The following text is from the book It Is.  



A NEW PLAN OF ACTION

Most people agree that world problems are getting worse. Most of us know much about them. We see them in our daily lives. And we hear about them in the constant chatter of mass media. But how much do we hear about solutions? Common sense says that if we spend more time on solutions, we’ll have fewer problems.

It seems that most solutions given by many leaders are self-serving. Many are quick fixes, distractions, or simply bad ideas. And some make people feel good but don’t solve much. How bad will things have to get before people wake up, think for themselves, find new solutions, and take healthy action?

When you learn about solutions, you learn about who gains and who loses. And you see why some people want to keep us distracted. In many places, mass media constantly entertains us with small-minded fun and games. And it floods us with news about problems. We need to remember that we have freedom to control this — by pressing the off button.

Some tell us we should simply trust that others will make things better for us. They tell us that new politicians and new political parties will finally fix things. But many of the world's systems for selecting government officials remain wide open to corruption by money and mass media. At the same time, some leaders of religious groups tell us we shouldn’t do anything but hope and wait — for years, centuries, or longer.

So from all sides, we're kept distracted and told that the combination of blind trust and little action is a good plan of action. It’s good even if it doesn’t work and things keep getting worse. Oddly, many people praise past plans for major change — like those for expanding democracy in the 1700s.

What's your plan of action? More TV? More news? More complaining? How about a new politician or a new political party? Has any of these ever reduced corruption in a big and lasting way? Will any of these prevent class extremism, police states, wars, and mass murders?

We need a plan of action that offers new ways to select government officials. And we need a plan that also offers new ways for individuals to improve themselves — because societies and their governments are made of individuals.

In February of 2004, we published a new plan of action. And we invited people to share their thoughts. Since then, we’ve heard from people around the world. Thank you.

PROBLEMS

The following are some of the world’s biggest problems.

Ignorance and Arrogance.  Over 80% of adults in the world can read. But many stay ignorant. Many have stopped using their freedoms to question, reason, invent, speak out, think for themselves, and act on their own healthy thoughts to make things better. Some have become so overly proud they’ve become arrogant. Some have become so ignorant and arrogant they harm themselves and others.

Extreme Greed.  People need healthy concern about themselves to survive. Having too much of this is greed. Having too much of anything usually harms the person having it. And it harms others.

     Since the early 1900s, ignorance, weak governments, and inventions helped make the modern power of extreme greed. This power is felt at city to world levels. It’s led by corrupt leaders of big businesses, governments, and religious groups. It harms more people and things every day. It even harms those who’ll be born hundreds of years from now. In a reckless way, it makes as much money — as fast as it can — for a few people. It makes the following lasting problems as it does this. It consumes earth’s resources without having things to replace them. It uses them in ways that pollute land, water, and air. It treats animals with cruelty. It makes unsafe working conditions. And in some places, it treats people worse than animals. It starts wars and mass murders. It sells weapons to dangerous rulers and groups. And it uses money and mass media to take away people’s power to govern and protect themselves.

Growing Populations.  The world had 4 billion people in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. If it keeps growing like this, there’ll be 9 billion in 2050. When there are too many people, the following things start to happen. Wages get lower for many people. Prices rise for limited supplies of things needed to live — like food, fuel, housing, and so on. In some places, resources run out. Land, water, and air get badly damaged. Crowding gets worse. And the following things people pay taxes for and share get overloaded. Roads. Schools. Public hospitals. Police and fire protection. Water, sewer, and garbage services. And so on.

     The number of people in poor countries is growing the fastest. And in almost all countries, the poor are having more children than any other group. Many of them are having more children than they're able to care for. Some of them are getting sick, starving, and dying. It appears that the number of people in the world will keep growing until many get sick, starve, and die.

Limited Resources.  The earth’s resources are limited. And they are being consumed more quickly as world population grows — and as more people in industrializing countries can afford to consume more. Today, China and India are using many more energy-consuming machines as they industrialize and become wealthier. Together, they have over one third of the world’s population. Smaller countries are also starting to industrialize. Also, the number of poor in the world is growing very fast. And in fully industrialized countries, people with extra money are using more comforts and luxuries. All of these things are consuming earth’s resources — like oil, coal, farm land, clean water, metals, and so on. Because of this, it’s getting more difficult and costly to find and take earth’s remaining resources — and change them into things people use.

     Many see rising prices of the following. Gasoline. Heating oil. Electric power. Food. Housing. Medical care. Medicine. Education. And transportation. They see rising prices of almost everything they buy. And in many places, the costs of things are rising faster than wages. As this happens, many become poorer. Usually when many are poor, there’s more crime, more violent public protest, and more war. In many places, people already see more fighting over resources.

War and Mass Murder.  Wars and border fights are growing — mainly because of two reasons. Earth’s resources are limited. And more people are consuming them. Today, the world's limited supply of cheap fuel is ending. This is why there’s war over oil. Many think there’ll be increasing conflict over clean water and farm land. And many think that as the gap grows between the super rich and others, class war will grow.

