“We have lived our lives by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption, that what is good for the world will be good for us. And that requires that we make the effort to know the world and learn what is good for it.”
― Wendell Berry, The Long-Legged House
WRWK is progressive community radio. We seek to promote progress towards justice, health and happiness for hard working folks everywhere. On a larger scale, if we trace human progress over the last five thousand years, humans have achieved some great things. Unfortunately, many of these achievements came at a high price in terms of human life and environmental damage because we ignored the costs of our progress. While learning how to mass produce things, to fly, to find and use fossil fuels, we were also wrecking the environment and taking over the resources of weaker countries while taking advantage of each other in ways that reduced our social health and stability. This imperial attitude of exploitation is part of what our constitution was meant to address.
Say what you might about the flaws of the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, in their time they were charting a way to progress out of the chaos of history and its failures. As Sarah Chayes points out in her book Corruption in America: And What is at Stake our constitution was an attempt to block corruption while expanding the power of the people instead of just reinforcing the royal prerogatives of wealth and privilege.
Sadly, these royal prerogatives are still at play today as when the General Assembly affirmed the right of regulated monopolies to lobby politicians (thus maintaining a solid source of campaign cash). It’s not about blue and red or even north and south, it’s about creeping corruption and the lusts of power. And as we become more divided, the lusts of monied interests are busily corroding the protections of our constitution.
If we compare the relationship between what citizens want from government versus what monied interests want, too often money wins out. This was illustrated well when our governor managed approval of permits for oil pipelines in spite of public opposition.
Other examples abound but we all know this, so let us put our focus on making progress towards universal health and happiness by telling the stories of the possible world that still exists beyond the noise and press releases that ad agencies and campaign funds stir up. Help us to make progress towards this goal by supporting WRWK TheWorkFM where progressive solutions are our inspiration.
