2008 Woodie Awards
The Global Citizen
Alan Nordstrom
Issue date: 9/4/06 Section: Opinions
"Ours is the first generation of human beings who can choose to be the last." That recognition by systems scholar Ervin Laszlo changes everything about what is important to attend to in these chaotic and critical times when society will either break down globally or break through to a new global civilization more wisely conceived.
To make this breakthrough, humanity must establish itself in a new level of consciousness marked by connectivity, cooperation, and conciliation. To be a Global Citizen today:
-is to be a peace maker and a peace keeper, since war is obsolete because it endangers the whole planet.
-is to owe primary allegiance to the flourishing of life on this precious celestial globe, Planet Earth, knowing deeply that all human beings are one family among families of other creatures, equally dear and requiring our protection.
-is to assume intelligent and compassionate care for this planet that we have been obliviously endangering with our reckless exploitations.
-is to inform oneself of the grave challenges our burgeoning species poses to the health of the planetary ecosystem and to rectify our destructive impact by learning to live lightly and sustainably on the Earth, with equitable distribution of resources and benefits to all members of the human family.
The aim of higher education is to enable the evolution of higher consciousness in students. As the universe itself is the manifestation of evolving consciousness, we human beings exhibit that process in our individual development, having the potential and opportunity to do so if we so choose.
Nothing is more worth studying today than what contributes to the evolution of a human consciousness capable of birthing a new era of ecological sustainability and social justice-Earthwide.
We must penetrate the fog of delusion and denial to see the imminent dangers all around us and respond appropriately. Those studies are therefore most imperative that inform us of these dangers and show us their causes, their manifestations, and the changes necessary to avert them. After that, those studies that enable individuals to pursue remedial actions best suited to each one's talents and capacities should be undertaken, yet always in conscious concert with a comprehensive program of transformation at every level: personal, cultural, social, economic, political, and global.
First, comprehend our predicament; then learn how best to address it and how best, personally, to contribute to its resolution. A new age, a new era, a new level of consciousness yearns to be born.
To make this breakthrough, humanity must establish itself in a new level of consciousness marked by connectivity, cooperation, and conciliation. To be a Global Citizen today:
-is to be a peace maker and a peace keeper, since war is obsolete because it endangers the whole planet.
-is to owe primary allegiance to the flourishing of life on this precious celestial globe, Planet Earth, knowing deeply that all human beings are one family among families of other creatures, equally dear and requiring our protection.
-is to assume intelligent and compassionate care for this planet that we have been obliviously endangering with our reckless exploitations.
-is to inform oneself of the grave challenges our burgeoning species poses to the health of the planetary ecosystem and to rectify our destructive impact by learning to live lightly and sustainably on the Earth, with equitable distribution of resources and benefits to all members of the human family.
The aim of higher education is to enable the evolution of higher consciousness in students. As the universe itself is the manifestation of evolving consciousness, we human beings exhibit that process in our individual development, having the potential and opportunity to do so if we so choose.
Nothing is more worth studying today than what contributes to the evolution of a human consciousness capable of birthing a new era of ecological sustainability and social justice-Earthwide.
We must penetrate the fog of delusion and denial to see the imminent dangers all around us and respond appropriately. Those studies are therefore most imperative that inform us of these dangers and show us their causes, their manifestations, and the changes necessary to avert them. After that, those studies that enable individuals to pursue remedial actions best suited to each one's talents and capacities should be undertaken, yet always in conscious concert with a comprehensive program of transformation at every level: personal, cultural, social, economic, political, and global.
First, comprehend our predicament; then learn how best to address it and how best, personally, to contribute to its resolution. A new age, a new era, a new level of consciousness yearns to be born.
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