalia Marques points out… ““In order to fully repair the system the city needs more than a billion dollars in funding. On the state and federal level, the state has not received nearly that much.” “Meanwhile, the war on Ukraine has been bankrolled over the last 6 months to the tune of $54 billion. Biden’s newly announced ‘Safer America’ plan is giving $37 billion to bankroll 100,000 police officers. It is obvious what the United States values more than basic necessities for Jackson’s people: war abroad and policing at home.” Ouch.
So now is where I’m supposed to tell you about their woeful state government, but it could be any state, blue or red, yet especially in red states, the corruption is even more rampant and sickening. No doubt because of the added ideology of the religious right. But it’s everywhere. Pick a state. Pick a story.
So we need new stories. New stories that reflect our lives together here in Life. Stories about who will lead in our governments, because government needs to be the Great Balancer between commerce and community, and The Corporation has completely ruined that balance in our time. We need legislators of integrity.
The need for revolution is upon us, for transformation in how we live, work and play. How we choose to live and how we inevitably die. Will we choose to live grounded here in Life with everyone and everything, or succumb to old world goals of wealth, fame and power? One cannot be and do both. Will we die with grace or in terror of the unknown world that exists beyond and before biological life?
Now is when I’m supposed to recommend strategies and tactics that will actually impact and dismantle the old broke down, corrupt culture. That’s a tough one, but I know where it starts. UBU. Disengage from supporting war or any politician who supports it. Stop filling your brain with doom scrolling and distracting bull. Focus on a healthy mind and body. Focus on local issues and finding local solutions. Folks of integrity and authenticity are how we remake this ugly culture.
As the founder of World 5.0 I see a clearer way forward. It’s presented well enough on the site, world5.org. We currently have only a couple of thousand folks as subscribers, but one can imagine what we will be capable of if we have a couple of hundred thousand. And so we invite you to join us.
As we grow, and rise, we will indeed reshape our Earth to a home of health and happiness for us all.
