Speaking on the radio

Recently I talked on the Visionary Activist radio show (KPFA) about my book with Thomas Linzey, "Be The Change: How to Get What You Want in Your Community." It was the first time I got to be on a radio show.

Host Caroline Casey and I spoke about the ideas in the book, and how these communities decided to take back their power by writing laws that stripped corporations of their personhood rights. I talked about the people like Gail Darryl of Barnstead and Michael Vacca of Blaine Township and Cathy Miorelli of Tamaqua. It was fun and easy and I felt articulate. She asked me to read the Preamble of the Barnstead Ordinance banning corporate water withdrawal, and the very words moved and inspired me.

"We The People of the Town of Barnstead declare that water is essential for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness--both for people and for the ecological systems, which give life to all species. We the People of the Town of Barnstead declare that we have the duty to safeguard the water both on and beneath the Earth's surface, and in the process safeguard the rights of the ecosystems of which Barnstead is a part. We the people of Barnstead declare that all of our water is held in the public trust as a common resource to be used for the benefit of Barnstead residents and of the natural ecosystems of which they are a part."

I discussed the rights of communities and the rights of nature. We talked about the articles of the Ecuador constitution which recognize that nature has a right to exist, flourish and evolve. Caroline talked about democracy and how this means respect for each other and all life forms we share the planet with. So then she asked me to read a passage from Mary Poppins about the great chain of being dance and the Hamadryad teaching the children that we're all "made of the same stuff - man, stone, beast, bird, star." We linked this to the work of Thomas Linzey I describe in my book and the idea that the laws being crafted encode the idea that we are connected and all living things are deserving of respect.

The words PL Travers wrote also inspired and moved me.

I saw how words that are beautifully crafted and express truth, can alter mood and consciousness and create new possibilities and realities.

This makes me happy that I'm a writer.