Category Archives: History

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: Wisdom for Today from the Past

Today is . I wrote about MLK day and suggest taking a look at that post, too.

There isn’t a lot I want to say today, but I do want to point to a speech by Dr. King. I couldn’t find this speech on YouTube, but there is some audio of the speech (but it’s only the final paragraph). Nonetheless, I thought the speech, especially in its context (, , etc.), is quite powerful. Moreover, I think the words that Dr. King spoke are applicable to some of the issues that are facing the world today. I’m speaking particularly to the all-time lows in and the continued .

This was given in November of 1967 to the National Labor Leadership Assembly for Peace on the subject of the “Domestic Impact of War.”

As I move to my conclusion, let me ask you to indulge a personal reference. When I first decided to take a firm stand against the war in Vietnam, I was subjected to the most bitter criticism, by the press, by individuals, and even by some fellow civil rights leaders. There were those who said that I should stay in my place, that these two issues did not mix and I should stick with civil rights. Well I had only one answer for that and it was simply the fact that I have struggled too long and too hard now to get rid of segregation in public accommodations to end up at this point in my life segregating my moral concerns. [Applause]

And I made it very clear that I recognized that justice was indivisible. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. And then there are those who said ‘You’re hurting the civil right movement.’ One spoke to me one day and said, ‘Now Dr. King, don’t you think you’re going to have to agree more with the Administration’s policy. I understand that your position on Vietnam has hurt the budget of your organization. And many people who respected you in civil rights have lost that respect and don’t you think that you’re going to have to agree more with the Administration’s policy to regain this.’ And I had to answer by looking that person into the eye, and say ‘I’m sorry sir but you don’t know me. I’m not a consensus leader.’ [Laughter – Applause] I do not determine what is right and wrong by looking at the budget of my organization or by taking a Gallup poll of the majority opinion. Ultimately a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. [Applause]

On some positions a coward has asked the question is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question is it right? And there come a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right. [Applause] ()

Twitter: Who I’m Following, Part 6

It’s been just about two months since I last updated the list of people I’m following on Twitter. I thought today might be a good day to give a brief update. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll try to catch “all the way” up to who I’m following. In case you missed the earlier posts:





So, without further adieu, here are the people I have followed since my last post.

: Louise Hay is the author of one of the most the most famous self-help books of all time – . It lends credence to the idea that your thoughts can affect your biology.

: “A collection of quotes that will challenge, motivate and inspire you to be the best you can be.” Curated by , Personal Development Trainer & Coach.

: He is a former Governor & Congressman and is currently . He has bee notoriously held out of , but has some intriguing ideas.

: CNBC is a cable television business news channel. They are dedicated to covering business headlines and financial markets.

: LeVar Burton played the lovable character from . He’s also a big proponent of literacy.

: Justin Trudeau is the son of the famous . Justin has gone on to become a politician in his own right.

: Since the passing of Jack Layton, Turmel has filled in as the interim leader of the NDP. Shortly, the NDP will pick their leader.

: Dahlia is a Canadian (eh?) and mostly tweets about issues regarding law and the court system.

: This is the account of the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron. I’m not sure, but I think the account will stay with the Prime Minister’s office, regardless of party.

: Melinda Gates is the co-founder and co-chair of the , which is the largest .

: Jim Carrey was born in (I lived there when I was younger!) and is one of the funnier comedians of today.

: Lewis Black is a stand-up comedian and is a regular on . His tweets are often funny.

: “Word Spy is devoted to ‘lexpionage,’ the sleuthing of new words and phrases.”

: Michael Steele is a former RNC Chairman. He is a contributor to MSNBC (often representing the conservative viewpoint).

: She is currently a Washington correspondent for GQ and often has interesting commentary on the political debates.

: Julie is one of my friends from SVSU. She currently works for the American Red Cross.

: The Dalai Lama is the most influential figure in Tibetan Buddhism. His “reign” has lasted over 60 years!

: This twitter account is aimed at iPad users, but during “The Rachel Maddow Show,” it often tweets links to articles of which Maddow is referring.

: Stiglitz won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2001 and is a very well respected academic.

: I used to watch Ali back when he was on . I always found him to be very intelligent.

: From the Twitter account: “We work to help all people lead healthy, productive lives, focused on health, poverty, and opportunity.”

