Unity by any other name

To everyone reading, Happy New Year. I'm expecting 2012 to be a VERY important year. 2011 set the stage for the next few years, perhaps the decade or even the century. One thing I hope to see is more people around the world uniting to recognize they all want the same thing in general: A roof over one's head, food according to one's taste (with health in mind), family, friends and the capacity to make one's path in life. The statistic goes that about one out of seven people on the planet can't get enough of that second thing in the list (while about as many consume what is deemed too much).

Why now? Well, I think it's because it's becoming obvious to more and more people that our current way of functioning, what is recognized as the "mainstream" view of society, politics, economics are still going on even if these concepts have evolved. This lag is created by the resistance (of those upholding the current paradigm) to adapt, to take on a more fair and updated view of things. But what do I mean by "fair"? And what do I mean by updating?

First, even if not everyone can agree on what the BEST way to ensure that countries can develop or how to manage immigration, there is one issue that I find it is unacceptable to continue treating as if it were something abstract or secondary: life. 1 out of 7 people starving? This is, in the basest of terms, inefficient and is a sign that we should be focusing on ensuring long-term development and self-sufficiency which has, time and time again proven to be the answer (although it goes against what most international financial organizations practice...I won't get into this here). And that's only human life. Species go extinct every year. We are losing life in key regions all over the planet. And for what? Resources? The economy? The well-being of the people?

Whatever the reason, the mainstream view of the world --not just of the parts inhabited by our species, but the entire planet and all it contains-- has expired. Yet it still dominates in most discussions. And it is maintained by many people who remain convinced (due to influence from their interactions, education, media) that it is sustainable and still applicable. In the end, we all want the same thing but we argue over the means. Alone, we're not very strong or necessarily right, but united we are something considerable. If all of mankind were to unite, to work towards certain goals *cough see UN development goals cough*, I'm convinced we could achieve them with ease.

So, rather than follow the paradigm of self-interest (whether it be personal or national), I think we should be preparing ourselves for a shift: globalization and the internet have changed everything. We need to end the world. That is, the world as we know it (proving the Mayas right). The end of the world need not be its destruction, but could be its (much-needed) revival. The Mayas saw time as cyclical. The end is just the beginning.