You Fought for Freedom, Not for a Flag
By Donella Meadows
–July 20, 1995–
Dear, dear veterans,
I can imagine your fury when someone purposefully insults the flag. I feel some of that fury too, though I never saluted the flag in my country’s uniform, never followed it into the havoc of battle, never saw it draped over the coffin of a fallen friend. The flag to you stands for bravery, [...]
If We’re Going to Have Block Grants, Let’s Make Them Work
By Donella Meadows
–June 1, 1995–
Block grants are the second favorite right-wing solution to any problem. (The first favorite is to keep government out of it entirely.) If we must have government, it should be as close to home as possible. The distant, cumbersome federal power should be used primarily to raise money. Then we give the money to the states [...]
Hands Around the Capitol
By Donella Meadows
–March 23, 1995–
This idea was put into my head by Peter G. Brown of the School of Public Affairs of the University of Maryland, and it won’t go away. Just imagine, he said, millions of citizens going to Washington some day, joining hands, surrounding the Capitol Building, and suggesting, ever so politely, that neither the Congress nor the [...]
How to Talk About Badness Without Using Strong Words?
By Donella Meadows
–March 2, 1995–
Governor Howard Dean of Vermont is not your normal bombastic politician. He’s a medical doctor, a measured, rational man. So I couldn’t believe his reaction on the radio last week to the Congressional move to cut the school lunch program.
“This Congress is out of control,” said the governor. “They’re literally attacking children. This is the worst [...]
A Really Outrageous Contract With America
By Donella Meadows
–February 23, 1995–
The good news about the Contract With America is that the Newtniks are kicking at a lot of moss-covered government rocks, asking good questions, shaking things up. The bad news is that they aren’t doing it nearly hard enough.
For example, Congress has finally passed and the president has signed into law what Newt Gingrich calls the [...]
