Mindful Spending—or Not Spending—on Black Friday

One of the craziest American traditions—Black Friday—is the perfect time to exercise mindfulness and restraint of excess consumption. In the U.S., consumption levels are not sustainable. We far outspend, out purchase, and out consume every other country on Earth even though we are only 5% of the world's population. So, it's imperative, in this desperate time of climate change that's on the verge of being irreversible, that we make more mindful decisions when it comes to consumption.

Being an educated, informed consumer is one of the best things any one of us can do on a daily basis to make life better and more sustainable for ourselves, our children, and our planet. Black Friday is a good time to remember that consumers have a lot of power in a capitalist democracy and nothing is more powerful than voting with your pocketbook. 

Supporting small, local businesses is one of the best ways to make a statement about your values. You can also bring awareness to causes you care about. Small businesses that give consumers with a conscience ways to spend mindfully are popping up all over the country. One such example is Kombucha Dog, an organic, non-GMO delicious taste bud experience that has married up with a great cause: rescue dogs. Another company that has really made an impression on me is REI with their OptOutside Campaign, closing doors on Black Friday, encouraging people to participate in life instead of shopping. There are many more businesses jumping onboard this mindfulness train, consumers just have to do their homework.

I am very proud of the life I’ve led in this regard. Living mindfully is a cornerstone of my existence. Perhaps it is the Native American Indian within me—I have always felt a deep kinship with the Earth and a desire not to take more from her than I can give back. While I will never be able to give more than I receive from the Earth's bounty, I try every single day to be a steward of the Earth and all sentient beings; to put loving-kindness for my planet and animals first. When I do this, I make healthier choices for me and the planet. When I do this, I put my money into the causes that mean the most to me. I vote with my pocketbook every time I purchase something. As a minimalist, the money I don’t spend is also a vote against consumerism and the institutions that are driving the train of consumption sickness and climate change in this country.

So this Black Friday, be an informed consumer, or better yet, follow REI’s lead and not be a consumer at all. Minimalism is beautiful. Buy local. Buy thoughtful. Spend wisely.

Monitor and Adjust, Feel Your Feelings, and Find a Way Forward

No matter which side of the election results you are on, you may be more present in your own life today than you have been in a long time. Right now, many are feeling their feelings, running the gamut from anger to elation, hope to fear, and everything in between.

Yesterday, a very wise and classy colleague of mine said to me very diplomatically, "What can we do but monitor and adjust, right?"

"I will," I responded. "Eventually. But today, I am feeling my feelings. I am not there yet."

This morning, I woke up again wondering, Is this real? Then I saw a segment on the Portland, Oregon protests that turned to riots. I was in Portland only a week ago. I cried. I am still crying. My god, what have we done?

As angry as I feel, I will never choose violence as a mean to protest. It only weakens the people we are; the person I am.  It weakens the message of "Love Trumps Hate." It weakens us as a nation.

I am not in any way suggesting that we beg the president elect's pardon. He does not get a pass on admittedly committing sexual assault and spewing racist, misogynist, hate-filled speech because 18.7% of the country (59,937, 338 out of 318.9 million citizens) turned out to vote for him. He needs to take responsibility for inciting this level of anger, though I am not holding my breath. I have yet to see this man take responsible for anything except winning.

Trump supporters are responding too. And while I have not independently verified with my own eyes acts of violence against "others," it's happening.

But Trump isn't the only person I'm upset with. I'm upset with the 50% of US citizens who didn't bother to vote. WTF? We call ourselves a civilized nation, a world power, a leader of leaders and yet, half of our citizens didn't even vote. While felony disenfranchisement explains what happened to 6.1 million of those unaccounted citizen votes, it sure as hell ain't everyone.

Another thing I'm upset with is the electoral college. This is the second election in 16 years (Bush v. Gore) where a president won the popular vote but did not win the election.

The purpose of the electoral college—created by our founding fathers—is to provide a buffer between the people and Congress to ensure that all people are represented regardless of their state's size. But in truth, this undermines the ideal of one citizen, one vote. When this happens, your vote doesn't matter. Democrats need to drop "your vote matters" as a talking point because it's simply not true.

Some say the electoral college is what makes the United States a republic—not a pure democracy—and therefore more stable; however, I will contend, that in a federal election, your state of residence—in an age where people are as mobile as running water—has zero bearing on the person you elect to lead this nation. Congressional reps, sure. State laws, yes. But presidents? No. No one, not even Donald Trump or Sarah Palin, has argued that your state of residence guides your inner voter voice. Voters are guided by issues, passions, and unfortunately fears.

But, the electoral college does determine where politicians pander which is exactly why they tell you that it can't be eliminated. If we didn't have the electoral college, they would have to be a nominee for all the people, in all places. They wouldn't know how to wrap their heads around that. They wouldn't know where to spend their money. They wouldn't know which talking points to use where. And why should any one state matter more than another? How many times did we hear this election cycle, Who would have thought our state (fill in the blank) actually matters this year?

