How Do We Get To Utopia From Here?

World Pulse has brought the rest of the world into my view. Listening to the stories – the tragedies and triumphs, the hopes and determination, the love and the angst, has inspired me to want to jump inside the box.

My biggest challenge is that I don’t know where I fit in. I’ve been outside the box looking in, wondering why everyone was so crowded inside the box where people make irrational and illogical decisions. It’s messy in the box. I’ve been waiting for the rest of you to jump out of the box and join me, but that is taking too long. I must jump inside that illogical, irrational, messy, crowded box.

This is me jumping in.

1. I am morally, intellectually, and emotionally opposed to any and all programs that ship water out of Africa. I am likewise opposed to strategies that use water as a weapon to coerce or destroy a populace. I am for drilling wells, water reclamation, and water conservation. I support clean water and oppose any project that harms our water supply.


2. There are many great organizations out there feeding the world, but it’s not enough. One of my favorites is Heifer International. They don’t just feed people. They give people the tools to feed a village.


3. In my mind, there is no excuse for malaria to continue to ravage the world when we know how to arrest it. I am opposed to corporations and conglomerates providing known harmful products. I oppose the use of carcinogens in products intended for human consumption or absorption, especially in children.


4. Shelter can and should be affordable. People have been building their own homes for centuries. Here in America, the people have turned this task over to large builders, the government, and City Redevelopment Agencies and suddenly, tens of millions of people are facing homelessness. In Haiti, though it costs only slightly more to build a “tiny” house, people are living in tents. Around the world, people lack the basic amenities that my brother has in his weekend camper – indoor plumbing, electricity, heat and safety. That’s an abomination and I don’t want to die knowing that I could have helped alleviate the human condition but failed to do so.


5. Last but certainly not least, safety is the most compelling reason for forming a government, yet few of us are safe from our governments. Far too many of us suffer precisely because of our government. My vision here is to train the next group of leaders.

My vision is clear – a world at peace. How we get there from here is what I’m trying to figure out.

STOP THE VIOLENCE. That's a start.