Forum Post: Act Locally, Think Globally
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 11, 2011, 10:25 a.m. EST by bythepeople
(56)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
We are a global economy. No matter what "term" you want to call it, all economic systems are intertwined.
What we are not is a global community.It's time for a global bill of rights. It's time for all citizens of planet earth to have equal say in how we live and how we use the resources of our one and only planet.
Countries come and go. Leaders rise and fall. The only thing that remains is the world we share. Let us all have an equal say in the governance of this planet.
We have the power to communicate as never before. All the people of Earth need to have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, regardless of their color, gender, beliefs, or location. The time has come.
I was born in Ethiopia. I arrived in Europe when I was 6. I came to America when I was 13. I could not agree more with the notion of Act Locally, Think Globally. It is absolutely essential in the 21st century. The world is fast becoming an interconnected market place. Therefore one has no choice but to notice global trends. At the same time one has to be active where one can be most effective, and that can best be done at the local level. We should really expand on this notion further. Thanks
It that since the consensus on this forum is that 1. our government is/has been corrupted by corporations/wealthy individuals and that 2. this has made it unresponsive to the needs/wants of at least the segments of the population represented here.
The problem of a government that only pays attention to large and powerful interests or is isolated from the people it governs would be worse under a much larger government
Greetings Folks, Please read 'The Way Forward' by the New America Foundation. It is the answer to our world's problems. There is an article about it in the New York Times called 'This Time It's Different.' It's a great article. These people are on your side, and they've got clout, intellectual and otherwise. I wish you well... John O'Grady ivanogre@gmail.com
The desicion making process in the TT movement is sociocratic - IMHO also perfect as a democratic model for OWS. There's no need to re-invent the wheel. Get informed...
Connect to the Transition Towns movement. This is the next step to take. Join them, get informed... build a new world... Act locally, think globally...
http://transitionus.org/
Just read a positive post from some brothers/sisters in Peru.
Solutions have to be created from will to change. Not just here but everywhere.
Questions is: are you willingly to let go of the past, of outdated notions of patriotism and tribalism, move beyond bigotry and racism, and embrace planetary solutions?
Until we (and I do mean all of us) are ready to do that, the same plights will befall the human condition.
All must be free or none are free.
NO NO NO!!!!
Resist the urge to put forth the 'one size fits all' idea that you are promoting. Who is going to decide what all the countries need? Who is going to impose it on everyone else?
I agree with your general idea - act locally, think globally. But I don't even want Washington DC telling us what to do from afar. Look how they've screwed things up.
The only way we can safeguard from corruption is by organizing ourselves locally - Local currencies, local markets, local food production, local schools. Even the state level may be too remote for us to control and to be responsive to the diverse needs of different people.
I understand your sentiment - until every child is safe and has opportunities for life, then no child is safe. However don't ever presume to know what is good for another person, be they someone who is from your own country, or someone from another part of the world. This is driving force behind every cruel government of tyranny in history. The Bolshevik revolution and the 150million+ that were murdered by that regime, The Nazi's and Hitler. Every government wants to say it knows best for you.
NO. The biggest thing we can do RIGHT NOW to move towards your ideal is to STOP THE WARS.
Never said "one size fits all". I said all voices have equal say. I don't know what best for you - you do! I don't care if you are in New York, Cairo, Sidney, Tokyo, etc. I don't care what your gender, race, or religious beliefs are. Your voice, your opinion, your choices are as valid as mine. That is not the real world. Today.
I do agree with all humans having basic rights. BUT if you follow the logic of the ideal you seek, it hits a little to close to one world government for me. I think if we stop bombing other countries and bring the troops home, we can begin to fix what is wrong here. Then America can be a shining example again. But we can't do that without cleaning up our own house. I hear you, it is time for us to take a global viewpoint that all citizens' voices are of equal worth. However I am very wary of plans for a North American Union, and look at what is happening in the EuroZone - it is crumbling as we speak.
We are one world, whether you choose to believe it or not. Our economies are so tied together, that a hiccup in one part of the world can send shock waves through the whole system.
No country can make a major economic decision without having repercussions on the whole planet.
Maybe if we acted politically on what has already occurred economically there would not be a need to bomb anywhere. Would we bomb Ohio because of some action that had negative effect on Idaho? Hell no. It's unthinkable for you and I to even consider the thought.
We need to get to the same place with every corner of the globe.
I too am wary but the necessity still remains. However, seeing people actively participate like this gives me hope that maybe, just maybe apathy and complacency are outdated notions as well.
The "Hooray for me & the Hell with you!" crowd are starting to tremble. They should.
I agree, some of the new willingness to exchange ideas gives me hope as well. I'm not trying to say we are not one world which is affected by every member. We have some incredibly serious environmental and social issues to address, and the U.S. is one of the biggest offenders.
There is no reason to bomb anywhere, period. The false premise that we are fighting a war on terror or promoting democracy is exactly that, false.
You may not like it, but tribalism is part of human nature. One of the many reasons the EuroZone is falling apart is because they took a group of people who have different histories, cultures, languages, and values, and artificially forced them to make it work inside of one imposed financial model. That is not right, and it doesn't work. You robbed those nations (and their people) of sovereignty and they have been taking orders from people in far-away Brussels that don't understand them, don't represent them, and don't have their best interests at heart. Sound familiar?
Violence is part of human nature too but we learn (key word here) to control our aggression for the benefit of all.
I didn't say it would be easy or quick. That's why a global bill of rights is needed as well. To insure all have a voice in what happens.
The global economy forces all of us to participate now. The problem is we don't have any real say in what it does.
Propose solutions.
(please)