Chlorophyll

OK, here are a few - by no means a comprehensive list.

First and foremost, A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn. If you haven't read this, walk away from your computer right now, and don't come back until you've been to the library, taken out a copy, and read the first chapter or two.

Next, Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn. I don't care what you've read, you haven't read an analysis of Western Civ that runs this deep.

Next, When Corporations Rule the World, followed up by The Post-Corporate World, by David Korten. If Quinn has articulated the question, Korten has articulated the answer. More to the point, Korten has resolved the tension in the minds of a lot of leftists between the evils of a capital-driven economy and the evils of a command-driven economy by driving a wedge between capitalism and the free market.

John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, is a must read for a behind the scenes look at how "free" trade really works, and how one man's conscious turned him against it.

Thanks all! I've added these to the list I have created on my blog!
Deanna

"Life is what happens while you are making other plans."
~ John Lennon

For me, I tend to think of all things Green as a reflection of the Ten Key Values. I also like to use the 10 KV as a template for examining something, as in, "The county wants a new hospital built.

How can that new hospital use grassroots democracy in it's governance?

How can it be built and operated to benefit local enterprises?

What steps can we take to ensure that women's rights are advanced by this hospital?

How can we assure that it's built and operated in an environmentally sane manner?

How can we assure that the hospital is sustainable?

How can the hospital use it's resources and influence in the cause of peace?

What role will the hospital play in fixing local social injustices as well as historic injustices?

How can billing, purchasing, scheduling, and all other operational and governance systems be built to run in a decentralized fashion?

How can we get every part of the community to take responsibility for the hospital, it's mission and functioning?

Finally, how do we prepare the hospital to offer a dicversity of services to our community, the entire community and all it's components?

This, in a nutshell, is the "how" of my use of the 10 KV. Each question relates to a key value in a meaningful way.

Therefore, I think I want to approach this question in a similar fashion.

First of all, the words don't have to have the same meaning you think they have. Much has been made, for example, of the word "Feminism". Now personally, I like the word feminism, and I am a feminist. Yes, I am also a man, so I personally see that in the same way I do race, that is, I am a feminist sexist. In other words, I was born and raised a man in a male dominated world. Of course all the bad influences of male domination and sexism have manifested themselves in me. I am not strong enough, or wasn't at the time, to throw off the yoke of male-patterned society. I think almost no children are capable of this sort of thing. I wasn't aware of feminist thought at all until I was first exposed to feminist writings at the age of 12.

The book I recomend in the field of Feminism a bit out of the ordinary I think. The book is the play A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen

In the play the man of the house, Torvald Helmer, shows all the traits of ownership of his wife and family. Only skin deep emotions are permitted, and all society is in it's place, unchallanged and comfortable.

But Torvald's wife Nora, a "simple girl" from all outward appearances, happy and free as a bird, makes a small "mis-step", borrowing a small sum from a shady character, and sees her world crashing down around her head. Her husband Torvald, the rock she built her life on, proves incapable of putting his wife and family first, the very thing she thought he was all about, and instead shows himself to be a coward and unfit for her affections.

Seeing reality for the first time, Nora makes the choice to leave.

Not only her husband, but her children. Everything was shattered, including her sense of self and responsibility. Putting herself first, even ahead of her own children, was Nora's "unforgivable sin."

Personally this hit me like a ton of bricks. Male domination is dangerous not only because it subjegates women, but makes bullies and liars out of men. Not only do we lie to the women in our lives, but to ourselves as well. Some unfortunate people learn the truth about themselves and their loved ones like Torvald and Nora did. Some only after a death. Some never. Some are fortunate enough to see the truth, the value of interdependence instead of independence or dependence, by seeing reality without trauma. I don't know what brings that reality to folks. For me it was both watching my mother taking care to set herself up financially as my father was dying, and reading literature that shows what I believe is reality in every day life.

Guess you could say I like the play. :-) Hope you enjoy. The entire thing is available, free, at the links above.