1987 -The One Percent Option

@JDHealingTimeOnEarth
Last winter in the Windstar Journal, I wrote to you about my idea of the "One Percent Option."  If you recall, my idea was to take one percent of our defense budget (close to three billion dollars per year) and invest in what our dear friend Buckminster Fuller called "livingry" as opposed to weaponry. 

Half of one percent, or one and a half billion dollars, would be invested in our own country, to help the hungry and homeless, the poverty stricken, the small family farmer and the Native American Indian.

The other half would be invested into the world to strengthen already existing programs in the fight to end world hunger.  I also proposed that the Soviet Union do the same. 

Since that time, I have had the opportunity to discuss the idea with a great many people: concert audiences, senators and congressmen, businessmen, family and friends.  I sent the idea to President Reagan, Secretary General Gorbachev, Deng Xiaoping, and Pope John Paul II, along with a copy of my video "Let Us Begin (What Are We Making Weapons For?)" I have not heard from Gorbachev or Deng Xiaoping.  However, I did receive a reply from President Reagan stating basically that the "One Percent Option" is what SDI is all about.  

John Denver - Pope John Paul II circa 1978

Pope John Paul II sent blessings for my work and acknowledged the necessity of working together to end hunger and rid the world of nuclear weapons.  Other responses ranged from ridicule to genuine interest and the beginnings of how to articulate and execute the program.

Obviously, the "One Percent Option" is a pretty far-fetched notion, but that doesn't make it impossible, and even though some might think it is impossible, that doesn't mean it can't be done. 

I would like to share my most recent thoughts on the subject, what I propose to do about it and in the process see if I can gain your support.  It occurs to me that we are facing unprecedented challenge in human history and therefore an unprecedented opportunity for human society.  It all lies in the realization that we share common problems of major significance, all of us, everywhere, and that solutions can only be achieved if we work together, all of us, everywhere.

My primary goal has been and continues to be the recognition that we are a human family, that we are here for each other, not against each other, and that any expression of "you or me" consciousness is a denial of the truth about humanity and negates the possibility of what can be achieved by "you and me" working together. Certainly the principal expression of the old paradigm ("you or me") is our continued investment in the tools of separation, the weapons of war, and an environment of fear and insecurity.

• It is in this environment that hunger persists. 
• It is in this environment that we face a seemingly insurmountable world economic crisis. 
• It is in this environment that we cannot adequately deal with our ecological and societal problems on any level effectively.  
• Why is this?

In the end:

• It will take all of us to create an environment of trust and cooperation which will allow us to rid the world of nuclear weapons.  
• It will take all of us working together to end hunger. 
• It will take all of us to express the willingness to cooperate, which is necessary if we are to obtain a balance in production and consumption economically, ecologically and technologically.  
• In my opinion, that balance is critical for the continued advancement of human society on this planet Earth.

"All of us" means every aspect of human society in all its forms: individuals, institutions, businesses, corporations, governments.  It is obvious that sacrifices are going to have to be made; to the degree that sacrifices can be shared, they are easier to bear.  What is accomplished then, becomes the accomplishment of all.  Furthermore, shared sacrifice is the seed, shared commitment the nutrient, and shared achievement the flower of mutual trust and understanding.  Consequently, the product of our joint effort, much more than any specific accomplishment, is the experience of ourselves as a human family and a world community.

I propose that in our country our government give one percent of its defense budget; defense contractors, corporations and businesses give one percent of their profit; and individuals given an extra one percent of their income taxes.  Socialist and communist governments can create a comparable arrangement.  In all cases, the funds created would be used in two ways.  One half, managed by a non-governmental body, would be invested at home finding solutions and implementing strategies to affect the more serious economic problems with which we are forced to negotiate.  The other half, managed by an international body, would be used to end hunger, resolve the debt of developing nations and get them on equal footing economically and technologically with the developed nations.

What I envision is a coordinated world-wide effort based on a shared world-wide commitment, and a shared world-wide vision of peace on Earth and goodwill among all humankind.

As I am able to continue spreading this idea around the world, I propose to gather a group of global citizens, such as former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, Jacques Cousteau, Norman Borlaug, Ted Turner, Armand Hammer and others to join me in an effort to meet with Secretary General Gorbachev, Deng Xiaoping, President Reagan and other heads of state, corporate chief executive officers and world leaders.  

Jacques Cousteau with John Denver 

Perhaps they will find some merit in this simple idea.  It may not be the one that works, but it may be a catalyst for finding one that will.  


In any case, it is guaranteed to begin a new conversation on the possibility and plausibility of people working together to achieve common ends on a world-wide scale.  

John Lennon said, "Give peace a chance."  We are the family of humankind.  It's time we start acting like it consciously with compassion and integrity.

One Percent.  That's not asking too much!  You and me.  That's the way it is!  Peace.

By John Denver - Windstar Journal - Winter 1987

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