Before we can solve anything, we need to first look at a very
important word: Humanity. One of the most overused yet least understood
ideologies when talking of solving our current and future problems. Hollywood
has used it in numerous films (part of their subversive plot to add thought
provoking elements to their productions) Does anyone remember the speech that
faux president Thomas J. Whitmore used in the movie Independence Day? It goes
something like this:
“Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft
from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the
largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. 'Mankind.' That word should
have new meaning for all of us today. We can’t be consumed by our petty
differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it’s
fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for
our freedom… Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution… but from
annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we
win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday,
but as the day when the world declared in one voice: 'We will not go quietly
into the night!' 'We will not vanish without a fight!' We’re going to live on!
We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”
Hollywood
is littered with speeches like that from various movies, and it really makes
you think. At least for the two minutes before they get into the action, and
everything else if forgotten except for that epic human-alien aerial battle.
Yet, if we do stop for a moment and think what mankind and humanity really
means, it might strike a chord; more so today than in 1996 when Independence
Day was released, when the internet was just being realized. In order to chat
with someone across the world, you would most likely have to pick up a phone
(and pay an arm and a leg in the process).
Today,
thanks to social media and the quantum speeds of DSL, we chat with people
across the world while harvesting virtual carrots in our own computer farm. If
we can't get along while we're weeding each other's veggies, then how could we
ever get along if for some reason bug-like aliens invaded us with impenetrable
force fields? Or more realistically, if the financial markets fall 80%, half of
all food production is devastation by droughts and blight, or if a global
epidemic begins sweeping the world, a virus that kills one out of every three
it infects? That's a bit scarier, And I admit something that keeps me up at
night? What would we do in those situations? What is the protocol? If this
happened tomorrow, would we be ready?
A lot goes on behind the scenes in government,
and I sure as heck hope that they are more productive privately than they are
publicly. And I'm sure some global crises have been addressed by international
coalitions such as United Nations and NATO ... (which I hear are currently
stronger than ever, due to political tensions and economic implications). But
if we are to solve any catastrophic events that arises, either man made or
other, we will need the cooperation of everyone, no matter what nationality. In
a world where physical boundaries are dissolved in cyberspace, the borders we
once held so dear are fading. I hope this is something we can embrace as a
species, for does it really matter if you live in the United States or in
China? Is the difference between an Alabama farmer and a New York real-estate
agent greater than that of a Chinese merchant, and a Mexican small business
owner? What prevents the Chinese merchant from selling equipment to the Alabama
farmer, who sells produce to the Mexican small business owner who makes a
killing and retires to New York and finds a home via the real-estate agent?
Didn't they all just work together without knowing it? Didn't they all just
make each other's lives a little easier? Why couldn't we all work together more
often?
I guess the problem with that is government; an institution designed to protect the people they govern from other institutions governing other people. When you think about it, most everyone would prefer to reside where they feel most comfortable if they can. It's why the Mexican small business owner longs for his village home when he's finds himself stuck in the bustle of the city. It's why that real-estate agent wrinkles his nose when his car breaks down near the home of the farmer. We are most comfortable when we are surrounded by people that are like us. That understand us. This is how physical borders are formed. People settle down and want to protect their way of life. And for the most part, this makes sense. But just because we are different from each other, doesn't mean that we can't work together, and it most certainly doesn't mean that don't share each other's best interests.
It is my hope though, that moving forward into
the great new connected world, that the people whom governments govern, will
eventually realize the power of cooperation, and that the governments
themselves will finally set aside their differences, which are no more real
than the crops half of you are watering right now. Wouldn't that be a sight?
June 13, 2011