: I listened to a lecture of Prof. Aaker (look for it in my upcoming post in the series “, Part 6.”)

: The : Informing and inspiring leaders of social change.

: Bill Gates doesn’t tweet very often, but when he does, he often, “shares cool things he’s learning.”

: Jack Welch is one of the preeminent businessmen of our time. It’s great to be able to follow his commentary via Twitter.

: Tweets to articles in that have to do with news or insights for business education.

: I like to view information by way of charts, so it’s great that has an account dedicated solely to charts.

: Tweets from this account are from and have to do with business, finance, or economics.

: This is the Twitter account for a blog and there are often tweets about the economy, business, and finance.

: This account retweets Humblebrags. As is made clear on their about statement, “Humblebrags are different from brags.”

: Paul La Monica tweets — often — about stocks (what’s up, what’s down) and the economy. He’s quite a barometer for the market.

: Richard writes about social and economic theory. He’s current a at the University of Toronto.

: Roubini is a rather famous economist. In fact, he predicted the collapse of the US housing market and the worldwide recession.

: Felix Salmon is a noted finance blogger for Reuters. He’s won for his scientific reporting.

: “GOOD is the global association of individuals, businesses, and nonprofits powering what works.”

~

As I said earlier in this post, I’ll do my best to catch up to the updated list of who I’m following in the next couple of weeks. As always, if there’s someone you think I might like to follow, leave me a comment, send me an email, or me.

The Most Unifying Global Event: New Year’s Eve & Day

Is there a more unifying global event than New Year’s Eve & Day?

There have been some rather unifying global events in recent memory, but they usually involve some sort of catastrophe (think: tsunamis). In the US, series finales used to be watched by whole lots of people, but with the further development of individual niche markets, even that has tailed off. There likely won’t ever be a TV show that comes close to touching of over 100 million viewers and close to 80% of households watching.

was a pretty well-liked show, (so I’m told), and its series finale only came in at 54th on the same list. TV is ‘nice,’ but it’s not that I would want unifying the globe. Of course, there are exceptions. If everyone were watching a TV that was commemorating world peace or the end of world hunger, then sure, I’m in.

~

As I sat and thought about the various global events that have happened, I wondered if there were a night/day more filled with hope and love than New Year’s Eve/Day. Some may cite holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter, but those kinds of holidays can be seen as country-specific or denominational. While there are probably lots of people who celebrate these days regardless of their country and/or religion, I was looking for something with a wider scope.

We could go back in time to the , but again, that was country-specific. Of course, the Soviet Union was interested in the event, but I don’t know that it’s fair to say every country was as enveloped with the event. There’s nothing quite like a ‘new year,’ though, is there? All the potential, the hope, the possibility, the dreams.

I think that New Year’s Eve & Day will be, for quite some time, the most unifying global event. Why? Because this event can be completely different things for everyone. Some people can see it as the end of the “old year,” and some people can focus on the beginning of the “new year.” Some folks can use it as a way to springboard to a motivational state that allows them to achieve their goals/dreams, while others just see it as another day. New Year’s is, in a sense, the perfect event to whatever we want onto it.

Expect Great Things

Sunrise, sunset, beautiful picture, beauty, sky, It’s New Year’s Eve (2011), so I won’t write a very long post. But there are a few things I wanted to say before we ceremonially say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012. So, without further adieu…

Most people in North America will likely be ringing in this evening with some kind of a party. A celebration of the year that was and an eye full of hope to the possibility of the year that can be. I’m sure you’ve read or will read a litany of articles about the “best” things of 2011 or the “worst” things of 2011. A number of “top 10” lists, or “top 5” lists, or top (fill in the blank with an odd number) list. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy reading some of these and think it is important to reflect on the past.

However, I would hazard a guess that the majority of what is retold at the end of the year are not necessarily the “best” things of the year. They are usually the kinds of things that will attract the most readers. And I understand, there are people whose livelihoods depend on their publishing columns and articles that keep readers coming back. I don’t mean to sound cynical, but I wonder how many lists there are out there where a story like would make the top 5.

While there are so many things that happened in the year 2011 that were tragic or catastrophic, I’d like to think that there is an innumerable amount of stories that could just as easily warm our hearts. For every Tsunami that leads to a potential nuclear disaster, there are 20 instances of people doing the ‘right’ thing (like the money in the bag story from above).