     Some wars are needed. For example, World War II was needed to stop mass murder and the violent spread of fascism. But many wars are fought to make a few people richer and more powerful.

     Many of the world’s poor are being asked to fight in today’s wars. They want a better life. And many of them feel they don’t have much to lose. In every war, some of the super rich get more money. And some of those with much power get more power. But most others get poorer, weaker, badly hurt, and killed.

Growing Poverty.  Many people are getting poorer. This is happening first to the following people. The young. Minorities. The less educated. And people living on fixed incomes — like many old people. In some places, more people are going hungry. More are getting ill and spreading disease. People are working more just to buy basic things needed to live. More have to borrow money. And many money lenders are charging higher interest on loans. In some places, the number of people going bankrupt and losing their homes is rising.

Growing Monopolies. Small businesses are being forced to quit. Some are selling their businesses to much bigger ones. Some are closing. And others are going bankrupt. This is happening to all kinds of small businesses. As competition is reduced, prices of goods and services are more easily increased to make a few people richer.

Falling Wages.  Many jobs are paying less money. And the value of this money is falling. The few high paying jobs are going away. And many of the high paying jobs that remain are with the military. Many jobs are offering fewer work hours. Many jobs that once gave bonuses and other benefits are reducing them — and some have stopped giving them.

Rising Taxes.  Taxes are rising. In some places, taxes are being raised in ways that are less noticed — such as by making new fees. In many places, more tax money is being spent on increasing police and military forces. More is being spent on caring for the growing number of poor people. More is being spent on giving tax breaks to very wealthy businesses. And more is being spent on the rising operating costs of governments — as the costs of fuel and other basic things increase.

Growing Gap between Rich and Poor.  The gap between the super rich and others is growing. Many of the super rich are working less and having more comforts and luxuries. Most others are working more just to buy basic things needed to live. In some places, this gap is so big that some of the rich live like royalty while others live like peasants. This is happening first in countries where people are kept ignorant. As the cost of basic things rises, the growing gap between rich and poor becomes more visible.

Growing Drug Abuse.  In many places, more people are using illegal drugs. Some do it to numb their pain. Some do it to work more hours. Some do it for fun. Some people make very bad decisions when they use drugs. Some steal to buy drugs. Some harm and murder others. When more people use drugs, more make and sell drugs. The world’s drug business is getting more organized and more violent.

Increasing Crime.  As poverty grows, more people are committing crimes. And crimes are becoming more violent. Because of these things, people are spending more on protecting themselves and their property. And this is using money that could be spent on things that help others.

Growing Public Anger.  More people are showing anger about problems that are worsening. More are showing less respect for laws and police — some are showing hate toward them. And in more places, public protests are becoming violent.

SOLUTIONS

The following are some solutions. We invite you to share your thoughts on them.

Selecting Your Thoughts.  Be careful about the thoughts you let into your life. Keep out unhealthy thoughts that are spread through the following forms of mass media in many places. TV. Radio. Movies. Video games. Newspapers. Magazines. Books. And recordings of music and other things. At times, stay away from all forms of mass media for a couple weeks or more. Tune in to your own thoughts and feelings.

     You choose the thoughts you have. Thoughts are things you can screen. And thoughts change things. So if you want a more peaceful world, don’t have thoughts about the opposite. Don’t see or hear violent things. Have healthy thoughts and feelings that you choose.

Growing.  Be brave about the following. Ask many questions. Think for yourself. Learn from many sources. Be open to new and different thoughts. Learn something new every day. Imagine. And exchange thoughts with others. Help others do the same.

Golden Rule.  Follow the golden rule. And display it in homes, schools, workplaces, and so on.

Legal and Peaceful Actions.  Only use legal and peaceful ways to make things better.

Democracy.  Continuously improve democracy. Invent better ways to choose government officials. And see which ones work best. First try them in a few cities. Then try the best of these in a few counties. And so on.

World Morals.  Make morals that most of the world’s people agree on. And use them to help people and groups do better.

World Second Language.  Make English the world’s official second language. And teach it everywhere. This will reduce bigotry, hatred, mistakes, confusion, fights, wasted money, and other problems. Why choose English? Today, more countries use it as a second language than any other language. Over one billion people around the world use simple English.

Censoring Violence.  Limit censorship to stopping people from exchanging thoughts on killing and harming others. Do this for all forms of mass media.

Spending Your Money.  Be careful about what you spend your money on. Don’t spend it on things that harm you or others. So if you don’t like businesses and governments that harm people, don’t buy from them. And don’t invest money in them.

Tax Savings.  After there’s more security and peace, spend less tax money on military and police forces. Spend some of the saved money on the following. 

Spend more on education. Make all kinds of education free — or at very low cost — to all people. At the very least, make 16 years of free, basic education available to people around the world. If there isn't enough money for this, help women receive a basic education before men. Do this because women are usually the first ones to teach the very young. 

Buy more mass media and have government officials of a renewed democracy manage it. Spend more to make access to the Internet free — or at very low cost — to all people. 

Make traveling and exchanging thoughts faster and less expensive. Transportation and communication should be affordable and available to all people.