[From Bryan Thalhammer (2005.10.24.1245 CDT)]
Dick,
Thanks for setting this up; I wanted to reply to you on this in a supportive comment rather than having to make a defensive comment in opposition to those who support "getting the government off the backs of corporations." I would rather see the government take the government off our backs. The Borland case of course, is minor, compared to the misuse of the environment by global agribusiness, energy firms, and mining. But it is part of the same vile mindset, the way that large corporations have undermined local economies, and the way that bigoted religious leaders have recast citizenship and capitalism into an endgame strategy for religious rightists.
Perhaps there is a definition of a Good Corporate Citizen where the resources and customers are not pitted one against the other, where they engage in sustainable growth, are socially responsible, etc. The Good Corporate Citizen is not just a Citizen of this country this continent or even of the world. The Good Corporate Citizen is an equal part of, not the top dog of, our society. Also, the Good Corporate Citizen, now that tools are available to change the environment quickly and with a devastation of a meteor hit, is a Citizen of the World of the Ages. Some pundits may think this is an exaggeration. I ask those persons if they would like to live in a former petrochemical waste dump, cesspool, or sewer. That is what is happening to people living in areas where world citizens have destroyed whatever balance was possible.
That being said, if indeed we have thousands if not millions of years ahead of us, rather than the scant, uncertain few years promised by the Rapture Right, then we had better develop a way to survive with dignity, instead of betting on farming the Amazon, putting oil platforms in the Arctic Ocean, and so on. There are two forks in the road, the short term cowboy myth of fast profits, money-from-nothing, and the Deus ex Machina of the second coming, OR the more likely long term reality of the neeed for planning for sustainable growth, interdependence and cooperation. While this could be misconstrued as some kind of anti-religious comment or something, sorry, no, I simply am using the science of observation that suggests there is no evidence for that kind of short-term thinking and that rather, the evidence lies in favor of long- (really long-) term thinking regarding the care of the planet, each other, and all its inhabitants.
I have a perception, maybe a principle, that says that it is not patriotic to hoard, to take more than you deserve, to take advantage from others, to gather riches depriving them from others. I think that this perception comes from my reading and thinking about the Galillean cynic guy... who was a liberal.
Finally, I am not a historian, economist, or geographer. However, I can tell when history, economics and geographic facts are misused to support a fallacious argument for endless growth and development and to develop arguments for supporting the exploitation of the planet and its inhabitants. With short-term thinking, we will force our children and their children to breath and eat dirt. How is that for throwing dirt around?
Some resources:
Good Corporate Citizens:
http://www.business-ethics.com/100best.htm
<http://www.business-ethics.com/chart_100_best_corporate_citizens_for_2004.htm>
The Metropolist: Good Corporate Citizens Do Exist
<http://cosmopolity.typepad.com/cosmopolity/2004/07/good_corporate_.html>
The Metropolist
<http://cosmopolity.typepad.com/>
Sustainability:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability>
Tragedy of the Commons - Hardin:
<http://www.constitution.org/cmt/tragcomm.htm>
Sustainable Products:
<http://www.sustainableproducts.com/>
First Sustainable
<http://www.firstsustainable.com/>
An interesting deconstruction of the discovery, settlement, and development of the Americas:
Mann, Charles C. (2005). 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. Knopf. ISBN: 140004006X.
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/140004006X/103-1271730-4399049?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance>
--Bry
¡¡¡
[Dick Robertson, 2005.10.24.1020CDT]
Kenny,I appreciate that you went into some detail to give me your views on this issue of the responsibility of manufacturers to their customers, and why we "little people" end up taking abuse from them, in the short run. I hope that PCT minded people (especially) will come up with new and creative ways to exercise more influence.
Best,
Dick R
[From Kenny Kitzke (2005.10.22.1935EDT
...
Throwing dirt seems like a waste of time to me. But, it feels good in a sense, I suppose.