Our way out of this mess is dependent on acknowledging that intransigent partisanship in the public sphere will bring on unneeded social miseries and environmental collapse. 

The solutions entail embracing an inspiring narrative rooted in reality and building solutions based on a sustainable and inclusive framework.

Our friends on the right side of the political spectrum will bristle at this statement, imagining it is a call for one world government in the way of their favorite boogeyman Agenda 21, a benign article in which the United Nations proclaims that countries around the world should embrace sustainable solutions.

That is not what is being proposed here. In fact the solutions we look to are more decentralization: solar panels and local foods. But that might not sit well with our corporate-minded friends and lobbyists who have spent decades consolidating power in energy extraction, food production, and communication networks.

So at the outset, let us acknowledge the resistance to sensible change will come from many angles with the common thread of self interest and fear masquerading as principled alarmist indignation.

HERE ARE BASIC PRINCIPALS TO BUILD OUR WAY OUT:

It is our commonality that is our strength. Empathy, not as a soft sentiment, but as a means of insight into consensus-building, will be our strength.

Sustainability must be paramount as a principal in economic thought, and in every enterprise from construction to invention.

Waste... of food, trash, and yes, fellow humans must be repugnant to us.

Be wary of the prominence of media and advertising in your daily life. This is toxic. 

Reconnect with something outside of yourself. You can call it God if you like, but it is for your private solace, not to be wielded like a club.