We must think beyond ourselves to affect global change, and there is no time to lose.
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There is a school of thought which espouses the philosophy that the 7.3 billion souls who occupy this space and place we know as planet earth are actually spiritual beings who are having a human experience. This school of thought goes even further to suggest that long before these 7.3 million souls emerged from the womb, they determined who their parents would be and the path their journey would encompass during their human experience. Our human experience on this earth encompasses more than just being born, moving from childhood to adulthood, our academic and professional accomplishments, marriage, creating and then raising families of our own, or vacationing in the Caribbean or Europe or venturing off on a safari in the Serengeti. We are placed here to use our unique gifts to overcome the environment we were born into, to provide for and protect the most vulnerable members of the village—our children—our babies—and our elders, to bring inclusion to those among us who are excluded and marginalized, to build on the legacy of our ancestors and predecessors, and to create pathways of freedom, justice and redemption. The Universe is telling us in as many ways as it possibly can that we must “think beyond ourselves.” We must be about “other people” as much as we are “about ourselves.”
Nearly one-half of the population in our global village—at least, approximately 3,000,000,000 souls live on less than US$2.50 per day.
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Nearly one-half of the population in our global village—at least, approximately 3,000,000,000 souls live on less than US$2.50 per day. At least, approximately 1,000,000,000 souls are children in our global village who live in poverty. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (“UNICEF”) which was created in 1946, approximately, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty. Why is poverty such a dire problem? According to Paul Turner, Director of Food for Life:
“Increased poverty has meant increased malnutrition. On the African continent, nearly one in four human beings is malnourished. In Latin America, nearly one out of every eight people goes to bed hungry each night. In Asia and the Pacific, 28 percent of the people border on starvation, experiencing the gnawing pain of perpetual hunger. In the Near East, one in ten people are underfed… Despite the noble efforts of the World Food Programme, world hunger remains a grave problem. The compelling truth is this: never before in human history has such a large percentage of our species—nearly twenty percent—been malnourished. Each year, between 40 million and 60 million people around the world die from hunger and related diseases. Sadly, the toll is heaviest on the world’s children.”
Hunger, poverty and lack of access to education are related to one another.
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Hunger, poverty and lack of access to education are related to one another. We must work to move our global village to a level of self-sufficiency while simultaneously ensuring that everyone has equal access to education and is equipped with marketable skills that will make them employable. Let’s think beyond ourselves and create and maintain urban farms that provide fresh vegetables and fruit; eradicate social issues which lead to armed conflicts; and provide individuals residing in poor countries with access to credit which can be used to create and sustain farms. These suggestions are samples of key “pieces of the puzzle” to eradicate hunger and malnutrition throughout our global village. Let’s think beyond ourselves and ensure that every child in every city, every hamlet, every suburb, every rural district throughout our global village has access to an adequate education. Let’s think beyond ourselves and provide our youth with internships and apprenticeships that help them develop a strong work ethic and introduce them to the world of business. Educating our children—the “heart and soul” of the village—is a responsibility that should not be left solely in the hands of educators and school administrators. Children should be learning to read, spell, write, and calculate simple mathematical problems at home—their parents, or grandparents, or aunts, or uncles should help them to learn these skills before they enter their first year of school, and they should continue to participate in their education throughout grades K-12. At the same time, we must also teach our children social etiquette and tell them the truth about what the world wants to know about them. The truth we should be telling our children regarding what the world wants to know about them can be found in the following questions:
Are you smart?
What do you have to offer—what skills and talents do you have?
Can you be trusted?
Our children need to know that the question which asks whether an individual can be trusted, is the most important.
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Our children need to know that the question which asks whether an individual can be trusted, is the most important. Why? Well, because, believe it or not, at some level, the world really runs on trust.
According to The Peace Alliance, violence is the cause of 1.6 million deaths each year throughout our global village for souls between the ages of 15 through 44. The World Health Organization reports that violence costs the United States US$300,000,000,000 each year. The cost to victims of violence in the United States is estimated at US$500,000,000,000. It is also estimated that the United States spends approximately US$1.7 trillion to contain violence. In the United States, the rate of youth homicides is more than 10 times the homicide rates in other leading industrialized nations. As an example, the youth homicide rate in France is 0.6 homicides per 100,000 youths, while in the United States that rate is 11.0 homicides per 100,000 youths. The youth homicide rate in the United Kingdom is 0.9 homicides per 100,000 youths, while the homicide rate in Japan is 0.4 homicides per 100,000 youths. In Germany, the youth homicide rate is 0.8 homicides per 100,000 youths. In the United States, one of the key “pieces of the puzzle” to eradicating violence, in general, and youth homicides, in particular, is incorporating mandatory conflicts resolution and anger management courses in the school curriculum for grades K-12. To eradicate violence everywhere, we must think beyond ourselves, and identify and resolve its root causes.
Our elders who raised families, worked at back-breaking and spirit-numbing jobs and empowered their communities, must be protected and deserve to be provided with equal access to the best care for their unique health issues and a good quality of life.
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While children are the heart and soul of our village, our elders are the village’s “treasure.” It is estimated that approximately 601,000,000 souls throughout our global village are over age 65. Our elders who raised families, worked at back-breaking and spirit-numbing jobs and empowered their communities, must be protected and deserve to be provided with equal access to the best care for their unique health issues and a good quality of life. The Elders “thought beyond themselves” and encouraged the village’s children—its heart and soul–to excel academically…to tirelessly seek knowledge…and to carry themselves with a sense of dignity. Our Elders did not have equal access to, or were denied outright, the educational and economic opportunities that many of us enjoy today. Rather than wallow in bitterness or complain about the indignities they endured, our elders held on to the hope that circumstances would change for their children and the generations yet unborn. They invested their energy in preparing their children for the imminent winds of change, which would bring a plethora of opportunities. Many of our Elders fought for, marched for, and died for the opportunities that their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren take for granted. Our Elders have created pathways for us which bear their indelible footprints—footprints that make it unnecessary for us to reinvent the wheel. These pathways and these indelible footprints serve as a legacy—a legacy from them to us. We must, and are expected to, build upon that legacy.
If we are really serious about creating a safer and better world, we must, with all deliberate speed, think beyond ourselves.
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