GET UP STAND UP – DON’T GIVE UP THE FIGHT!

There are so many people who want to be conduits for positive change in the world – some are still with us and some have been long gone, people like:  Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, Dian Fossey, Jane Goodall, Ingrid Newkirk, Princess Diana, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. John F. Kennedy, Bill McKibben….I could name thousands that have been extensively profiled in the media but the people who are most important in creating positive change in the world are those that act.

Change can’t happen if people do not get involved.  The worldwide Occupy movements have caused a new protest movement against BIG CORPORATION and Government that we haven’t seen since the 60’s.  These Occupy movements possibly sparked mass protests worldwide such as the uprising against President Mubarak in Egypt, the protests against Monsanto, the mass demonstrations against the KXL Pipeline and so on.

If we are to live in a society where we hold freedom, democracy and justice for all – we must RISE UP against those who wish to take those privileges away from us and that means holding BIG CORPORATIONS, Governments and dictators accountable for their actions.  We have seen peaceful protests around the world become violent not because of the protesters but because of the police that are acting on behalf of the government.  There have been media blackouts so that others around the world don’t see the mass protests against their countries governments.  Countries around the world are being held hostage by their own governments and corporations all because of greed.  Why are we allowing these governments and corporations to destroy our world?  Why are we allowing countries to go hungry?  Why are we allowing banks to ‘pay off’ government officials and putting the world in a massive financial crisis only to watch our governments reward them?

It’s time to get up and stand up and we must not give up the fight…..(thanks Peter Tosh and Bob Marley for making it so simple).  When are you going to “get up and stand up” – What is it going to take for you to create positive change in our world?

TURKEY – DON’T GIVE UP THE FIGHT!

DEMONSTRATORS FOR THE EARTH – against the Keystone Pipeline, Drilling in the Arctic, Deforestation in world forests, etc…. – DON’T GIVE UP THE FIGHT!

THOSE FIGHTING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUALITY – DON’T GIVE UP THE FIGHT!

FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS – DON’T GIVE UP THE FIGHT!

AGAINST CORRUPT RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS/GOVERNMENTS/BIG CORPORATION – DON’T GIVE UP THE FIGHT!

Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don’t give up the fight!

Preacher man, don’t tell me,
Heaven is under the earth.
I know you don’t know
What life is really worth.
It’s not all that glitters is gold;
‘Alf the story has never been told:
So now you see the light, eh!
Stand up for your rights. come on!

Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don’t give up the fight!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don’t give up the fight!

Most people think,
Great god will come from the skies,
Take away everything
And make everybody feel high.
But if you know what life is worth,
You will look for yours on earth:
And now you see the light,
You stand up for your rights. jah!

Get up, stand up! (jah, jah! )
Stand up for your rights! (oh-hoo! )
Get up, stand up! (get up, stand up! )
Don’t give up the fight! (life is your right! )
Get up, stand up! (so we can’t give up the fight! )
Stand up for your rights! (lord, lord! )
Get up, stand up! (keep on struggling on! )
Don’t give up the fight! (yeah! )

We sick an’ tired of-a your ism-skism game –
Dyin’ ‘n’ goin’ to heaven in-a Jesus’ name, lord.
We know when we understand:
Almighty god is a living man.
You can fool some people sometimes,
But you can’t fool all the people all the time.
So now we see the light (what you gonna do?),
We gonna stand up for our rights! (yeah, yeah, yeah! )

So you better:
Get up, stand up! (in the morning! git it up! )
Stand up for your rights! (stand up for our rights! )
Get up, stand up!
Don’t give up the fight! (don’t give it up, don’t give it up! )
Get up, stand up! (get up, stand up! )
Stand up for your rights! (get up, stand up! )
Get up, stand up! (… )
Don’t give up the fight! (get up, stand up! )
Get up, stand up! (… )
Stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up!
Don’t give up the fight! /fadeout/

TOGETHER, WE CAN MAKE THE WORLD A MORE POSITIVE ONE!

