Freedom, sustainability and America's future:
An Independence Day reflection

by Jeffrey Barber
Executive Director, Integrative Strategies Forum

July 4, 2005, Washington DC

The story too big to print

Few people realize how important sustainability is to freedom. There is a lot of talk these days about what is presumed to be needed to protect Americans' freedom as we continue our wars in Iraq and Afganistan and spend billions of dollars on military and surveillance while cutting social services and environmental protection. There is not enough discussion about how our country's freedom depends on social and environmental sustainability.

America's national security involves more than protection against terrorists. The security and well-being of our nation and world is also threatened by problems such as global warming, the massive extinction of species, the globalization of super-viruses, the widening gap between the rich and the poor. In order to truly address the country and the world's security we need a long-term vision and strategic approach -- specifically, sustainable development -- which goes beyond immediate response to catastrophes, working to prevent them.

With this year's Fourth of July holiday we again celebrate America's freedom from British rule and affirmation of the unalienable right to our pursuit of Happiness. While many assume they understand the meaning of "freedom," it is a concept philosophers and others have struggled with for thousands of years. The Fourth of July is a good opportunity for each of us to reflect upon what this concept means to us, especially when it is used to justify war and the spending of billions of tax dollars on policies ironically constricting American liberties. It is especially important to think about how we use our freedom -- invoked as a sacred value and applied through legally established rights -- to empower or unwittingly undermine other values important to us.

Big words

Freedom and independence are "big words" -- along with security, justice, love, faith, God, truth, peace, democracy and patriotism -- each carrying a wide cluster of differing interpretations and emotional associations. Throughout history such big words have been used to unify and divide nations, to inspire creative works and to mobilize for mass bloodshed.

Sustainability is another important big word, although newer and less familiar to Americans. Emerging in the last quarter of the 20th century, it is the big word of the new century. Too often neglected by mainstream journalists and news media, sustainability is the news story apparently too big to print. Although no more difficult to say or understand than "perestroika" or "tsunami," it is a word and idea which for various reasons still tends to be screened out by news editors. Although it is a story filled with scandals, violence, hope and human interest, it is not the kind of "news" which sells much advertising. Nevertheless, the message is critical: For many of the global threats facing us in the 21st century, sustainability is the solution.

The story of our future

Sustainability is about our future; it is the story about what we are doing now to enable the pursuit of happiness by our children and the peoples of the planet. It is also an exploration into the nature of "happiness" as well as its pursuit. It is the story about Americans' willingness and efforts to inform ourselves and take responsibility for the impacts of our actions -- as consumers, as family, as neighbors, and as citizens. An essential part of this story is our understanding that America's freedom depends on its sustainability .

Although we may be politically independent from England, we are not independent from the natural and human communities of which we are a part. Americans prize their individualism, yet most would be hard pressed to survive a year alone in the wilderness. Many of us feel helpless without our cars, which with the help of advertising and the movies have become symbols of personal freedom. Yet our automobile-oriented culture and infrastructure of roads, gas stations and parking lots makes us dangerously dependent on fossil fuels and Middle East regimes to service the lifestyles and consumption patterns in which we are increasingly trapped. Dependence on fossil fuels binds us to a course resulting in global warming and war, not to mention other threats to our pursuit of happiness.

Using not abusing our freedom

According to Worldwatch Institute's latest Vital Signs report, "China and the United States were the main engines driving fossil fuel markets in 2004, accounting between them for nearly half the increase in world oil demand." Although climate change may, in the long run, prove to have more impact on the majority of Americans than terrorist attacks, our efforts to reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels currently fail to stem the 20.5 million barrels of oil we use each day. Demanding and consuming 25% of the the world's oil, Americans produce one quarter of the earth's greenhouse gas emissions. Individually, the average American dumps 20 tons of CO 2 into the air each year

How are we using our freedom? Are we using it responsibly, with consideration for our neighbors and grandchildren? Or are we abusing it, pursuing our happiness at the expense of others? Is our freedom about the right to drive SUVs and shop till we drop? To turn on our TV "reality" shows and tune out the rest of the world? Is this what Americans are dying to protect? Hopefully our vision and values as citizens and as a country go farther and deeper than this.

