Let's Make the Shift
Happen Before the Sh*t Hits the Fan!
Message from Rick Ulfik, Founder and Director of We, The World
I'm on a mission. And I hope you will join me on this mission.
With We, The World's partners and volunteers I'm working to implement
a full blown collaborative public education and mobilization program
to shift the cultural and political landscape - especially in the most powerful
societies in the world.
It is my belief that until we have such a program, we will continue to
suffer through crises like the current economic meltdown, because it is
highly unlikely that the shift to sustainable policies, priorities and consciousness
will be led by the power brokers in politics, finance, big business or the
media. The desired shift will undoubtedly come from "below" as it always
has (through grassroots awareness-raising and organizing)
There is reason to believe that until we establish a mass public education
and mobilization program, the financial turmoil we are seeing will be followed
by even more catastrophic occurrences than already exist in the world as a
result of Global Climate Change, the Mass Extinction of Species
(as many as 70-100 per day), Militarism (Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Russia, terrorism, etc.), Poverty (more food riots and worse), Oil
Shortages, Water Shortages, Agricultural Contamination and
on and on.
These and other interconnected crises are perpetuated not just by those
who derive the most money and power from the dominant economic, political
and social systems, but also by the rest of us who (often unwittingly) fuel
these systems by our consumer choices, our energy choices, our voting, media,
job, investment and cultural choices. If a significant part of the public
were to shift these choices, we could have real change.
The Challenge and the Opportunity
Potentially, the public has massive power to make change. But the $64
Trillion questions are:
- Can that tremendous power of the people be organized
to generate the kind of political, economic and social will needed for significant
and lasting change? and,
- Can that change take place soon enough? that is, before
certain catastrophic environmental effects become irreversible (within 5 years
by some estimates) or before some military or terrorist incident takes place
that gives those in high places the excuse to take even more of a reactionary
power grab than after 9/11 (which would again severely hamper work and drain
resources to end climate change, poverty, etc.).
The answers to both, thankfully, are YES - with
your involvement now. Here's how.
Making the Shift Happen Before the Sh*t Hits the Fan
- within 2 years!
After a 15 year study, social researcher Paul Ray now estimates
that there are 50-60 million people in the USA and 80-90 million in Western
Europe who are what he calls Cultural Creatives. They share values
that include: a love and concern for nature and the environment, social justice,
peace, women's issues, holistic health and spirituality, social responsibility,
concern for elders/indigenous peoples, altruism and linking the personal and
the global.
Paul's research also revealed that these Cultural Creatives often keep
their values to themselves, assuming that they are "different" from most others
at work, etc. And they certainly don't realize that 25-30% of the adult population
shares their values!
Paul Ray joined We, The World's Advisory Board because he was excited
about our potential to make the Cultural Creatives visible to each other
so they could begin to act collectively! It is now more important than
ever to realize this potential.
We, The World has already begun engaging, connecting and informing the
Cultural Creatives (see Highlights and Successes).
Fully implemented, our program of mass public education and mobilization
will have these components:
- Communication and Coordination between existing major
networks, global organizations, the green business community and smaller
groups around the world
- Large-scale Public International Action Campaign Events every 3 months
that engage, inform and involve a global audience, promoting specific theme-oriented
awareness and action campaigns
Imagine (as an example) MoveOn, Greenpeace and Amnesty
International coordinating their action campaigns with dozens of other
global organizations, 1000s of smaller groups and millions of people around
the world, shifting societal consciousness and creating political will -
every 3 months.
We, The World has developed the Strategic Alliances
and has the team
to achieve that level of global collaboration and effectiveness to make the
shift visible within 2 years. And we have already begun international
organizing with 11 Days
of Global Unity which now annually has more than 700 associated events
in over 60 countries.. But the next step is up to you.
How You Can Help
- Take an active role in one or more of our projects
(see below)
- Make a personal or company financial investment commensurate
with the impact you'd like to have
- Bring others to the table
If you are inspired by what we're doing, please forward
this to your friends, colleagues, and the "right" people who can make a major
contribution to move humanity off the path of catastrophe for a peaceful,
sustainable world. And of course, your financial support at
your highest joyful level is crucial! Go to www.WeTheWorld.org/donate
or send a check payable to We, The World in US currency to the address at
the top.
World Servers/World Savers Circle
Our World Servers/World Savers Circle includes people who feel that "to
be a stakeholder in We, The World is to be a stakeholder in the future of
humanity." World Servers Circle members contribute $1000 or more during the
year. Would you like to be part of this Circle?
Who do you know who would like to turn their financial success into
a legacy of global transformation by investing in a Livable Future?
Click here
to see how one million dollars could change the world - within 2 years
(www.wetheworld.org/wtw2/OneMillionDollars).
For every $1,000 you invest in WTW we are able to impact the lives of
10,000 or more people with programs that inspire, inform and galvanize people
to take action! How many people would you like to impact?
We've already directly impacted the lives of well over 2 million
people. We've not only changed people's lives, we've actually
saved people's lives!
We are seeking seed funding of at least $75,000 now to continue
our work and to grow our Tipping Point
Initiatives (see below) for a launch of the Public
International Action Campaign Event series in 2009.
These Tipping Point
Initiatives include expanding the organizing
model established by 11 Days of Global Unity to Large-scale Public
International Action & Awareness Campaign Events every 3 months. Taken
together, the Initiatives form a coordinated solution-oriented program
of mass public education and mobilization that includes film, TV, and internet
media production and distribution.
With your involvement and support, our collaborative strategy can not
only result in political will (and consumer will) but will also accelerate
the cultural shift away from what We, The World Advisory Board member
Riane Eisler calls Domination Culture (and it's impending collapse)
and toward Partnership Culture.
Thank you so much for helping to create a better world!
Rick Ulfik
Founder and Director
We, The World
www.WeTheWorld.org.
www.GlobalUnityCalendar.org
Messages
from visionary leaders about We, The World
"The objective of the organization We,
The World is to facilitate cooperation on a global scale amongst groups
and individuals dedicated to implementing solutions to the many challenges
we face on the planet at this time."
"Well done on your second days of global unity. God bless you
all."
Dr. Riane Eisler -
Author, Chalice and the Blade; Co-founder and President,
Center for Partnership Studies
"It is time for such an organization, one that unites
and amplifies our voices."
"I am delighted that you are doing the 'Forum on Transforming Dominator
Culture to Partnership Culture in an Election Year.' We so urgently
need people to change the conversation about this election, to address underlying
issues, to show that the real struggle here is between domination and partnership
systems, and that this is basic to the kind of world our children will inherit... keep
up your important work!"
Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE - Founder
of the Jane Goodall Institute and U.N. Messenger of Peace
"I support and endorse the mission of We, The World
to make sure that individuals and organizations who share a commitment to
sustainability can network effectively to achieve their goals."
Jonathan Granoff - President, Global Security
Institute
"This work for peace, both inner and outer peace, is
needed now more than ever... Your work is clearly a force for the highest
good."
Click here for more
comments about the impact we are having.