It’s stories like these that give me hope for the future of our civilization and in particular, the western world. We mostly hear about the shortcomings of each other and that can lead to a predisposition of expecting the worst in each other. I don’t expect the worst out of you and neither should you. I expect great things.

Expect great things from each other and you just might be surprised at the outcome.

What if Women Ruled the World?

So what if women ruled the world?

Really, I want you to think about it. What if women ruled the world? How would our world be different? (I’ll wait.)

Some of the things that came to mind might have been the various representations of women ruling the world that you saw on TV (or in a movie) or maybe you read about it in a book. Most of these, in my experience, are not what I would call “accurate” representations of how women would rule the world. They usually have women ruling the world, but they are playing a much more masculine role. If women ruled the world, do you really think they’d rule it like men have?

Women, typically, have more than their male counterparts. Of course, an integrated human would have both Yin energy and Yang energy, but like I said, typically, women are known for having more Yin energy. Because of this, I wouldn’t expect women to be overtly aggressive. That’s not to say they can’t be, but typically, women are going to be a bit more passive. Now, this is often seen as a negative quality (in general), but I think that this has only happened because men have “ruled the world.”  Because we’ve had men at the top, because men are typically the leader, the qualities present in men have been the qualities held in esteem.

One of the books I hold in high regard, , brings to light a different story of history (in a few chapters). That is, the authors review some of the important points in history and highlight some of the information that isn’t usually mentioned. As an aside, they raise an interesting perspective on evolution. More importantly to our topic of women ruling the world, they wrote about the beginnings of the United States of America. They wrote about how the  came to write the and how they came to write the . Of course, these authors weren’t there when these documents were forming, so their opinions (however based in ‘fact,’) cannot be assumed to be factual. I only say this because I’m sure there are lots of opinions about how such important documents as these came to be and I didn’t want to claim that the perspective I’m offering is the only one.

As I said, in this book, the authors talk about how these important American documents were formed. More than that, they talk about how the Founding Fathers interacted with the Native Americans and, in fact, how they [Founding Fathers] learned from them [Native Americans]. According to these authors, the two documents I referred to were influenced by what the Founding Fathers witnessed in the Native Americans. That is, how they interacted within their culture — with the land, with the people, and with the animals. It is a fascinating read, but the point I wanted to make with raising this book was that in the early Native American culture, women made the decision as to whether or not they went to war with a neighboring tribe. Let me say that again: women made the decision to go to war. Women. And the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were based on what the Founding Fathers witnessed in the Native American society.

Can you imagine what the world would look like today had women be the ultimate decision-makers with regard to going to war with a neighboring country? Do you think that the US would have been in as many wars as it has in the last 50 years had a council of women, , be the ones who made the final decision?

The Best Piece of Advice: We’ll See…

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever come across is one with regard to . I’ve written about perspective and having a in posts before, but I think that this particular post, or more accurately, the content of this post, is the best summary of my “perspective” when it comes to perspective.

The I’m quoting this from says the story is Taoist, but I’ve heard other people say it’s from different traditions:

[There was] an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit.

“Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“We’ll see,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses.

“How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.

“We’ll see,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

“We’ll see,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“We’ll see” said the farmer.

This kind of story could keep going on and on and on — and it has relevance to every subject (you’ll notice that I’ve placed it in every category that I currently have for the posts I write). While there are some things that I categorically disagree with (the death penalty being one), I could see this story or as the answer to many hardships in people’s lives. Having lived through *some* hardships so far, I can understand how hearing these words are not necessarily comforting with regard to certain instances, but well after the fact (in my experience), the perspective created by these words can illuminate some unexpected insights.

~

I thought I’d present some examples from the news where we could apply this wisdom:

– Many Toronto Blue Jays’ fans are pleased (myself included) that they acquired Colby Rasmus (via trade). He may turn out to be a great player for the Jays, or he may not. We’ll see.

– Most economists (and people) following the “” will tell you that the US needs to raise its debt ceiling or there will be ramifications of epic proportions. Most of what I’ve heard/read on the issue seems to be a whole lot of politicking. If the US defaults on its loans will that be the worst thing in the world? If the US averts this “disaster,” will that be a good thing? We’ll see. (This particular We’ll See might not have a concrete answer for another 30 years).

