Evolution of Consciousness

This website has evolved over time. It began as a place to collect the letters I’d written to our local paper, the Anderson Valley Advertiser. Since most of those essays were on the topic of American healthcare reform, I called the site “The Spirit of 676” (honoring John Conyers’ Single Payer Bill HR 676).

After healthcare reform was thoroughly bungled, I changed the name, and focus, of the site to “The Next American Revolution.” It was my hope that we could rekindle the Jeffersonian spirit of revolution in this country, but that effort is going to need more independent thinking, and a deeper understanding of the forces at work, than the modern “Tea Party” is bringing to the table.

So, more recently, I changed the name to “Evolution of Consciousness.”

History runs in cycles, and we are, at this moment, on the cusp of change. We have witnessed a return, of sorts, to Robber Barons, the Gilded Age, and, now, a Great Recession. The greedy, self-serving “Reagan Revolution” — built upon the laissez-faire foundation of deregulation, anti-tax, and anti-government — has failed us. It is time for something new, a return to democracy.

But first, we the people must understand what, exactly, has happened in this country, and what needs to be addressed and fixed. The stories we’ve been telling ourselves — the stories the corporate media has been trumpeting over the past few decades — are false and wrong.

Greed has hijacked the great American experiment in democracy. Capitalism is running amuck. Avaricious predators have trashed our commons to enrich themselves. It is time to recognize the villains, for who they are, and take the country back.

Ultimately, the essence of America belongs to the people, not corporations. We need to open our eyes, see the truth of our circumstances, and find the courage to act. Only together, in large enough numbers, will we succeed.