I have whiplash from watching the financial markets tank, soar and then tank again. We peered into the abyss of financial havoc and pondered gloomy possibilities. It’s time to sell my car, a welcome and long overdue decision.

We all, policy makers and ordinary citizens, need creative ideas and strategies to dig out of this mess. As politicians try to figure this out, keep in mind that they need creative ideas that actually work, just like we do. The sheer size and scope of the problem dictates that the solutions have to be far reaching. There is quite a bit of talk about a public works program. Given our crumbling infrastructure and the millions of able bodied people wanting to work, it’s a logical approach. Paul Krugman, 2008 Nobel Prize winner in Economics, thinks so too.

Remember, we can influence those decisions by creating a critical mass of people acting with integrity for the common good. Dr. David Hawkins’ book Power Versus Force, illustrates that power is far more effective than force. Examples of that are the crumbling of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union and England’s withdrawal from India. All existed on the strength of force, which wasn’t as strong as power over the long haul. Collectively, a community acting with integrity has power and influence. The operative words of course are community acting with integrity. Anger, though it may be tempting, will not get us where we want to go.