Who Is Responsible?

Culture, Featured

Sickening. Sickening, heart twisting news! But what is more sickening is that every channel keeps sucking ratings out of it, all the while playing commercials in between. What a culture, what an attitude, what a nation… Nobody is calling the news channel to demand recalling the ads to let the tragedy sink in, pay respect to the victims, and maybe even spend time pondering the causes of the horrendous act we just witnessed together… The event seems grossly surreal: two weeks before Christmas, in a prosperous Connecticut town, an upscale, quiet residential neighborhood, on a street carrying a yogi’s name, the first crime unfolds, followed by even a greater one that takes lives of 28 people, 20 of whom are children attending an elementary school. A 20-year old man, after murdering his mother with the guns she kept to do sports, drives to the school where she used to work and opens fire on innocent young students, teachers and the principal, ending the massacre with a predictable act of suicide. Reporters say neighbors were “visibly upset” for they never expected such crimes happen in their town. They knew the gunman, as a “quiet kid,” who turns out to have suffered from a personality disorder. His mother though had a reputation of a “good-hearted person who was always doing something for some cause.”Authorities claim that “Americans are sick and tired of these attacks. Once again we are reminded that there is no safe harbor for our children.” (President Obama) and “Evil visited this community today.” (Gov. D. Malloy) Meanwhile, the media carry the message that schools are safe – a...

The Sandy Hook Elementary School Tragedy – Teaches Us That Yet To Be Developed New Education Is Needed Now

Culture, Featured

As the story of the tragic Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school shooting unfolds, many people are pondering: Why has there been so much violence in the U.S. lately, and what can be done to stop it? This year saw a mass shooting of movie theater patrons in Aurora, Colorado; the sentencing of Jared Lee Loughner on 19 counts, including murder and the attempted assassination of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords; and the first overall rise in U.S. violent crime in nearly two decades.” –CNN Here’s What Happened The Huffington Post reports, A man opened fire Friday inside two classrooms at the Connecticut elementary school where his mother was a teacher, killing 26 people, including 20 children…The 20-year-old killer, carrying two handguns, committed suicide at the school, and another person was found dead at a second scene, bringing the toll to 28…The gunman was believed to suffer from a personality disorder… The rampage, coming less than two weeks before Christmas, was the nation’s second-deadliest school shooting, exceeded only by the Virginia Tech massacre that left 33 people dead in 2007.” What Can Be Done? Why is it that violent crime is increasing in the U.S. and how do we stop it? The fairly recent research being conducted in the field of social network science gives a clue as to the “why,” and also to the “how” to prevent future violent crime. As Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler, coauthors of the book, Connected: How Your Friends’ Friends’ Friends Affect Everything You Feel, Think, And Do, write: If we are affected by our embeddedness in social networks and influenced by others who are closely or distantly...

What Causes Corruption In Today’s Society? A Few Powerful Men, Or The Self-Interest Of All?

Culture, Featured

Since the beginning of civilization those in power have successfully restricted the interests of the majority by regulating their values, by controlling resources through money, not to mention controlling the very processes that exist to challenge them. Is it a conspiracy? Do such powerful men meet in dark rooms and work to figure out how to keep their power? Actually, no not as much as you might think. You see the hilarious thing about all of this is that such a process of manipulation is actually self-generating, justified in a step-by-step manner with basic self-interest guiding the whole way. The real corruption is not occurring in back room meetings or at the docks. The real power resides in how you, the public, actually perpetuate, condone and support the very systems that suppress you.” Change Will Come By Rewarding & Reinforcing Values Of Mutual Responsibility Until the social premise itself, and hence the fundamental psychological drivers of our economy – balance, scarcity, narrow self-interest, exploitation and competition – until those are altered to the extent that the system begins to reward and reinforce collaboration, human and ecological balance, efficiency and sustainability, nothing is going to really change. In a sociological condition where everything is based on advantage over others, what we call ‘corruption’ today isn’t actually corruption at all. It’s just ‘business as usual.’ I mean, seriously, what did you people expect? In an economy where everything is for sale by the very ethic inherent underscored by the false notion that we possibly can’t work together intelligently to benefit all, no level of supposed ‘corruption’ should surprise any of us.”...

iWant [Video]

Culture, Featured

A short animated video by members of Mutual Responsibility showing the shift of values needed to meet today’s challenges and realize a sustainable...

Connecting The Patterns In 105 Seconds

Culture, Featured

To understand is to perceve patterns. Now of course what this means is that true comprehension comes when the dots are revealed… and you see the big picture.” TO UNDERSTAND IS TO PERCEIVE PATTERNS from Jason Silva on...

If You Pay Attention, You Might Just See How Interconnected You Are

Culture, Featured

“Ahh, time for rest,” George said, lying down on his side of the bed. “Well, goodnight.” “Goodnight,” Sarah said. They turned off their matching bedside lamps. A moment passed. “Do you ever think about how interconnected we are?” she said. “Have you been waiting to ask me that?” “It just came to me.” “Did I do something wrong?” “No. Just-” “You know, that’s a helluva thing to ask when I’m about to fall asleep.” “Is it?” “Yeah, well, I think so.” “So, do you?” Sarah asked. “Do I what?” “Do you ever think about it?” George turned his lamp on. “Why’d you do that?” “So I could see just how crazy you looked.” “I’m serious,” Sarah said. “I am too.” “You’ve never thought about it?” “Yeah, I’ve thought about it.” “Really?” “Of course. We’re married.” “No,” she said. “I mean with others. How we’re interconnected with others, with people we’ve never even met before.” “I’m turning the light off now.” He turned it back on. “Maybe I don’t want to meet them. You ever think about that?” “I don’t know,” Sarah said, a broad smile forming. “I think I’d like to meet them.” “They’d probably ask me for money. That’d just be my luck. ‘Connected? Really? Gee in that case how about giving me some dough?’ No thank you.” “But that’s just the thing George. Whether we meet them or not we’re still connected. Somehow, someway, we’re all connected together. You should really think about it sometime.” “Why? What for?” “Because if we’re all connected it means we’re all interdependent too. And that means…” “Well don’t just leave me...