come on people

The world is getting smaller, right? We hear about it constantly. You can't escape a book store without reading a blurb that describes the frightening contraction all around us. Many of us now count friends, colleagues, clients, bosses and family living on the other side of the planet.

We engage in our daily lives doing ordinary things, but now we do them with people that are not in the next cubicle or office, they're in a different time zone, hemisphere and state of economic development. The average 7th grader can tell you what the current time is in NY, Tokyo, London, New Delhi and Shanghai. Movies are made with international cultural considerations in mind, books are written in multiple languages during their first run, organisations seemingly have more international offices then they do local staff and universities are building campuses on every continent. I'm not dreaming this, right? Then why the hell do we (as a global community) have so many problems?

I understand there is religious difference. I understand there is cultural difference. I understand there is a disparity of power determined by gender, wealth and education. I accept that there is more grey than black or white and that our challenges are vast and complicated. But you see, our resources are larger and more powerful, our intelligence is more nuanced, our empathy is more heartfelt, our time is better managed and responsibility has never been clearer....and remember...the WORLD IS SMALLER.

It simply doesn't make sense!

We as the adults need to ask ourselves whether the hubris we show in our consumerism, popularism, religious fervor, aggression and absolutism is a reasonable burden for the next generation. I'm not happy that my generation will be forever paying for the environmental degradation and cultural animosity brought about by the actions and decisions of the generations before me and I am therefore mindful that my actions and decisions will impact those that will come after me. Surely every parent wants a better life, a better world for their children than they themselves had...perhaps we can start there....

Sorry, I guess these are the ramblings of a young parent with another child arriving very very soon... let's get our house in order people, my kids are relying on us.