– As Borders’ stores continue to close their doors for the final time, many speculate on what this may mean for other businesses similar to Borders. The outlook isn’t usually positive, but maybe this will free up time for other endeavors. We’ll see.

– (An odd bit of news, to say the least). This particular example is quite similar to the farmer’s son falling off the horse and breaking his leg. While I don’t expect Alex Trebek to be drafted to the military, who knows what this injury will do for his “perspective” on life. And the answer is: We’ll see.

As you can see, these “three” words can apply to pretty much anything you can come up with. I’d like to invite you to share with us in the comments some situations that you initially thought were poor (or great) that turned out to be great (or not so great) with us in the comments section.

For the folks who are visual learners:

Quotes: Pensiveness, Presaging, and Perception

As I a couple of weeks ago, I started tagging posts where I used quotes with the tag “,” so it’s easier for you to find other posts with quotes in them. I also decided (a couple of weeks ago), to every once and awhile, do a post with just quotes. The first post of quotes contained famous words in passion, produce, and production. Today’s post of quotes covers the topics of pensiveness, presaging, and perception. (I don’t have some sort of preoccupation or propensity for the letter ‘P,’ it just happened this way.) The first, from :

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.”

I first saw/heard this quote on an episode of The West Wing (or so I thought — in trying to find the episode it was in, I’m at a loss). I could see saying something like this given his character (no pun intended). This seems to be a poignant quote, especially for politics, with regard to debating ideas and bills. I’ve seen a number of articles explaining the and I think it’s true. Dissent is a way of preventing  from taking hold. More than this, dissent allows for a diversity of opinion and thus, a diversity of ideas. When there is more than one opinion bandied about, it would seem (and is) more likely that new ideas can emerge.

An important piece that comes to mind is or what I was explained to me as dialectics. I’ve been reading the wiki article, so that I could more accurately describe the concept that was explained to me and I now see that maybe what I was told was dialectics is not actually dialectics (or maybe is a form of dialectics). Anyway, the exercise that was explained to me was for when two people have differing opinions (and want to settle an argument or come to a resolution of ideas). They begin to have a discussion, but instead of arguing for their own points of view, they argue against their point of view. So, in effect, they find support for their compatriot’s point of view. It can be a very different experience. The next quote we have is from :

“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” – Wayne Gretzky

Personally, I haven’t been a very big “fan” of Wayne Gretzky, but that’s more because I grew up watching the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1990s and Wayne Gretzky played for the rival Los Angeles Kings. Nonetheless, it’s hard to debate the ‘‘ without including Gretzky in the argument. This quote above is one I’ve found in some of the unlikeliest of places (business, for one). It’s a different way of re-focusing one’s attention on what’s to come rather than what is. It seems especially important when talking about . I wouldn’t advocate living “in the future,” but in most instances, it’s important to have foresight. And the last quote we have is from :

“I know what I have given you. I do not know what you have received.” – Antonio Porchia

This is a great “” quote that can almost come across as arrogant or condescending, depending upon how you receive it (ha!) It kind of lends credence to the idea that “we only hear what we want to hear.” It’s probably not reasonable for everyone to engage in “” all the time, but I bet there’d be a whole let less misunderstandings in the world. really are just a sophisticated set of symbols that help us communicate with one another. It is but a means to an end. It’s like telephones. It’s not that we like/need/want telephones, but we want the ability to communicate with people who are not nearby. The next time you’re talking with someone, think about how much of what you’re saying is actually being received. Better yet, the next time you’re listening to someone, think about how much of what they’re saying to you is actually being received.

Charting The Unknown: What’s It Like To Explore

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to see a . This particular luau was a little different from most luaus. Most have the traditional Hawaiian food, Hula dancers, Poi spinners/twirlers, and music. This particular luau that I saw was a cross between that and a retelling of the story of some of the first voyages from Tahiti to Hawaii. From the luaus website:

It is during the time of epic voyages between Hawaii and Tahiti, along one of the longest sea roads of Polynesia, that our journey takes place. Through laughter, fear, seduction and fire, a new legacy is created, born from the cherished seeds of their ancestors.

As the show concluded, I couldn’t help but wonder… what was it like for those early explorers of the world?