MY CHOICE NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN

I have been asked by friends and family why Jason and I don’t adopt children.  We’ve been told that we would be great parents and that we have so much love to offer a child.  The issue for Jason and I having a child is not about how much love we have to give because between the both of us, there would be plenty.  Our concern is more about whether or not we are financially stable to ensure that (if we had a child) they would have everything they need.  Jason and I have discussed the possibility of a child – the discussion was short and both of us agreed that having a child didn’t make sense for us.

Recently – I made the following statement on my Facebook page:

What would happen if we taxed families for how many children they had?  I don’t have any so why are my taxes the same as those who do?  Thoughts? To elaborate – think about the environmental impact a family that consists of 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 children – diapers, meat consumption (let’s get real, most people eat meat and that has a huge environmental impact), carbon footprint etc….much more than me, my partner and small dog.  Food for thought.

Let me just say that I am not anti-family or for people having children….I just want people to be more present in the choices that they make and what implications they may have on the planet as a whole.  Let’s be real – most people DO NOT think beyond what they can see.  How many of us really think about the amount of garbage that we are contributing to landfills everyday or what the environmental implications of meat consumption are?  Most of us don’t care about these things because we don’t see the outcome.  We don’t live in the slums of India or Brazil and are not faced with the poverty and starvation that so many millions face on a daily basis. 

What are people’s motives for having children today?  Is it because they can?  Do they feel morally obligated to do so or is it to continue their family name?  Whatever the reason – I don’t believe people are putting much thought into their decision to have a child.  How many times have you heard this:  “We didn’t mean to have a baby, it just happened”  or “He/she was an accident”………obviously not much thought was given about what could possible happen after having unprotected sex.

I am not complaining about paying taxes – I agree that our government should use our taxes to offer welfare or social services to those who are in need of them.  Now consider this – a family of six may require more space, produce more garbage, drive more, etc….while someone who chooses to be single doesn’t require as much – shouldn’t that single person deserve more of a tax-break due to the reduced carbon footprint?  We are living in a time when scientists are saying that we will require 7 more earth’s to accommodate humanity’s current dependency on fossil fuels and lifestyle, so why isn’t that message getting across?  Why wouldn’t people make more of a conscious effort in their decision to have children.  If our planet will not be able to accommodate us – where will all these people go?  I hear they are building colonies on the moon or even Mars – is that even a reality for families that can’t even pay to put food on the table?

My original Facebook statement wasn’t meant to upset anyone – it was meant to provoke thought and debate.  It was meant to make each of us look at ourselves and really think about the implications of the choices we make.  We have to stop being distracted by the promises of BIG CORPORATIONS.  We have to wake-up from the dreams the pharmaceutical companies promise and we have to take off the blinders to ensure we are present and are making the choices we want to make and not what the food, government and automobile industries tell us we should be making.  When we remove those distractions, maybe bringing a child into this harsh reality isn’t as easy to make as it was prior to all the distractions.

For more information about over population, please visit:  http://www.nationalgeographic.com/eye/overpopulation/effect.html or http://www.naturalnews.com/039490_overpopulation_myth_ecological_footprint_population_collapse.html

To review the environmental implications of meat consumption, please visit:  http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/beef/environmental_impacts/ or http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/agriculture/2013/Ecological-Livestock.pdf

For more information on the current state of our environment, please visit:  http://350.org/ or http://www.davidsuzuki.org/

Knowledge is power!

Together, we can make the world a more positive one! 

 

ACT NOW TO SAVE OUR PLANET.

Please take off the blinders and ACT NOW to save our environment, planet and humanity!  We must stop saying that we can’t take on the big oil corporations like Exxon, BP and Shell – but WE CAN!  Scientists have indicated that we must drastically cut our dependency on fossil fuels and we must do so in the next 5 years. 

Please watch and share this video with everyone you know….we all have an obligation to the planet to ask our government and oil companies to invest in sustainable energy that will SAVE OUR PLANET…..

This video shows us exactly what we can do to create positive and effective change in the world.  It is time to show the BIG OIL companies that we can hurt them were it counts – their bottom line.

For more information and to advocate for the planet on a grass-roots movement….please join http://350.org/

Together, we can make the world a more positive one.