Several days after I returned home from Seattle I received an
e-mail from Joel and Tyler. It included the following:
Mission Statement:
Global Awareness and Change (GAC) is a club that seeks to
promote awareness, change, and the eventual solution of global
issues. The world we live in is currently faced by many social,
political, economic, and environmental problems, and we will
see the effects of each of these issues in our own lifetimes.
Moreover, for a solution to not only be found but also to be
implemented, it is necessary to gather the help and active
support of everyone in our community. The goal of GAC is to
educate people about these issues while at the same time taking
an active role in solving them. Together, and only this way,
will we be able to reverse the effects that we ourselves have
put in motion. Our ability to live is what is at stake.
I felt gratified by the urgency of these high school students.
They had not been lulled by an education system that tries to
divert them from critical issues by focusing on testing, homework,
grades, college admissions, job searches, and the other forms of
performance trauma. They had not been anesthetized by
television. Or immobilized by fear. These two young men had
reached a profound understanding. They knew that their "ability
to live is what is at stake." They—not just their children or
grandchildren—would be impacted by the horrible state of affairs
my generation was leaving behind. They also realized that no
solution will work unless it encompasses the entire world. And
they believed that they can and will succeed.
As I reread their e-mail, I realized that the unifying principle
must embrace their commitment to involve everyone in the
community. It must encompass the principles advocated by the
NGOs
315THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN
EMPIRE