Outside of astronauts, I really can’t think of anything that compares to what these early explorers might have been feeling before beginning their journeys. And these astronauts would only have relatable experiences to those explorers that set sail after the ones that had already gone “first.”

Just stopping for a moment… to consider what it’s like to leave everything you know – everything you’ve ever known – to get on a boat to set sail for the new land. Not knowing what kind of topsy-turvy experience the ocean will gift them with. Not knowing what kind of experience the new land will bring them. Will their be food? Will we be able to make shelter? Will there be predators? But maybe most of all, will we make it?

It’s a reasonable question, yes? You’re venturing out into the unknown. Venturing out into uncharted territory. For those initial explorers, for the ones who left their land before anyone else had done so, they were venturing out into the water before anyone else had. They didn’t know that they would eventually find . I just can’t imagine what it was like for these early families to voluntarily leave everything they’ve known.

~

History wasn’t a . Nonetheless, I understand the importance of having an understanding of where we (as a species) have been to understand the possibility of where we may be going. As I reflect on some of these early experiences of our species, I wonder if, in my lifetime, we will again get to have this feeling of . I suppose we could say that scientists get to have this feeling when they conduct research. They are, in a sense, charting the unknown. Beyond that, we could even stretch the metaphor to include psychologists/psychiatrists who offer counseling where they help the client “plunge the depths of their psyche.”While these experiences may be similar, they don’t give me the impression that they would compare to making humans feel “small” in the sense that an experience like setting sail on the ocean might. Leaving the edge of the shore and being out in the open water without land as far as the eye can see — it’s quite an extraordinary sight! In fact, I’m told there’s nothing like it. To see stars stretch from one end of the horizon all the way to the other. Remarkable.

It can also be humbling, can’t it? To see a sight like this and realize that the Earth, that humans, are just a tiny spec in the universe. I really hope that in my lifetime (or very nearly after), humans again get to have that feeling. That humans will pilot spaceships and attempt to physically chart the depth and the expansiveness of the universe. I think we can do it. I feel we can do it.

Quotes: Passion, Produce, and Production

I’ve recently started using “” as one of my tags for posts I write. Most of the times I’ve got a quote in a post, I’ll tag it with “Quotes,” so it’ll be easy for you to find all the posts where I’ve used famous quotes. On that same note, I thought it was time for me to do a post of quotes.

Throughout high school and most (okay, all) of my undergrad, I was semi-obsessed with quotes. I thoroughly enjoyed finding concise bits of wisdom from a famous person to express myself clearly. After undergrad though, quotes just seemed to fade as a priority for me. They became less and less a focus of the things I did. Maybe that was because I was in the midst of a PhD program and found myself reading oodles of academic journal articles. Regardless of the reason why, recently, I’ve remembered the value of a short sentence that can speak “volumes.” Today, I thought I’d recount some of the quotes that I’ve come across recently that have made an impact.

One of my current favorite quotes is one that is often and maybe that’s partly why I like it so. It’s not as famous as the misattribution of , nor is it as famous as the to a Martin Luther King, Jr. quote, but I’ve seen it written many times to the wrong name. I don’t remember where I first saw the quote, but I know that I like it. From :

Do not ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

It feels like it speaks to the heart of what I think we should be doing on the planet.People should be passionate about what they do. Find your passion — fulfill your passion. I understand that sometimes people think this is not an option for them (doing their life’s passion), but I believe, there is room for us all to be doing our true passion.

Another good one that I found was at a restaurant that my partner and I were eating at this past winter. It was written on a chalkboard in pretty big letters (and the restaurant is , as they have a farm on the property). When I saw it, I thought, of course! From :

“If organic farming is the natural way, shouldn’t organic produce just be called ‘produce’ and make the pesticide-laden stuff take the burden of an adjective?” – Ymber Delecto

Doesn’t that just make sense? Too often we have a word for something and then we have to develop a modifying word to better understand the initial word. Produce was originally just produce — why do we need to call it organic produce? Another strange one on this topic, specifically in the food category, is the way we talk about sugar. Refined sugar equals bad, but unrefined sugar equals good. We have sugar to begin, but then we add the word refined (to explain that it’s been worked over), but then we need to add the prefix ‘un’ to tell us that the sugar has in fact, not been worked over. Shouldn’t it just be sugar?

