The One World Paper

by Barry
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Barry
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The One World Paper

Post by Barry » September 30th, 2009, 10:52 am

In my youth I read in the newspaper of a decision made by Ronald Reagan, who was then President of the United States, not to sign some U.N. proposal or another on the grounds that it leaned too heavily toward one world government, that it would have compromised national sovereignty to have signed such a document.

This just floored me. I could not believe my eyes. Too close to one world government? Naive I must be, because I had always assumed that this was the ultimate goal of civilization on this planet. It was just a given with me, because it seemed so obviously to fit the pattern of the natural progression of things, of progress in general. What started out with small, nomadic, genealogically-based tribal units evolved into small, permanently-settled villages, which evolved into small towns, then small cities, then large city-states, then small nations, then larger nations---superpowers---which would eventually coalesce into one globe-encompassing political structure creating, finally, a true planetary community, right? Just like on Star Trek, all humanity united under one banner and all that.

Well, naive I am then, because it just isn’t that way. Reading this news article at 18 opened my eyes to the fact that there are forces out there working against such a global community, such a consciousness of global community, ever developing.

Maintaining the status quo of "national sovereignty," it seems, is more important than progressing as a species, as a culture, a people. I guess that even now, when we have a practically instantaneous global communication network literally at our fingertips, it is better to remain in isolated pockets of humanity, each greedily holding fast to whatever one has or can grab from another, each selfishly pursuing its own ruthless political, military, economic or social agenda, maintaining national sovereignty above all else, and the rest of the world be damned. Yes, I guess to a person who is not naive like I am, this must seem preferable to a system in which the resources and energies of all the political and economic structures on the planet are welded into one fearless and indomitable power-structure---sans the necessity of massive financial expenditures for national defense, other than modest requirements for internal security, peace-keeping forces, what would amount to personnel charged with the maintenance of law and order; police forces, in other words---which has as its function and purpose for existence the continuing enrichment of the lives of all the individuals in the collective body of humanity. Certainly the current system is preferable to anything as naive and pie-in-the-sky as that described above, preferable to a system in which all persons are taught from birth to think of themselves first and foremost as human beings---citizens of Earth---along with all citizens being encouraged to express their localized heritage---their ethnicity, religion, etc.---in whatever form they chose, within the dictates of whatever global constitutional document should come to represent this global community.

If people were conditioned to think of themselves, from their earliest indoctrination into society, from kindergarten or earlier, as members of a global community, then the energies to actually get something done, which can best be accomplished through the necessary evil of large economic and political power-structures, could be fused into one very powerful juggernaut and brought to bear on such far-reaching and truly global issues as resource depletion, environmental degradation, space exploration, etc., things that, ultimately, make each persons life a little better all the time, in theory at least. For this is what progress is when it's functioning appropriately, the continuation of things to get better, of life becoming more livable for all.

One united community---one world government---working cooperatively toward one goal---making everyone's life more livable---is, to me, naive that I am, obviously preferable to a system that involves multiple communities working in fierce competition for mutually exclusive goals. Any small schoolchild in any kindergarten or preschool classroom on the planet can understand this.

So why do our grown up leaders have such hard time with the concept?

Peace,
Barry

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Arcadia
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Post by Arcadia » October 10th, 2009, 5:18 pm

well, descentralization and to be one in spirit sounds a little more viable from my point of view! :lol:

best wishes with your new home, Barry!! :D

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Barry
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Post by Barry » October 17th, 2009, 12:38 am

"one in spirit" is Earth citizenship. All one familia.

Love you, Arcadia.

Peace,
Barry

Non Sum

Post by Non Sum » March 15th, 2010, 9:02 pm

Hi Barry, I like your necktie. :)
As a fellow 'world citizen' I'm with your "naive" pov 100%. I'm tired of this flag waving nationalism. It always sounds a sour note in my ear when watching the olympics.

Of course, there is nothing "naive" about the vision of a world community without nation states. Many great thinkers have marveled at the stupidity of nations, and patriotic ferver. Arthur C. Clarke felt sure that once humanity has seen the planet Earth in "its true perspective," from distant space as this tiny blue speck lost in a endless sea of black, it would bring the nationalists to their senses. But alas, that would require an initial capacity for sense.

I'm sure there will come a day when your vision will become reality. I believe the trend is going in that direction, and the economics alone is forcing it to come about. Keep the faith, dude.
NS (Naive State)


"Born in iniquity, and conceived in sin, the spirit of nationalism has never ceased to bend human institutions to the service of dissension and distress." (Thorstein Veblen)

"Every nation ridicules other nations, and all are right." (Arthur Schopenhauer)

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Barry
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Post by Barry » March 17th, 2010, 7:29 pm

Thank you, Non Sum, for the necktie compliment. It's a cabachon of chrysoprase - green chalcedony (microcrystaline quartz) colored by nickel - I had fashioned from a chunk I got at a small now-defunct mom and pop rock shop here in Oregon years ago. The stone came from Australia, though chrysoprase is found in Oregon down around Nickel Mountain near Riddle.

Oh, you meant the snake, didn't you? ;) That was at Tolum in Mexico.

Someday we'll go through all this again, wars of nationalistic fervor and the struggle for independence, when the colonies in the asteroid belt and moons of Jupiter and Saturn, along with those on Mars and the Moon, seek their independence from the home planet. But at least we'll have a window of unity before that happens, hopefully. Because those colonies will never be established if we here at home can't unite.

Peace,
Barry

Non Sum

Post by Non Sum » March 17th, 2010, 8:41 pm

You sound like a geologist; or is it a 'rockhound'?

I keep looking for your pic's caption: "Taken shortly before strangelation by python." :wink:

Barry: Because those colonies will never be established if we here at home can't unite.

NS: I have more faith in human avarice than you, apparently. They'll go to the planets, and beyond--'unity' or no unity. They'll go because, "There's gold in them thar hills, and I'm gonna get me some." Though, the interplanetary occasion will be phrased more in corporate speak than rustic. The impetus is the same. It's the same one that gets humanity in its billions up every morning "and to do it again; amen."

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Barry
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Post by Barry » March 29th, 2010, 5:37 pm

It's rockhound.

You're probably right about the economic thing. Money is money and it don't matter where or who it comes from. If the money to do it can be cobbled together, humanity will go to the stars someday. The wars of independence in the future, though, will likely be fought in ways as incomprehensible to us as modern wars would be to prehistoric peoples. And the first remotely intelligent alien species we encounter will either exploit or be exploited by us, sadly.

Peace,
Barry

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Doreen Peri
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Post by Doreen Peri » April 1st, 2010, 11:01 pm

One united community---one world government---working cooperatively toward one goal---making everyone's life more livable---is, to me, naive that I am, obviously preferable to a system that involves multiple communities working in fierce competition for mutually exclusive goals. Any small schoolchild in any kindergarten or preschool classroom on the planet can understand this.
I agree with this.

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Barry
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Post by Barry » April 4th, 2010, 6:34 pm

Thanks, Doreen. You're a great teacher.

Happy Easter!!!

Peace,
Barry

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