To Future Generations: We Tried.

It's been asked many times, what will we say when future generations ask us, why didn't you stop the grave injustices of your time?

Survivors of Nazi Germany are asked, "Didn't you know? Didn't you do something? Didn't you speak out?" Survivors of Rwanda look to the world, "How could you let this happen? You knew! You knew!" Future generations will ask us, "Why didn't you stop Darfur? Iraq? Why didn't you do something about Global Warming?"

Well, we tried.

See, my friends in the future, I have to tell you that yes, myself and many others have spoken out, attended marches, threatened to withdraw our meager finances that might be subsidizing these horrors, and tried many other tactics. Still these injustices continue.

It seems the only option left is some kind of mob violence, but so far we haven't reached that. It would be disturbingly ironic to take part in mob violence in the USA as part of an effort to stop mob violence in Darfur. If more people spoke out, would we be more successful? Maybe. Some people are doing a lot, more people are doing a little, but a huge majority are doing absolutely nothing, and there's part of the problem. Stated as one of those math formula style proverbs:

The extremes required to halt an injustice are inversely proportional to the number of those speaking out.

In other words: few people speaking out, extreme measures required; lots of people speaking out, very un-extreme measures necessary. But even that rings false. Someone in power does what they want. Period. So change is slow, or non-existent. For urgent life-and-death issues, slow change is equal to no change.

So where do we go from here? In the 2006 election, the majority of the American people spoke out against the Iraq war by dumping the primary party that sponsored it. There has been much effort to stop that war, and yet, the Bush-Cheney death-profiteering cartel refuses to change. Like I said, violence starts to look like an option. I wonder if Gandhi or Dr. King have some advice here. I'll be they would say (probably they did say) something like this: when violence looks like the only option, you're not being creative enough.

Is that true, though? Or are we simply stuck? When evil men have been given power, can anything besides violence dislodge them in time? Every moment they resist the will of the American people means more lives lost. But would removing them solve anything, when they used that same approach and only created more terror?

The old proverb "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" blames the victim. I believe the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is the presence of evil, such as the Bush-Cheney death-profiteering cartel. The good? Well, we're trying.

I know from your vantage in the future, saying "We tried," might not seem like much, but please understand. We did try, we are trying. We'll never stop. Only problem: we might lose. Is that enough to free us from judgment?

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Larry Nocella is the award-winning author of the novel Where Did This Come From? available at Amazon and Xlibris and other fine online book stores. Where Did This Come From? is also available as an eBook. For more info, visit Larry Nocella's website at www.LarryNocella.com.

When Money Meets Mouth (or, Envisioning a Cat-Poop-Fueled Utopia as part of Saving Darfur)

My car's engine light came on again, just as it always does, right before inspection time. Damn. As expected, everything was okay; only the emissions were failing inspection. For a moment I was annoyed: that's more money I'll have to pay out. Then as I thought about it, these were the same policies I supported: wasn't I all about protecting the environment, and clean air? Yep. So I shook my head, choosing to blame my luck instead of mumbling some inarticulate garbage about the government.

That's the fear that defenders of the status quo hang over challengers: "You want environmentally safe cars? Are you willing to pay for it?" Yes I am, but I really shouldn't have to.

No sane or honest person will say that the oil-based cars don't get favors from the government – What is the U.S. military over the last few decades except the oil industry's enforcer? Why are oil companies hitting record profits and gas prices are still going up? The oil industry reminds me of a common breed of bully: they're big and bad, but behind that identity you don't find actual strength, you find privilege.

It's a clichéd defense: "We could make things environmentally safe, but those technologies are expensive." Yeah, they're expensive because they don't get the breaks that oil companies do. If we could take all the breaks and favors so obviously given to the oil industry and direct it toward environmentally safe cars, the next day we'd be driving a hundred miles a day in cars fuelled by cat poop.

Until a cat-poop-fuel utopia is realized, I'm willing to pay a little extra for environmentally safe products.

I would love it if electricity for my house came from wind power as opposed to nuclear power. That's why I tack on a bit in my electricity bill to kick-start the wind-power industry. I look forward to the day the oil industry has to come around begging in the same way. Money, meet mouth.

I was similarly thrilled recently when I stumbled across a way to fight against the killings in Darfur. Very simply put, Chinese oil companies support the government in Darfur. (Winking toward the late Mr. Vonnegut, this is going to be humanity's epitaph: We all died because we wanted more oil.) Fidelity invests in these Chinese oil companies. Fidelity also administers my day-job's 401k program. So hell yeah, I signed the petition, and contacted Fidelity and told them to divest. That 401k cash might be headed for an IRA. It's not something I'm crazy about doing, but it's no sacrifice when you take a stand against people supporting genocide. (See Fidelity Out of Sudan and SaveDarfur.org for more info.)

Aside: This is part of the reason I avoid international investing. Environmental and worker laws in the USA might not be perfect, but they are at least better in non-democratic countries. You know, like Saudi Arabia – where we get all our oil.

So we come to my novel, Where Did This Come From? and my recent entry into Carbon Neutrality partnership with CarbonFund.org. Am I crazy? The book is just starting out and I'm slicing some of the profit already?

Yes I am. I'm also breaking my arm as I pat myself on the back. Money and mouths are often so far separate, I was excited to find these opportunities to send them on a blind date. For me, the only real way to lead is by example, and a powerful way to set an example is to speak the universal language: cash.

Thinking people like you and I need to make it known we're serious about protecting the environment and protecting human rights, even if it means we're losing a couple bucks. Because no amount of money we save is going to buy back our souls.

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Larry Nocella is the award-winning author of the novel Where Did This Come From? available at Amazon and Xlibris and other fine online book stores. Where Did This Come From? is also available as an eBook. For more info, visit Larry Nocella's website at http://www.larrynocella.com/.