Unfinished work

In January, President Bush gave his second inaugural speech, just a few days after the federal holiday for Martin Luther King. During that week, public television re-broadcast the reverend's famous speech in Washington decades ago about his dream of freedom in America. President Bush talked about his own vision of the "unfinished work of American freedom." As he described this "unfinished work" in terms of "standing up against dictators and promoting democracy," he spoke less about the social, economic and environmental rights and responsibilities which give this concept meaning. Although he mentioned the word "freedom" 27 times and "liberty" 15 times, he said little about citizens' right to know about the choices and consequences of our actions, the knowledge of which our freedom to choose depends.

In most instances, Americans are rarely given the choice of sustainable development, told instead that the choice is between economic growth or social decay. In turn, our media invests little to inform us about the consequences of our current habits of unsustainable consumption, production and waste. One wonders what Dr. King would make of this were he alive today. While he would probably agree that the work of American freedom is unfinished, he would probably have a different idea about what that work entails.

What's the plan?

Despite the United Nation's call at the Earth Summit in 1992 for each country to establish, implement and monitor a national sustainability strategy , as well as the U.N.'s reminder at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development , the United States has yet to produce such a national strategy. Although the late President's Council on Sustainable Development (1993-1999) conducted public consultations and produced policy recommendations for such a strategy, the current Administration and Congress show little interest.

Ironically, the American public appears to be further ahead than both the Congress and the Administration on the need for an effective climate action plan. According to the recent " Hall of Mirrors " study of voter perceptions and realities by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, 71% of the U.S. public thinks the U.S. should participate in the Kyoto agreement to reduce global warming. Yet Congress and the Administration have consistently rejected Kyoto, isolating the U.S. from the rest of the industrialized world. Congress also voted against the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act to set limits on greenhouse gas emissions, which the majority of Americans (63%) also favored. However, for various reasons, most voters do not realize their representatives in Congress are voting differently from their preferences .

What is going on? How, in a democracy, can we not know what our political representatives are doing? For that matter, in a country which values a free press and freedom of speech, how could more than half the nation believe Saddam Hussein helped plan the 9/11 bombing?

Freedom requires not only the ability to choose one's actions, but also comprehending the consequences of those actions. This means being informed and understanding the impacts of our actions -- whether buying cigarettes or a car or voting for a particular candidate. If we do not know or understand the impacts of our decisions and actions, instead simply trusting in reassuring authority figures to do the right thing, we cannot honestly call ourselves free.

Who will show leadership?

Sustainability advocates need to find better ways to help the public understand the significance of sustainability to their quality of life and to future generations. Somehow we must learn ways to more effectively communicate how sustainability contributes to our freedom and to global security.

One starting place is in the current discussion around the national energy plan. The U.S. Senate just passed the 2005 national energy bill, which is now being negotiated with the House before being sent to the White House for approval. Among observers, the bill both raises and avoids important questions about American's energy production and consumption and our dependence on fossil fuels. We can expect the same unwillingness by our government to show leadership on climate at the G8 meeting in Scotland next week, despite the growing consensus among the world's scientists about the urgency of action that is needed. This raises the question: What is the nature of freedom and democracy where both Congress and the Presidency ignore the will of the people as well as the advice of most scientists on climate change?

For the public aware and concerned with this lack of government leadership, there are steps that citizens can take to strengthen their voice. Groups such as the Union for Concerned Scientists , National Wildlife Foundation , World Wildlife Fund , Sierra Club , Friends of the Earth , Greenpeace , CIEL and members of the Climate Action Network and the Citizens Network are all working to help inform the American public and decision-makers about nature of climate change and what needs to be done to alleviate the damage.

The new frontiers of the 21st century are not new continuents, markets or outer space, but the growth of our humanity and the evolution of our democracy. As with other birthdays, the 4th of July holiday should not only be a time of looking back but also looking at where we are and where we are heading.

 

 

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Jeffrey Barber

Jeffrey is Executive Director of the Integrative Strategies Forum.

He is also the current National Coordinator for the Citizens Network for Sustainable Development. ISF currently acts as the Secretariat for CitNet.