What is to be done? Four suggestions for world leaders.

The UN Secretary General has invited YouTube members to tell the worlds leaders what needs to be done to make the world a better and safer place.

Well, were all world leaders in that we each have within us the power to lead our own lives. So this is a challenge to everyone, not just diplomats and heads of state.

I have four suggestions.

First: If you already support a world-changing movement, keep at it. There are lots of great ones, filled with dedicated people who are doing a lot, and who can do even more when contributors pitch in.

Second: For just a moment, Id to draw public attention away from celebrity T&A and toward the festering tragedy of Iraqi refugees. Over a million people have fled to Syria and Jordan, and even more are still displaced within Iraq itself.

Since part of an ambassadors job is to send home accurate reports and analysis, my message back to people in the United States need to hear this: Remember the Pottery Barn rule. If we Americans intend to repair our countrys reputation as an honest champion of freedom and democracy, then well have to couple that effort with real demonstrations of mercy and compassion. Theres no better place to start than the refugee camps of the Middle East.

Third: Id like to prompt an attitude change regarding how to address concepts like power and interest.

The prevailing conception of whats normal in international relations is that people are doomed to perpetual war and never ending clash, as if fated to live like beasts in a jungle. Thats wrong. We have free will, and we can rise out of that jungle.

In fact, the long-term trend in human civilization is that were learning to affiliate and collaborate in larger and larger groups. In fact, nearly every surviving spiritual culture shares principles of compassionate reciprocity, like the Golden Rule. In fact, nearly every enduring ethical system challenges us to extend our sense of kinship and fairness as far as it can go.

Still, many people think that having a better world depends on wiping out certain individuals or nations or ideas that they dislike or fear.

Its time to reconsider old stories like David and Goliath. The greatest glory is not in beheading ones enemies, but in making them reliable allies. The day may come when we recognize that all war is fratricide, and that every rock thrown, every bullet shot, and every bomb dropped repeats the tragedy of friendly fire.

Finally: I invite people watching this to try a Facebook application I created called WeVote. Its an attempt to create better tools for better democracies.

What if there really could be some institution of global ambassadors? What kind of system would we need to pick our representatives and delegate instructions? Its fine to promote photo-ops with celebrity humanitarians and crowd-sourced pundits. But if were serious about using web technologies to host global venues for democratic discourse, nows as good a time as any to start thinking things through.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• United Nations
• UN Secretary-General
• Ban ki-moon
• George Clooney
• Video Contest

[marlinriver]

and 4,my god if you think we r alone in the universe,and all the trillions of galaxys was put here just 4 us,,cmon how niaeve can we b..other races must look down at us and laugh,cause im sure they would think we as a race r a joke...lets not just show our race but the other races out there ,cause it cant b a fluke life just happend here on earth.lets show every one that we can b a responsible race to our planet and get our shit together and help and fix our problems for all fellow man..

[marlinriver]

3 all the money spent on wars and war machines could b spent on fixing the problems of our planet not making holes in it..lets help other nations by helping them live not shooting the crap out of their country...and world leaders u need to have a good hard look at yourselves,b cause kids act better than the arguing and bickering over political matters..work together to fix social and domestic problems..dont 4get we the public elect u guys to do a job not just to look good on telly..

[marlinriver]

2 people r struggling to live,because the cost of living is goin up in every country across the globe.thats why we have crime ect...put it this way if a comet came down and wiped out most of the plantes population,we would b forced to change the way we live and conform to our enviroment,so why wait lets just change the way we live now..b4 its 2 late,mother earth trying to tell us 2 change i.e japan ..NZ and every other disaster that has increased in the past 20plus years...act now fellow humans

[marlinriver]

number 1,we all know that energy can b created in other forms rather than using oil to make petrol,so the quicker we stop using fossil fuels and rely on the trillions of dollars its creates,to make people rich,lets start by making all hunans rich in life not by money but by having a better cleaner planet to live on...where along the time line we thought it was our god givin right to just own the earth,when millions of creatures were here long b4 us, we need to start to take better care of earth

[simmo680]

Dude,

You need to focus on the 307 million people in your own country...when you guys can say that you have it sorted then you are in a position of social strength, not just military strength. I adree with the initiative but charity begins at home remember... your own people need you. Back in the 80's a man named Lew Tyse said "all meaningful and lasting change begins on the inside and works its way out..its the same for countries. As a beleiver I support you but get with the program

[LaMaricharms]

Congrats! I like your ideas, specially that we are all leaders, and the challenge is for all of us :)

[mdove64]

Thanks for presenting your powerful message. It is clear that you've thought about this topic completely. It would be helpful if you could post links to credible sources that support your findings.