to trust & to share :
our global challenge
I care passionately about the inhabitants of our planet. Yet I only talk to a few trusted people about the big improvements which I believe are possible if we, as citizens across the globe, would put our emphasis on two activities: to trust and to share. This is a call to action, a call to start imagining and actively discussing a safer, more fair, and more compassionate future. We have several millennia of human history behind us now, a history which includes innumerable instances of war and of peace, of greed and of charity, of distrust and of trust. As a species, our facilities and our abilities continue to grow, and we are now ready to step forward to a kinder era, but we must choose to.
Living in middle-class Canada, I hardly ever say how crazy-making it is for me to enjoy all the necessities of life while I simultaneously know that millions of people and other animals are suffering needlessly. Suffering needlessly because we have enough resources to stop most of the suffering, though we don’t share the resources to the extent that we could, and a lack of trust is one of the root problems. Many of us want to bring about world-wide trusting and sharing. In our daily lives, many of us may already be helping by “going green”, thinking globally and acting locally, or giving to charities. But do we talk about more significant changes, possible through our First World wealth and technologies, if only we apply, at a deep personal and social level, more trust and sharing?
Talking from the heart to our family, friends, co-workers, and fellow students is an essential first step to a change in our culture. Remember how important talking to others is when making even small changes in your life. As an exercise, imagine living in a world where we trust and share. It’s such a wonder-filled and joyous picture of our future. But we will come up on resistance, and need to be brave, as many people are afraid to talk about trusting and sharing. We may remember talking about our hopes for a better world when we were children. Perhaps our hopes were shut down because we were told they were naive, childish, stupid, or worse. So as adults we must be brave, respectful, and non-violent in the face of even harsher criticisms. We may be told again that we are naive, childish, stupid, and also politically dangerous, unpatriotic, and wasting valuable time only talking instead of doing. But talking is the first step. Listening to other people is equally important. We need to listen respectfully to people’s fears and objections and kindly offer ways of meeting those fears and overcoming those objections. For it is with those very people that we will someday trust and share, or not.
This is a world-wide challenge. It will take the collective will, imagination, skills, and hard work of perhaps a billion people to bring the values of trust and sharing to the forefront of a global society. Every small conversation helps. Will we talk about it to someone today?
ideas & notes
“Before a brilliant person begins something great,
they must look foolish to the crowd.”
— the I CHING
What will it be like when we, both as a society and individually, can trust and share? Below are a few ideas and notes which have inspired me.
Insight from Robert Sapolsky’s Work
Every year, primatologist Robert Sapolsky goes to Kenya to visit a population of wild baboons, who experience stress very similarly to humans. By measuring hormone levels and stress-related diseases in each primate, he determines their relative stress, looking for patterns in personality and social behavior that might contribute. These exercises have given Sapolsky amazing insight into all primate social behavior, including our own. Of particular interest is how he witnessed these aggressive baboons (relatives of ours) transform to become benevolent and kind, in just one generation.
Using a Computer to Model a Better Future
It would be very helpful to have a publically-accessible, state-of-the-art computer simulation run by well-funded scientists and economists that demonstrates the differences in our collective future should we exercise more global trust and sharing. This simulation would extrapolate future scenarios factoring predictions in climate change, economics, war, poverty, population, and human migration. The simulation would focus to demonstrate the distribution of goods and services so that every human has clean water, healthy food, a good home, education and training, medical care, and a meaningful life. The simulation would illustrate the tremendous differences we can assume between global tendencies of sharing and trusting, compared to global tendencies absent of sharing and trusting.
Computer models that project future climate patterns are used by climate scientists, models projecting trade are used by economists, and many other models are already in use by private companies, researchers, and governments. But nothing that combines these is easily viewable by the public. It would be helpful for average citizens to see how our collective small actions and attitudes all add up within a global snapshot, and how much we are empowered to reduce suffering and environmental damage.
Acknowledging our Shared Ancestry
I’d love to see an international annual celebration, “Ancestor’s Day”. On this day, each culture around the world would celebrate our shared ancient history, from a few million years ago, to maybe 200,000 years ago, to 50,000 years ago.
Currently, National Geographic hosts The Genographic Project, which will perform DNA testing on an individual for $200, mapping their biological heritage, leading to a demonstration of our shared ancestry. As part of “Ancestor’s Day” celebrations, free DNA testing could be offered (through fundraising), so that more individuals truly understand our global, shared ancestry.
This new global custom would remind us all of our shared lineage internationally, and will kelp us bring big-picture perspective to our daily lives.
Fostering the Next Generation
Emphasizing trusting and sharing in the education of K–12 schools will help each new generation bring a new world view of what is possible upon graduation.
Establishing an Image of Global Community
Several astronauts have commented on what it is like to look back upon the Earth from space, seeing that all of us globally are all in the same boat, that the political borders between countries appear petty from space. It’s of great benefit for all of society to be exposed to this image astronauts have: that we’re all together on a big, beautiful, lush rock — but that all our lives are threatened by war and environmental damage. Can we trust and share, and use our collective skills to save lives?
Poetic Inspiration
The video above is Murmuration from Islands & Rivers, a lovely example of trusting given to us by the birds, as they must trust their neighbours as they pilot collectively through the sky.