If we are to be a country that values its people, its diversity, and its humanity, then the electoral college needs to be eliminated. This is one thing I can agree with DJT on. In 2012, the president elect described the electoral college as a "disaster" (like he describes everything else). The electoral college is the very definition of a rigged system in today's world.

While there are 10,000 other things I could talk about today, these are the three things that stick out in my mind as things we need to fix before 2020. We need to mobilize and get this stuff done ... along with those 10,000 other things.

Federal mandate for motor voter registration 
Eliminating felony disenfranchisement laws
Eliminating the electoral college

P.S. Mr. President ... I know you are busy and have a zillion and one things to do ... but if you could squeeze out a few more executive orders before you go ...

And Then ... on November 9th

No matter what happens—no matter who you have voted for on 8 November—on 9 November, your actions and words matter.

The last year has brought to the forefront that which was hidden between blades of grass in an open field: racism, fear, hate, misogyny, and the mainstreaming of appalling behavior and language. And I want to thank Donald Trump for bringing us all into the conversation in ways none of us could have ever predicted.

I'm not going to pretend there will be smooth sailing on 9 November for anyone. There will not be a sigh of relief. Instead, we will be on edge waiting for the aftershocks of violence and protests that may follow this nasty, 9.0 magnitude election of epic destruction. It would be naive to expect everyone to accept the outcome after all the rhetoric that has debased our human decency and gone far in attempting to undermine our democratic process.

Once the dust has settled, the rebuilding process will begin. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, this is a window of opportunity for America to continue the many conversations that we started during this election cycle. If we have learned anything about some Americans during the last 18 months, it's that they are dissatisfied with government and their lives and they want change. But change goes far beyond the ballot box. It is not up to our elected officials to do everything for us. We must do much of it ourselves.

According to Dictionary.com, one definition of a politician is: a seeker or holder of public office, who is more concerned about winning favor or retaining power than about maintaining principles. 

Most Americans can agree this is a fitting definition of the candidates we have to choose from this year. How did we get here? Apathy on the part of everyone, myself included. It's easy to live in a bubble and shut everyone else out. It's easier to kick people out of our lives who are not like minded than to have substantive conversations about issues and respectfully disagree. If you don't believe me, think about how many people you've cut off this election cycle from your social media accounts. I've done it myself.

Part of this contentiousness between differing view points is a consequence of social media. We are inundated with information at home and work. It's natural to filter out information that is in disagreement with our beliefs and feelings. And managing the first amendment in the social media age is tricky. 

The Federal Communication Commission, led by five commissioners who are political appointees, does not fact check our media. That would be communistic not to mention impossible. Instead, we have profit seeking, competitive media sources that rely on journalistic integrity, editorials, sensationalism, and reputation to propel information. And most Americans feel it's untrustworthy; no one knows who or what to believe anymore. But it's incumbent on consumers to fact check and not parrot information. Why? Because the average consumer cannot parse out what is an editorial and what is fact without slant. But here's the catch, most people don't, nor do they have the time or the desire. So now what?

People want to be able to trust the information they receive. But how? Personally, I turn to non-profits and international news like National Public Radio, the BBC, and Al Jezeera. I also read many different things including research from universities and scientific studies. I have Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC apps on my phone and I compare who is covering what. It's easy to see the political leanings of each based on what they cover and what they don't. Consumers should review information from many sources, especially sources that don't have a dog in the fight ... or at least ... less of one. When it comes to POTUS, however, there isn't a person on Earth that doesn't have a stake in this election. 

Besides being an informed voter and citizen, the next thing any of us can do is be a decent human being who treats others with respect. There is only one race, and that is the Human Race. It doesn't mean you have to like everyone, but you ought to respect your human siblings no matter their skin color, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual preference, or any other difference they have from you. If we were all alike, this world would suck. Isn't that what Jesus said? 

Restraint of pen and tongue and having compassion are stalwart behaviors of good hearted people with even-keeled temperaments. 

Hold the mantra "Do No Harm" at the forefront of your mind and act on it.

Rally for the things you are passionate about. Don't wait for an election to voice your position on your passion. 

To thine own self be true. Be honest with yourself and with others. If your are changing your views solely to protect your position, don't. There is no worse regret than being untrue to yourself. And these days, almost everything you say and do is being captured by someone somewhere with a cell phone or hot mic. 

Learn to respectfully disagree with others using substantive based facts to support your argument. If you aren't sure what those are, seek information from universities and libraries before beginning hot topic conversations and remember, sound bites are not supporting evidence. 

If you are not willing to be a positive part of the change process, get your passport ready. Emigration is always an option. Canada's migration policy. 

And then of course, there is revolution. 

And just in case DJT wins this election I have one final plea:

Sane Republicans, if Donald wins, please do your best to clean up your party and get some qualified, decent people to represent America in Congress. I give you permission to continue being  the party of NO as long as DJT is in office. This will prove this social experiment failed and give us a chance to recover more quickly with fewer setbacks.

Michelle, if Hillary does not win, would you please consider asking Bernie to be your running mate in 2020? And if Hillary does win, please consider running in 2024.

Thanks.