Earth Protect Blog

"JANE'S SPEECH" ... at the demonstration.

*Water is a Human Right*

Excerpt from the novel and screenplay -“The Rules of Engagement”
by Kenneth Hanis
© 2008 - Property of Kenneth Hanis

Introduction Scene:

Jane is a very attractive Latina Woman in her late 20’s with unnaturally natural pale skin concealing her Bolivian heritage. She is wearing a baseball shirt and a baseball cap and is engaged in a heated conversation with an older, very distinguished looking Latino man. He is waving an information handout in front of her face in a threatening manner. “Have you lost your mind? A naked demonstration?”

Jane responds fearlessly, “We are demonstrating our commitment to this issue!”

“It’s obscene Jane! This is not how you were taught to live!”

Jane  proclaims flatly, "What we are doing to our world is obscene!"

the story continues on *****>

The Demonstration Scene:
Jane walks onto the stage, discards her robe and nakedly steps up to the Podium, adjusts the microphone and introduces herself. She jokes, “Some of you here tonight may recognize me from numerous television broadcasts. Yes, I've been a guest on numerous TV news programs, I'm always the one being arrested or in handcuffs. I want to thank you all for coming your for your naked support of this desperate cause because this demonstration isn’t about being self conscious, it is about being globally conscious”

“For those of you not familiar with who I am, well, who I am is not important. Like yourselves, I’m a glimmer of awareness and I’m here to share MY awareness with YOU, and hopefully our COLLECTIVE awareness will plant seeds beyond the digital end of those Television News cameras hiding in the background. Humanity is lifted by sharing awareness.”

Jane lays out her roadmap. “The FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE is WATER. WATER IS LIFE! Over one billion people on this planet do not have access to drinking water that is safe for any Human or Agricultural use.”

She petitions the crowd. “Every one of you that is willing, please join with me in a prayer for this desperate cause . . . [ "Water is life. Water is a human right. Our planet is 70% water. Our bodies are 70% water. Our protest is god in action! Our protest is Nature taking its course!” ]"

She addresses the media cameras, “You may ask what awareness is? I define Awareness as Intelligence in Action. And you may ask, what pray tell is the issue that we need to be aware of? Quite simply,it’s the one thing in this world that we all take for granted. WATER! We need water to live and as access to water is fast becoming controlled and traded as a commodity by private corporations for profit; then those corporations hold the quality of our lives and our very life in their hands.”

“The issue of Water is linked to so many other issues. ‘Global Warming’ and all of the collective actions that have brought that about; and the new problems arising from those two words would fill volumes. Water would be nothing more than a chapter and those volumes would still need perpetual revision”

“The big picture is just too large, too mutable and simply too complex to comprehend . . . Isn’t that what you call an oxymoron? ‘Simply complex’. Ahh, Yes, but WE can honestly argue that WE were not aware that our actions would create such a mess. AWARENESS is available NOW and WE can act NOW. How can WE act NOW? Our ‘individual awareness’ of this mess we’re in will ‘inspire’ us, each as an individual, to do what we can do and that in turn will build the ‘collective awareness’. I believe in my heart that this will happen like the ripple on the pond and our world will ultimately change for the better. I believe this because Awareness will leave us nowhere to run or hide and through our collective awareness, intelligent action will come about and these issues will pass away.”

“I used to believe the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Trans-National Corporations that carry governments on leashes like pet dogs are the Devil, the Beast of the Apocalypse. I do not believe that any longer. I truly believe, If God has a plan for human beings, God has a plan for the creations of human beings. Our individual and collective awareness are the brushes and pigments God is using to paint the big picture.”

“I also believe, that the Devil in this world lives within the actions spurned by the whispered Corporate philosophy, ‘Profit . . . at ANY cost’. Ironically, I believe that these very Institutions and the Global Corporations I speak of will ultimately be the saviors of our world even as they lay down their destructive foundations around the world.”

“I believe this because these institutions have the resources to finance the architecture of change and they WILL evolve because they were created by human beings and human beings have the gift of AWARENESS, and THAT is the catalyst of real change in our world."

"I want us all to be aware that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were originally created with very good intentions. They have MANDATES that are really quite positive. They are noble institutions but their POLICIES affect the availability of 'Sweet Water' [fresh water] access all over the world.”

“The issues that these institutions deal with are so unbelievably complex because their policies are shaped primarily by the governments of wealthy Nations that also have very good intentions . . . for themselves. You’ve all heard a politician use the phrase, ‘Our Interests’. I’ll get to defining that soon.”

"The International Monetary Fund and its Child, the World Bank have a policy of working with Trans-National Corporations, or, if you prefer the term, Multi-National Corporations. One major problem that has arisen from this marriage is the offspring they produced. These offspring are the Water Giants, and they want to control every aspect of 'sweet water' [fresh water] on the planet . . . for a profit.”

“I invite you to type the word ‘Water Giants’ into your favorite web browser search engine and you can discover more about them. It sounds like a horror movie, doesn’t it? Well this is one monster that is jumping out of the screen.”

“I speak of The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as Noble Institutions. These noble institutions are made up of people from different governments, appointed by different governments, and each government has its own agenda or interests. There is that word again. Some governments have more votes than other governments. They contribute more money and they want control over how it is used. Fair enough. But!, the needs to control the votes or influence the votes is almost always to protect and promote that particular government's interests and those INTERESTS, are not necessarily in your best interest and seldom are they in the best interests of our planet and humanity as a whole.”

“We need Water to Live and Thrive. It is how god designed us. Corporations need profit to live and thrive. It is how we designed them. Again, fair enough. However, our ‘life’ is less important to ‘our creation’ than ‘its profit’. Perhaps it time to redesign our creation, to create a model for Business that can coexist in harmony with humanity in a global way.”

The crowd of naked demonstrators all clap in unison in support of Jane’s desperate appeal. The Riot Police shuffle nervously. Jane continues. “I believe that we must first start to consider ourselves as global citizens of one planet and bury the false notion of a fractured world of different Nationalities. I am Spanish or I am American or I am Canadian etcetera, and my interests are not your interests."

Jane raises her hand in a beseeching gesture. "Please, please, JUST CONSIDER, that this view of our self has always created division in the world. … Ask yourself, am I a Human Being or am I an Individual? As an Individual, I have my personal interests but as a Human Being, I have shared interests. No?”

This Book is available in Print or as an E-Book at: http://stores.lulu.com/Woodhaven