Truthout is an indispensable resource for activists, movement leaders and workers everywhere. Please make this work possible with a quick donation.
This is the outline of a talk I once gave at the FOR Peacemaker Training Institute.
FIRST, DO NO HARM (Hippocrates): consider consequences short term and long term, intended and otherwise.
EARTH FIRST/GAIA (Lovelock): the earth, its creatures and its elements are a single organism of interacting, interdependent parts; avoid tribalism, nationalism, classism.
PRACTICE RIGHT LIVELIHOOD (Buddha): avoid co-optation; avoid vested interests; overcome addiction and distraction; seek socially useful projects/employment/avocations
PROPERTY IS THEFT (Proudhon): own less; consume less; avoid debt; travel light
TRUST THE ROAD (EK): take risks; security is an illusion; get beyond the US & Western bubble
SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY (Thoreau): live simply so others may simply live (Gandhi)
SLOW IS BEAUTIFUL (Schumacher): speed kills; freedom is never having to be in a hurry; drive less – walk and bike more
BITE LESS, CHEW MORE: pace yourself; don’t over-extend; value quality over quantity
GOD IS IN THE DETAILS: be mindful; treat all work as craft
QUESTION AUTHORITY (Socrates): write pointed letters to the editor; resist the machine – avoid being a cog; access non-US and alternative media
NEITHER A LEADER NOR A FOLLOWER BE [EK]: subvert hierarchy; subvert patriarchy – no bosses here! avoid concentrating power
KEEP MEANS AND ENDS CONSISTENT (Gandhi): the personal is political; every act, every purchase, is a vote
RESIST MILITARISM: violence breeds violence
IF YOU WANT PEACE, WORK FOR JUSTICE (Pope Paul VI): peace without justice = structural violence
DON’T LIE…or fib: lying is covert violence
BUILD COMMUNITY: mend fences; don’t compete – cooperate; include others; care for the “least of our brethren” (Jesus)
Ed drew these points from many sources. Reach him at [email protected].
An important fundraising appeal: 10 Days to raise $50,000
Donations are down for Truthout at a time when media is under immense pressure. Google’s AI search has driven our traffic down by 15 percent, Trump is arresting journalists, and many independent media organizations face heartbreaking cutbacks and closures.
At the same time, movement media is vital in the fight against Trump’s authoritarian reign. Our mandate to tell the truth, share strategies for resistance, and speak against fascism is ever more urgent in this deluge of political censorship and misinformation. Yet, we are struggling to meet our publishing costs when our work is so urgently needed.
We are fundraising right now for those basic operating expenses — we need $50,000 in the next 10 days. If you can support Truthout with a one-time or monthly donation, you will make a significant impact on our work. Anything you can do makes a difference.