Being a Global Citizen: What does it truly mean?

I must first start with why this topic sparked off in my head and why it is relevant to initiate this kind of conversation at the earliest. As you read this, the world is making great strides in all imaginable aspects. New technologies, cures and innovations emerge and disrupt the world every second. Surrounded by such dynamism, it is hard to understand what stride is really benefiting humanity as a whole and which one is an "apparent" innovation which in fact sets us back. What are "apparent" innovations? They hold great benefit to niche avenues but have a deterring effect when considered in the context of Humanity as a whole. Exposure to the presence of lead, arsenic and asbestos used to enhance building materials lead to lung and skin cancers. They add value to construction and paint jobs but at the cost of exposing workers to carcinogens. Their overall value in this context is non beneficial and so they should be eliminated. What does this have to do with global citizenship? I am getting to it. Wouldn't it be great if we had a global organization that monitored the net effect of every innovation so that humans don't spend all their energy solving problems we ourselves create? How exactly can we make a difference going around in circles? It was this notion that led me to this topic of global thought and action. 

1. Thinking as an organism

We are all filled with ambitions and aspirations. This mindset of "I have worked hard for my moolah so I deserve this and more" makes sense in a world with limitless resources. Not so much living with limited resources. How can a limitless resource like money dictate the use of limited resources? Today, for things like global warming that are so obvious, on an individual level we all know what we need to do, but on a global level movement is slow. Why? We are not used to thinking as an organism of that scale. One of the major steps then, is for Humanity to start thinking consciously. The second major step to this end is to accept the roles that are necessary to aid the first. What does that mean? Discarding personal aspirations and dreams on some level, and to enjoy doing what is necessary.

What do we want our identity to be?

2. Top Down or Bottom up approach?

Do we need global institutions to bring about an 'across the borders' thought process? or does the movement start with each individual citizen breaking national boundaries in his mind? To better understand this, we need to delve into a familiar collective governance body. A Nation. Current nations stand not because of lines drawn on maps but because a nation is a collection of people with shared ideas of living/beliefs and cultural roots. So for a global citizen to exist, their perspective and vision must be expansive and impact humanity as a whole and not just a subset of it. This is enabled by solidarity, common motivations and most importantly, Global Institutions. We are witnessing today a UN who still plays a significant yet weakening role each passing day. Why? because national interests still outweigh global ones. So, we need both top down and bottom up approaches as, global citizens are required to keep check on global institutions.

3. Are we ready to occupy other planets?

This may seem like a rather odd point to bring up in this conversation, but we need to admit that we are taking the concept of “multiplanetary species” pretty seriously. Whether it is NASA, SpaceX or any other government or private organization, there is rapid progress being made in space technology. Sooner or later our time tables for reaching mars is going to be realized. The question we must ask ourselves is “Does just having the Technology to achieve something gives us the right to do it?” By all standards we have done a below average job of occupying earth. We create most of the problems on the planet and then we try to solve them. What is worse is we give ourselves a pat on the back for doing it. Trust me, I am sure the planet would’ve done quite well whether we were on it or not. What I am trying to say is, have we really figured out how to survive in harmony with our surroundings? Cause in the long run it is this question that can determine whether we survive or not as a species. I can say this though. If we ever do fly to mars, the initial periods of our existence on the red planet will see the best expression of humanity that is high on inspiration and achievement. What I am worried about though are the periods of settling down that follow right after and the attitude of entitlement creeps in. 

Do I really need to explain this picture?

4. We seem to be a united front in our virtual world  

We need to be thankful to the internet for many things. The most important thing though is the dissolution of boundaries. The ease of interaction and sharing over this virtual world has eliminated the need for boundaries, both physical and mental. An interesting observation though is while we find it so easy to define our motivations on the internet, we can’t seem to do it as well in reality. This points to either a difference between our status quo and actual intention (or) we just find it easier to press keys if it can make a difference rather than going out and manually effecting change. Don’t get me wrong. Social media movements have resulted in tremendous good. From cause donations to awareness campaigns, the internet has helped us achieve a lot of change. Is the internet sufficient for all change we want to bring about though? This is why we maybe need to think about defining our actions more outside the computer rooms. 

These points are just a few of the things we need to comprehend on our journey into humanity’s coming years

So what do YOU think we need to do?