The address I hope President Obama will deliver
By Robert Gerzon
My Fellow Americans,
You elected me to provide leadership for change and these times of crisis demand change. But how do we know what kinds of change will make things better and which will make things worse?
Our problems are many. The big one on people's minds right now is the financial crisis. But even if we could solve that problem tomorrow we would still have a long list of serious problems. We have an environmental and ecological crisis of planetary proportions. We have problems with our schools, poverty, drugs, healthcare, unemployment, crime, and a deteriorating infrastructure. The international challenges of conflict, violence, nuclear proliferation and terrorism continue to threaten our safety and well-being.
Last week I went back to the Oval office after having dinner with my family to catch up on some work. Instead I took some time and just sat there and contemplated the wide range of diverse and daunting crises we face. If you've been around for awhile you've probably noticed as I have that every solution we come up with these days seems to create more unintended problems. I recalled a core lesson I had learned from my mother: You can't solve a problem until you define it correctly.
As I sat there reflecting on all this I saw that the root of all these problems may lie in our very way of thinking about them.
To explain what I mean by that I'd like to share something personal with you. My ancestors in Africa were a tribal people who lived in harmony with Nature. They didn't know about modern science and technology. But they had a deep wisdom about the natural order of things that enabled them to live on the earth without harming it for hundreds of thousands of years.
On this continent the Native Americans cared for the land for thousands of years before we arrived, preserving the natural resources for each new generation.
We civilized modern people have come so far in our science and technology. Yet we've lost something vital along the way: the understanding our ancestors had that all the parts are connected and form a whole.
We're at a special moment in human history. Albert Einstein observed that a problem cannot be solved at the same level of consciousness that created it. Whether you call it global consciousness, whole brain thinking or an integration of scientific knowledge and spiritual wisdom, we need to make a shift to a new way of thinking.
I believe that America has a spiritual destiny. This country was founded on a radical change of consciousness: the belief that a new era of freedom and equality for humanity was beginning.
Now it's our turn to demonstrate the courage to make a daring leap in consciousness similar to the one Founding Fathers made. We need a whole new way of looking at things if are going to survive the challenges of the coming century. I will be leading that change by gathering together the best minds of our time to develop creative solutions.
There are lots of bright people with innovative solutions in this country and around the world. They have not been invited to Washington until now because they were not part of the entrenched system of vested interests. But this is what I came here to change.
Our government has become dangerously unresponsive to the needs of its citizens. Corporations did not even exist in the eighteenth century when our Constitution established the legislative, judicial and executive branches of our government. Now big corporations and their lobbyists form an unofficial and unelected fourth branch that threatens to dominate and subvert the people's government.
Those days are over.
I came became your President in the middle of a financial crisis. My first priority has been to stabilize the system.
Now we're going to start to shake it up. I know this will upset the power elite, the 1% of the population who own 40% of the wealth. But this is still a democracy and I am counting on the other 99% of you to make your voices heard and support this shift to a new way of thinking.
To start with I am establishing the Creative Solutions Initiative. I am sending out a invitation to creative thinkers everywhere: come and share your insights and your knowledge. We'll also have a website where any citizen can post their ideas and opinions.
This crisis is an opportunity for us to grow into the nation we were meant to be. The story of America is not over. I need you to help me write the next chapter.
Find out more about Robert Gerzon’s highly acclaimed book Finding Serenity in the Age of Anxiety.
Find out more about Robert Gerzon’s Counseling and Coaching Services.
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