PAUL BAKER HERNANDEZ
ODE to EARTH
One planet: one people. Declare world INTER-Dependence
Breathing Hope, Extinguishing Fear
Proposal Summary. Singing groups everywhere come together in one immense global choir at specific date/time ib 2017, flooding the world with ‘Hymn to the Earth’, to celebrate hope, tolerance and care for the planet, & to commit to actions to achieve World INTER-Dependence: One Planet: One People!
Accelerating global warming threatens all life on Earth. Yet fear, greed and planetary ravaging are rampant, while the USA, a minuscule proportion of the world’s total population (0.046) and by far its worst polluter per person, elect someone who threatens to abandon the Paris Climate Accords and gut the US Environmental Protection Agency. Such actions will most savagely impact already-impoverished peoples, while making the current global environmental tragedy catastrophic.
Thisis an emergency. Drastic, specific, action is vital. Now. No matter what we're already doing, we must all do more. Or, just forget it! Fewer than 30% of his own people routinely elect the US president (30% of 0.045: 0.0135 global population!!), yet the lives of literally billions of people and indeed all living beings are in her/his hands. For the sake of Earth and all her suffering peoples, policies based on ‘global warming is a Chinese hoax’ must be challenged by building a single movement, worldwide, of hope, cooperation and care for the planet: of beauty and imagination, yes, but rooted in serious and sustained action.
Echoes of Silence believes the Arts are profoundly suited to inspiring such a movement, since they offer limitless means of reflection/expression and influence us so profoundly, especially at the subconscious level.
In its celebration of universal sister/brotherhood, Beethoven’s setting of Schiller’s ‘Ode to Joy’ stands supreme. Beloved throughout the world, it perfectly captures our most deeply-held aspirations and beliefs.
So we propose: Choirs/individuals worldwide come together as one immense global choir, to flood airwaves, stadiums, streets with a ‘Hymn to the Earth’ set to Beethoven’s melody, to celebrate hope, tolerance and care for the planet, and calling on people everywhere to ‘Declare INTER-Dependence!’ This global creative action both celebrates Earth’s exquisite beauty, and recognizes that, to have any hope of healing it, we must immediately commit to action to become who we truly are, one single people, guardians of one single planet. Therefore, we further propose:
1. Universities, religious bodies, city/state/national governments, radio/TV stations, etc. formally adopt a Peoples Declaration of World INTER-Dependence based on the United Nations’ Declaration of Human Rights, and develop programmes of education/action to make it effective, locally and globally.
2. They formally request the United Nations to declare an annual World INTER-Dependence Day, again with related educational and other tools to make it active in people’s daily lives.
3. They pledge themselves to defend the Paris Climate Accords by all means in their power, including disinvestment programmes, boycotts, and even non-violent direct action where necessary.
4. They call on all governments to re-allocate at least 2% of current military budgets to bring pure water to everyone. As the planet’s single most environmentally-destructive entity, the military’s commitment of vast resources and millions of creative lives to develop ever-more frightful weapons is an affront to impoverished peoples everywhere; a shameful destruction of limited global resources; and an appalling abuse of our wonderful collective intelligence. This proposal pre-empts wars over water, so much more precious than oil; releases vast quantities of resources and skilled personnel to transform life; begins genuine global disarmament; and truly honors the millions who died, horribly, to ‘end all war’.
______________________________________
Echoes of Silence. Managua. November 2016
Paul Baker Hernández, coordinator
SKYPE: paulbakerhernandez2
Nicaragua (505) 77060717