Discussions about the economy lately have been interesting: We want to give money to people, banks, etc. in hopes that they'll spend it willy nilly rather than save it. Wait a minute. Didn't we get in this mess by spending what we haven't earned on what we don't need?
A more proactive approach might be to give folks better reasons to spend what they have, regardless of where they got it. Most people already know that there are good as well as bad reasons to shop for ipods, video games, automobiles, and new places to live rather than to keep one's money in the bank or under a mattress. Perhaps it's time to dust off some of those reasons.
For instance, most of the challenges that face us in the years ahead involve taking care of correlations between ourselves and the world around on as many as possible of six levels. Connection diversity can at once be a measure of community health and resilience, as well as of individual accomplishment and satisfaction.
Putting money in the bank or under the mattress does very little for connection diversity, especially in times of economic uncertainty. What does? The answer is strengthening correlations that look inward and outward from three physical boundaries: that of your skin, your family, and your culture. Correlations on all six of these levels face severe challenges in the days ahead, and that's what each of us may want to spend some of what we have on now.
How can we get the media engaged in helping us do this as smartly as possible?
