Why You Should Care
Read about what’s really driving today’s conflicts. Learn how our analyses and approaches address the underlying problems – so we don’t keep making the same mistakes again and again!
In our current society, the top 20% of the wealthy own 85% of the wealth, and the bottom 80% own just 15% of the wealth. What’s more, the top 1% of the wealthiest in the US population own 40% of the wealth.
“Globally billionaires made enough money in 2017 to end world poverty 7 times over.” This kind of economic inequality quickly translates into inequities in health, longevity, education and opportunities in retirement without financial worries.
Tikkun Response: To address economic inequality that results in disparities in education, healthcare, longevity, etc., we advocate for systemic changes including mandatory living wages, basic guaranteed income, and universal healthcare to insure that everyone’s basic needs are met, and a maximum yearly income.
The number of hate groups has risen 20% since 2014. 2017 was the third straight year to witness a rise in the number of hate groups and was the first year since 2009 that hate groups are documented in all 50 states. [Southern Poverty Law Center]
Hate groups attract people who feel lonely and marginalized and are yearning for a sense of belonging and purpose. They help people feel part of something larger than themselves. They pit the needs and desires of historically marginalized groups against those of white working-class people, claiming that if oppressed groups gain more rights and access, then the average white working-class person will lose the little she/he has. This sleight of hand allows hate groups to blame oppressed groups and the Left for the struggles of working class people instead of the unequal distribution of wealth and power and the failure of both political parties to create a society based on generosity rather than selfishness and greed.
Tikkun Response: We acknowledge that people are attracted to hate groups for valid reasons (namely, a desire for belonging, meaning, and purpose). Tikkun encourages social change movements to simultaneously meets these psychological and spiritual needs while advocating for economic, political, and environmental justice. We also promote a compassionate understanding of people by insisting that, even when their behavior is actively harmful, their humanity is undeniable.
“Earth’s average temperature has increased about 2 degrees Fahrenheit”
If increases such as this are allowed to continue without addressing the cause of climate change, we will see a rise in disrupting and dangerous weather conditions such as extreme heat waves, wildfires, flooding, and drought that will continue to negatively affect health, agriculture, and ecosystems.
Tikkun Response: Small tweak policy approaches such as cap and trade are insufficient to address the urgency of the problem and put out the real and proverbial fires. What we need are visionary approaches that address the underlying systems and structures that allow climate change to continue unabated. Our proposed Environmental and Social Responsibility Amendment to the U.S. Constitution would take a major step in the direction to save the life support system of the planet.
How You Can Help
You Can Make a Difference….by Joining with Us
Tikkun’s approach is grounded in a worldview of love, in which love and kindness, generosity and caring for each other and the earth dominate over the current worldview of materialism, selfishness, and greed. To transform our economic and political world, we need to do a few key things:
Work with us to:
- put forth a positive vision of the world we want, rather than what we are against;
- emphasize our shared humanity and reject the tendency to shame and blame those not yet on our side;
- address the psychological and spiritual pain generated by the ethos of materialism and selfishness endemic to the competitive marketplace and strengthen the yearning most people have for respect, recognition, and a life of higher meaning.
Together We Can Fight for Social Change
Tap into the power of community to heal the world. This is Tikkun!
Connect with Tikkun’s activist arm, The Network of Spiritual Progressives, to ignite social change that will help shift mass consciousness, challenge status-quo ideas about what is possible, and build a movement that is psychologically sophisticated, welcoming, embodies the values of the world we want, and seeks both inner and systemic changes to heal and repair the world. Join our community!
Our spiritual activist training helps you create an NSP chapter to both foster and be the change you wish to see in the world. Click here to learn more.
We presently have 14 chapters worldwide that support and promote visionary policy and social changes for a “New Bottom Line” which prioritizes justice, peace, and the well-being of the planet and all its inhabitants over money, profit and power.
We call this a New Bottom Line – Caring for Each Other and Caring for the Planet.
By deeply understanding today’s economic, social, environmental, racial and religious challenges, we find solutions. Read Tikkun!