Mansouled Fiery Islands: A way to avoid a worldwide bloody revolution

There but for the grace of God, go I.

Allegedly from a mid-sixteenth-century

statement by John Bradford,

"There but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford",

in reference to a group of prisoners

being led to execution.
From Wikipedia.

z1330832211 | Iconic Photo

Tom Stoddart. Sudan. 1998

Highly recommended

There because of the malicious cruelty

of Omnipotent, Nonexistent god,

goes this young man.

There because of the merciless indifference of

the Universe,

goes this young man

There is plenty of food in the world

to feed all.

There because of the selfishness of the masters of the world's food distribution systems and the deliberate cruelty of men who murder

those who try to feed the starving . . .

(Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed, the country's economy destroyed and several regions pushed to the brink of famine. Khaleej Times)

goes this young man.

Because of the

unconscionable failure

of the world's richest men

gathering annually at the World Economic Forum in the remote safety of Davos, Switzerland . . .

to heed the demands

of the many who urge a more equitable distribution of wealth . . .

(and see New Oxfam report says half of global wealth held by the 1%)

billions of us live with hunger, pain, death.

Each one of the suffering billions

is kin to each one of us,

separated by no more than

six degrees of separation.

Bill Gates, the world's richest man, . . .

in an address to the Harvard faculty and students:

I remember going to Davos some years back and sitting on a global health panel that was discussing ways to save millions of lives. Millions! Think of the thrill of saving just one person's life – then multiply that by millions. … Yet this was the most boring panel I've ever been on – ever. So boring even I couldn't bear it. . . .

Members of the Harvard Family: Here in the Yard is one of the great collections of intellectual talent in the world.

What for? There is no question that the faculty, the alumni, the students, and the benefactors of Harvard have used their power to improve the lives of people here and around the world. But can we do more? Can Harvard dedicate its intellect to improving the lives of people who will never even hear its name? Let me make a request of the deans and the professors – the intellectual leaders here at Harvard: As you hire new faculty, award tenure, review curriculum, and determine degree requirements, please ask yourselves: Should our best minds be dedicated to solving our biggest problems? Should Harvard encourage its faculty to take on the world's worst inequities? Should Harvard students learn about the depth of global poverty … the prevalence of world hunger … the scarcity of clean water …the girls kept out of school … the children who die from diseases we can cure? Should the world's most privileged people learn about the lives of the world's least privileged? These are not rhetorical questions – you will answer with your policies. My mother, who was filled with pride the day I was admitted here – never stopped pressing me to do more for others. A few days before my wedding, she hosted a bridal event, at which she read aloud a letter about marriage that she had written to Melinda. My mother was very ill with cancer at the time, but she saw one more opportunity to deliver her message, and at the close of the letter she said: "From those to whom much is given, much is expected." When you consider what those of us here in this Yard have been given – in talent, privilege, and opportunity – there is almost no limit to what the world has a right to expect from us. In line with the promise of this age, I want to exhort each of the graduates here to take on an issue – a complex problem, a deep inequity, and become a specialist on it. If you make it the focus of your career, that would be phenomenal. But you don't have to do that to make an impact. For a few hours every week, you can use the growing power of the Internet to get informed, find others with the same interests, see the barriers, and find ways to cut through them. Don't let complexity stop you. Be activists. Take on the big inequities. It will be one of the great experiences of your lives.You graduates are coming of age in an amazing time. As you leave Harvard, you have technology that members of my class never had. You have awareness of global inequity, which we did not have. And with that awareness, you likely also have an informed conscience that will torment you if you abandon these people whose lives you could change with very little effort.You have more than we had; you must start sooner, and carry on longer. Knowing what you know, how could you not? And I hope you will come back here to Harvard 30 years from now and reflect on what you have done with your talent and your energy. I hope you will judge yourselves not on your professional accomplishments alone, but also on how well you have addressed the world's deepest inequities … on how well you treated people a world away who have nothing in common with you but their humanity.

This is the result of the present failure of the folks at Davos

to heed Gates' wise words:

——————————

The overdevelopment of condos for the very rich on my home Island in the middle of thePacific Ocean has driven housing prices absurdly high.

I have failed over time to do more to halt excessive development on Oahu.

Many to whom Hawaii has been home for untold generations, where the bones of the Ancestors are buried, now go homeless in their own homeland.

Many of the homeless men and women are bright, capable persons who work at the best jobs available to them, and they cannot afford a place to live. Many are depressed, suicidal, enraged, desperate; many are determined to retake their homeland.

There, because of my inattention and failure to work with more vigor to stop excessive development, go these: