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#9 The Airwaves and #10 Seventh Generation
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#9 Airwaves
Senator John McCain said "They used to rob trains in the Old West. Now we rob spectrum."
I'm Jan Edwards and this is the Tapestry of the Commons.
The Airwaves are a part of nature. We inherit them along with the rest of the natural wealth that make up our Commons. The Airwaves were an uncontested part of the Natural Commons until human culture found a way to make them turn a profit.
And legally the Airwaves are still publicly owned. So shouldn't the public have control over this resource and any revenues that it raises? This is not a new idea. In the 1990's, Congress auctioned off cell phone frequencies and raised billions of dollars for the federal treasury.
But if parts of the commons are sold or leased at a price, they are changed from a Common into a commodity. The newest battleground is the web. Activists are struggling to keep the internet free and creating open source software for the public domain.
Using technologies like WiFi, high speed internet access could be available to everyone for almost nothing. Soon radio signal interference could be a thing of the past thanks to new digital technology. Then the Airwaves could be an open access Commons.
So what's standing in the way of free internet and radio? The corporate elite want to keep profiting from the airwaves. The Federal Communications Commission supports the corporations instead of protecting the Commons. And we the people let them. It's an all too Common story.
The Tapestry of the Commons is made possible by the Alliance
for Democracy.
To learn more about the Commons and the battle over the Airwaves
visit our website at www.TapestryoftheCommons.org
I'm Jan Edwards
More Information on the Airwaves
#10 Seventh Generation
What will the world be like for our grandchildren's grandchildren? I'm Jan Edwards and this is the Tapestry of the Commons.
The Seventh Generation is part of the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy. It requires that a chief consider the impact of every decision on the seventh generation to come. Native Americans had learned to be careful not to over-fish, over-hunt, or otherwise destroy the Natural Commons they were passing down to those who came after.
When we think of the Seventh Generation, most of the decisions we are worried about are the negative ones. Climate change, environmental poisons, nuclear war. And they are definitely worth the worry. But we can also make positive decisions that will enrich the Seventh Generation.
In the middle east, for centuries people have planted palm trees. Many of these trees take 80 years or more to mature to the point where they can produce dates. The person who plants the tree will never taste the dates, yet people have always planted them. It is part of their commitment to future generations.
So seven generations for date palms are about 600 years. For coastal redwoods even longer...maybe 700. Humans have to look ahead only 200 years... short by comparison.
The Seventh Generation is a standard to measure the effect of decisions made today, both the negative and the positive. We can work to halt the destruction in the present so we can pass the Common wealth on undiminished. And we can also improve our grandchildren's legacy by continuing to plant the seeds of the future.
The Tapestry of the Commons is made possible by the Alliance
for Democracy.
To learn more about the Commons and the Seventh Generation concept,
visit our website at www.TapestryoftheCommons.org.
More Information on the Seventh Generation