The Half that has Never Been Told

Foment (verb): To instigate or foster (discord, rebellion, etc.); promote the  growth or development of...  

International fomenting aside (El Baradei this, Mubarak that), lets return to our more immediate home on Turtle Island, here in the northern and middle "Americas."  Much like a radical definition--one both pertaining to fundamentals and subversion--the concept of who we are, and where we are, is one in dire need of review.  We are here as a human race, and as an industrialized society made of people who still eat corn, because of the ways carried on by Native Americans.  In Michigan, that means in large part the Anishinabek, or Indians of the Potowatamii, Ojibwe (Chippewa), and Odawa (Ottawa) tribes.  These three tribes or "Three Fires" of the Anishinabek carefully learned and carried on the ways of true sustainable living--what Winona LaDuke has called "frankly" the only such example in all of North America, period.

We must be diligent in heeding the lessons of this model, which have analogs worldwide.  

Nutshell?  A civilization based on conquest cannot stand.  If you're looking for a reliably informed source to get under the surface of this issue, LaDuke recommends Al Geddick's book The New Resource Wars in her excellent forward which also serves as a good general introduction to our local native spin on the global need for cyclical, humble ways grounded in equitable sharing of the commons.