Picture a better World
Picture the world at peace. The fighting and bombing has stopped and the people are able to return to their homes and their families, taking up work to rebuild their damaged communities. The time of global terrorism has ended; we have come to see that we are all one on this Earth, and that we don’t want to fight our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, our own children anymore. The weapons are melted down, the bombs are deactivated, and the production and sale of weapons to foreign countries are stopped; we will no longer fuel the violence of war.
See yourself going to work only 3.5 days per week. No more Mondays. Everybody gets a half-day Friday. The room this makes for creativity and invention, the extra attention that our families will receive, the well-being that would come to our minds and bodies with that additional time to ourselves... only needing to give away half of our days, instead of over 2/3, in order to financially sustain our lives.
Envision democracy by and for the people. Every vote counting in elections held by Proportional Representation, forming a government that must include many opinions in making decisions, that cannot rise to wield absolute power and impose their exclusive agenda, unchecked, for the duration of their term. An elected Senate that does away with patronage appointments and golden handshakes.
Petitions that bring the issues of most concern to the government and are easy to sign (i.e. electronic); similarly, decisions on the most pressing issues put to referendums; voting held again through electronic means; frequently engaging everyone in voting on their smartphones on the decisions that affect our lives.
Corporations required to adhere to strict standards of environmental and labour protection, at home and in their operations abroad, in order to be allowed to do business within our economy. Mandatory living wages, continually adjusted for inflation, ensuring that no one should suffer the indignities of poverty.
Corporate taxation in line with profit; formulas that ensure fair remittance is going back into the society from which the profit is being drawn. An end to loopholes and tax havens that rob our countries of funds that are needed for infrastructure, hospitals, schools, and the support of our social systems.
A social safety net that is able to catch and care for those who need it most; providing unconditional support for those battling illness, unable to work, or facing the twilight of their years.
People everywhere planting and tending organic food crops, even in urban settings (potager style), the development of novel ways of producing healthy food in all bioregions. Bringing the land back to health through natural reclamation; cleaning up waterways and landscapes long polluted by industry.
Building new energy generating technologies, quality products to last generations, inventions and discoveries to take us to places we cannot even imagine now.
Electric cars on the roads and in the air, powered by the endless rays of the sun, the wind that blows, the very electromagnetic potential of the earth around us.
Conserving the oil we will continue to need for plastics and consumer products, instead of letting it be burned away forever. Supplementing our need for hydrocarbon extraction with biofuels grown by those who have returned to farm the land.
The peace and calm of simple living. Surrounded and supported by a tight-knit community that is there to ensure every member is looked after and feels as though they belong to a team. Building teams that help incubate and grow great things from the safety of a caring and inclusive society.
Young mothers nurtured as they learn to nurture their own children; children raised with encouragement and conscientious focus on well-rounded development of their skills, talent and abilities; elders cared for with respect and dignity, honoured in their sacred place in society. No one afraid of their neighbours, people willing to meet each other’s gaze in the street, strangers willing to help strangers with confidence that they are safe in a healthy society.
This vision is on its way to becoming our reality if we choose to pursue systematically building our society and systems around the ideals of compassion and working for the common good. These are not wild imaginings, they are very real objectives that are easily attainable.
By focusing our might on bringing large systematic changes with the vision of a kinder future in our minds, we will move ourselves away from the precipice of destruction, to a path upon which our children and their children will walk into a future filled with hope and the promise of a better tomorrow.
See yourself going to work only 3.5 days per week. No more Mondays. Everybody gets a half-day Friday. The room this makes for creativity and invention, the extra attention that our families will receive, the well-being that would come to our minds and bodies with that additional time to ourselves... only needing to give away half of our days, instead of over 2/3, in order to financially sustain our lives.
Envision democracy by and for the people. Every vote counting in elections held by Proportional Representation, forming a government that must include many opinions in making decisions, that cannot rise to wield absolute power and impose their exclusive agenda, unchecked, for the duration of their term. An elected Senate that does away with patronage appointments and golden handshakes.
Petitions that bring the issues of most concern to the government and are easy to sign (i.e. electronic); similarly, decisions on the most pressing issues put to referendums; voting held again through electronic means; frequently engaging everyone in voting on their smartphones on the decisions that affect our lives.
Corporations required to adhere to strict standards of environmental and labour protection, at home and in their operations abroad, in order to be allowed to do business within our economy. Mandatory living wages, continually adjusted for inflation, ensuring that no one should suffer the indignities of poverty.
Corporate taxation in line with profit; formulas that ensure fair remittance is going back into the society from which the profit is being drawn. An end to loopholes and tax havens that rob our countries of funds that are needed for infrastructure, hospitals, schools, and the support of our social systems.
A social safety net that is able to catch and care for those who need it most; providing unconditional support for those battling illness, unable to work, or facing the twilight of their years.
People everywhere planting and tending organic food crops, even in urban settings (potager style), the development of novel ways of producing healthy food in all bioregions. Bringing the land back to health through natural reclamation; cleaning up waterways and landscapes long polluted by industry.
Building new energy generating technologies, quality products to last generations, inventions and discoveries to take us to places we cannot even imagine now.
Electric cars on the roads and in the air, powered by the endless rays of the sun, the wind that blows, the very electromagnetic potential of the earth around us.
Conserving the oil we will continue to need for plastics and consumer products, instead of letting it be burned away forever. Supplementing our need for hydrocarbon extraction with biofuels grown by those who have returned to farm the land.
The peace and calm of simple living. Surrounded and supported by a tight-knit community that is there to ensure every member is looked after and feels as though they belong to a team. Building teams that help incubate and grow great things from the safety of a caring and inclusive society.
Young mothers nurtured as they learn to nurture their own children; children raised with encouragement and conscientious focus on well-rounded development of their skills, talent and abilities; elders cared for with respect and dignity, honoured in their sacred place in society. No one afraid of their neighbours, people willing to meet each other’s gaze in the street, strangers willing to help strangers with confidence that they are safe in a healthy society.
This vision is on its way to becoming our reality if we choose to pursue systematically building our society and systems around the ideals of compassion and working for the common good. These are not wild imaginings, they are very real objectives that are easily attainable.
By focusing our might on bringing large systematic changes with the vision of a kinder future in our minds, we will move ourselves away from the precipice of destruction, to a path upon which our children and their children will walk into a future filled with hope and the promise of a better tomorrow.
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