NPR’s All Things Considered- A Social Experiment: Communes In Cul-De-Sacs

Link to the organization in the report: http://www.wecommune.com/

Jamie Moffett Interivew: London, Ontario 105.9 FM

OK, time to drive to Ontario.  I’m sure there’s a Tim Horton’s somewhere I can snag a cup of coffee.  Why don’t we have Tim Horton’s in Philly?  Too bad for us.

~jamie



It was the weight of this knowledge that almost defeated me. For with it I found a hopeless feeling creeping in. I mean really, who I am in the eye of the beast that is globalization? How can I even begin to bring about the systemic change that I so desperately craved? And yet I knew that I was responsible for the knowledge that I held. As much as I wanted to walk away from that knowledge, back to the comfort and safety found in ignorance, I simply could not. And around every corner knowledge haunted me, calling me to some sort of action. Finally I came to the conclusion that no matter how small and seemingly insignificant my action was to those around me, I still had to act. For to not act was to allow a deep part of my being to die.

This past week I went down to Wilmington, DE to meet with Terry and Ben and interview them for The Ordinary Radicals Documentary. Ben and Terry do not get much more ordinary as people. They are both married, go to church, and hold big business jobs. They were living their suburban lives as usual when knowledge hit them like a bus out of nowhere. Forcing them, as it did me, out into the world to do small, seemingly insignificant things. Things like taking the homeless and hungry out to share a meal with them. It was this small action that birthed a close friendship with many that our society shuns. One of these beautiful friendships is with a guy named Herman, who I also had the chance to meet.

Herman has struggled through his life to do right and get straight. He is a gentle man who doesn’t like too much attention. He is an amazing chess player and has taught me a lot about the joy of life in the few short hours we spent together.

Ben and Terry are raising money for Herman to try and give him the boost he needs to get his life back on track. They are trying to get him an apartment, a mattress, a radio and some fruit. Doing so by asking for a single dollar from folks.

I must admit that at first I was rather skeptical towards their whole movement. I mean really, how is helping one homeless person going to do anything… right? But through talking with Herman, Ben and Terry, I discovered a piece of myself in them. That piece which must act in any small way just to stay alive. And although helping Herman may seem insignificant to some, to Herman the change Ben and Terry and enacting in his life… well, to say the least, it is changing the world for him. Small things, great love… perhpas it really is the answer. Perhaps within those four small words lie the secret to standing up to the powers that be, to rectifying the injustice… in short, maybe that is how we change the world… or more importantly, maybe that is the secret to how we keep the world from changing us…

Yesterday a Senate Judiciary Committee brought Big Oil execs in to help answer questions about why the price of oil is so high. Their answer to the question outrages me:

The executives pushed the idea that large parts of the U.S. that are currently closed to drilling – like sections of Alaska, the Rocky Mountains and the continental shelf – should be opened.

“The place to start the free market is in our own country,” said one executive. [The drilling ban] sets the stage for OPEC to do what we are doing in our own country, and that is effectively limiting supplies.”

John Lowe, executive vice president of ConocoPhillips, said Congress should enact a balanced energy policy. In addition to lifting the drilling ban, such a policy could include measures to encourage alternative energy sources, remove the ethanol tariff, promote energy conservation, cut regulations around refining. “We must work together to find a real solution,” said Lowe. “U.S. oil companies should be viewed not as scapegoats, but as assets.”

The executives also named several things that Congress should not do, first among them being a hike in taxes or an undoing of the mergers of the late 1990s.

“Americans need companies that can effectively compete for access to new resources,” said Peter Robertson, vice chairman of Chevron. “Punitive measures that weakened us in the face of international competition are the wrong measures.”

The executives also frowned on a recently passed House bill giving the Justice Department the power to sue OPEC, saying it would have little effect in boosting production.

You should read the whole CNN article if you have time. My understanding of the Big Oil’s response though is that they should not be blamed for the higher gas prices. Rather, the fact that we are not drilling in Alaska and the Rocky Mountains is the real cause of the ‘pain at the pump’. Their main solution then: rape and pillage the land. Sucking it dry in the name of saving a buck or two. I mean really why pay any attention to environment stewardship and future generations when the solution to cheaper gas is so simple, right?

I don’t know about you, but I am tired of big business running my life. It bothers me that the rich and powerful have more of a say. Yes, I do not like the high prices of gas. But I am not willing to sacrifice the earth for cheaper prices. Not to mention that drilling is not the only solution to the problem. There are many other solutions that completely take Big Oil out of the equation. For instance run your car on used vegetable oil. It may not be as convenient, but I love the fact that it totally subverts power.

If you want some more information on converting your car, check out the video below of Aaron Weiss explaining how they did just that to their tour bus.

Just wanted to hit you with the PAPA Festival 2008 Promo.  Four of us from The Ordinary Radicals movie will be there shooting the event, and we leave from there to follow the Jesus For President tour.  What a summer to make a movie!

Check out: papafestival.org for more info and to register!