Words and Violence Fourth Edition- Bullying the Planet

Introduction to the Fouth Edition

Because we are in a time of transition and the issues facing humankind and all of this planet’s bio-diverse kin are urgent, we didn’t just extend the work of “Words and Violence” to the big picture; we extended it to the biggest—as we addressed bullying the planet. There are innumerable ways we bully Planet Earth and only one way to save and steward her—to not just a state of survival but to “thrival.” That way is active compassion.

The ways we bully the Earth are countless:

•Irresponsible environmental stewardship •Exploitation of the Indigenous • Mismanagement of land, oceans, water, air •The greed of earth's resources that belong to all, not to those who wish to conscript them as commodities and commerce •The skewed and exploited economy

• Climate change •Artificial agriculture and food production •Political indifference or the abuse of influence •The treatment of animals •Land grabs and mismanagement •The collective psychic disconnection and denial •The moral vacuum in business and commerce •Racism •Double standards •The rising phenomenon of a spiritual vacuum •The abuse of authority and power •The trampling of human and civil rights •Slavery •Conflict •Gentrification •Terrorism • Genocide •War...

It’s the frantic, irresponsible and runaway “colonization” of our planet and it resources that have led us to this detour from enlightenment in human evolution and to the path of possible extinction. Urgent and drastic change must be implemented if we are to save our planet and turn our course away from destruction. There is one thing we can do that will turn this capricious runaway destruction around: employ and deploy compassion.

The way we reverse the damage and institute the responsible stewardship of Earth, her life and her myriad species including humans, is through compassion. From now on, we must act from and with compassion.