One last one that I had found for a presentation I had to give recently. From :

In a truly great company, profits and cash flow become like blood and water to a healthy body: They are absolutely essential for life, but they are not the very point of life.

This comes from Collins’ book, . I think it speaks to a fundamental (pathology, if we want to invoke the documentary, ), with the way the majority of business operates today. Clearly, does not think business should be pathological. He’s been lecturing on sustainability for quite some time now.

So what about you. What are some of your favorite quotes?

Proof That Grassroots CAN Work: Germany Closing ALL Nuclear Plants by 2022

Germany has a history of being anti-nuclear. Put more accurately: the citizens of Germany have a history of being anti-nuclear. :

The anti-nuclear movement in Germany has a long history dating back to the early 1970s, when large demonstrations prevented the construction of a nuclear plant. . . an example of a local community challenging the nuclear industry through a strategy of direct action and civil disobedience. . . Anti-nuclear success at [here] inspired nuclear opposition throughout Germany, in other parts of Europe, and in North America. . . Germany’s anti-nuclear stance was strengthened [from the Chernobyl incident]. . . In September 2010, German government policy shifted back toward nuclear energy, and this generated some new anti-nuclear sentiment in Berlin and beyond. On September 18, 2010, tens of thousands of Germans surrounded Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office. In October 2010, tens of thousands of people protested in Munich. In November 2010, there were violent protests against a train carrying reprocessed nuclear waste.

The people of Germany do not want nuclear energy — they’ve made this abundantly clear in their recent history. An interesting (and somewhat inspiring) bit of protesting that wasn’t included in the introduction of this Wikipedia entry happened

A Human Chain along the Elbe River: Approximately 120,000 people formed a 120 kilometer-long chain between the nuclear power plants in Krummel and Brunsbuttel to take a stand against the federal government’s nuclear policy. At the same time around 20,000 people demonstrated in front of the Biblis Power plant in southern Hesse. Another 7,000 protesters gathered in front of an interim nuclear waste storage facility in North Rhine-Westphalia.

That is incredible. Seeing pictures of protests/marches at the National Mall can be kind of exhilarating, but a 120km chain of people — that’s quite a political statement. Forget political, that’s quite a statement in general. To be able to gather that many people together (not just in one place), but to span across a distance so great — that’s just inspiring. Moving forward to this year, after the , the Germans resolve for a nuclear-free country was reignited.

On Saturday [March 12th, the day after the Tsunami struck Japan], anti-nuclear protesters formed a 45-km (27 mile) human chain from the Baden-Wuerttemberg capital of Stuttgart to Neckarwestheim I. Between 50,000 and 60,000 demonstrators took part, according to police and organisers. [sic]

Three days after the disaster started in Japan, Chancellor Merkel announced a , during which the initial plans to extend the life of some of the older nuclear plants in the country . The next day, the Chancellor took it one step further by off the grid (temporarily). Some noted that this with the upcoming state elections.

While I’m sure that these decisions made the German citizens happy, it clearly was not enough for them. On March 26th, just two short weeks after the event in Japan, to “demand the irreversible phase out [of] nuclear power.” (Here’s a link to an , in case you don’t use Google Chrome/Translate to read the German article.) The protesting , with pockets of people protesting in different areas of the country totaling over 10,000.

… And now finally, the German citizens are getting what they asked for — . A country whose energy department will never again have to create plans and procedures for dealing with new radioactive waste. By the year 2022, Germany will have . How awesome is that? Forget for a second where you stand on nuclear energy and just take in the effect that the citizens of the country had on the policymakers of the country. The citizens of Germany did not want nuclear energy. Period. The policymakers thought that this position (of the people) may have softened and tried to open up the possibility for more nuclear power. Upon learning of this, the citizens revolted. Heeding the word of the people, the policymakers had to go back on their plans to increase nuclear energy in the country.

This is quite an amazing feat (to me). The people wanted something – desperately – and now they’re getting it. It seems similar in a way to some of the other things that have happened this year. There were the for union rights and more noteworthy, there was (and still is) the overwhelming number of . It has been quite a year for “small groups” of people, hasn’t it? It may seem a bit clichéd, (but it is most definitely not contrived); I wanted to end this post with a quote from a :

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.