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Out of Sight, Out of Mind — In Sight, Out of Mind
By Donella Meadows
–November 3, 1988–
The worst trick of the human mind is its habit of discounting whatever it has not directly experienced.
Most of us don’t live in Fernald, Ohio, or Golden, Colorado, or Rapid City, South Dakota, or any of the several dozen places in the United States where nuclear bombs are manufactured, stored, or sited in bunkers, ready to [...]
We’re not Choosing Values, We’re Choosing Assumptions
By Donella Meadows
–October 27, 1988–
“This election is about values,” says George Bush, without mentioning which values. He can’t mention them, because in fact the election is not about values at all.
Michael Dukakis and George Bush both revere the values that all Americans and all human beings hold dear. No one is against family solidity, against justice or freedom or life [...]
Astronauts and Cosmonauts Tell Us About Home
By Donella Meadows
–October 20, 1988–
One of my objections to the manned space program has always been that the cosmonauts and astronauts are so terse and technocratic. They say “Roger” and use plenty of technical jargon, but they never talk about what I want to hear. What’s it really like up there? How is it to be so detached from, distant [...]
A Guide to American Campaign Language
By Donella Meadows
–October 13, 1988–
My European friends are watching our election with mystification. They see a young, powerful country with a massive deficit, a negative trade balance, a quarter of its children growing up in poverty, an eroding environment, an opportunity for a turnaround in nuclear arms — and its Presidential candidates are talking about the FLAG.
Is someone threatening your [...]
Drugs in the Bloodstream of Democracy
By Donella Meadows
–October 6, 1988–
The members of the International Olympics Committee pointed out clearly and calmly, after they stripped Ben Johnson of his gold medal, that if they don’t enforce fair competition, the whole game will fall into ruin. Referees have to be present at every match to call fouls. Candidates who soup up their performance with drugs must be [...]
