The World is Flat

Thomas Friedman has a lot to say. And I agree with some of the things he advocates. Just not the reasons behind them. He states that the 19^th century belonged to Britain and the 20^th century belonged to the U.S. and he reluctantly admits that if the U.S. doesn’t get its act together then the 21^st century will belong to China. I found it ironic that he was giving a talk about globalization and how the world is flattening  and our need to change or be left behind, yet he provides such primitive reasons for us to connect further in this shrinking world. Our motivations to innovate, imagine, empower and create effective systems and inventions should not be based on competition or who’s on first. That is as narcissistic and ethnocentric as us putting an American flag on the moon. Who cares who got their first? When did it become acceptable to adopt this greedy “me-centered” mentality? I mean, isn’t it self-interest and greed that got us into a mess in the first place as a planet?

Yes, we need to be innovating. We need to value our planet, develop young minds with the tools to navigate this ever-changing landscape of technology and the world, but we need to do it out of love for our fellow man and our planet. Not out of ego, greed, and fear of being left behind. We need to innovate because our future will be brighter, our world will be more peaceful and together we will flourish as a global civilization. If we approach this era, thinking an instruction manual for an antique typewriter will be applicable to a Macbook Air… boy are we doomed to repeat history.

Friedman pleads for us to “change our leaders, not our lightbulbs.” What difference does it make to change our leaders if we are still operating in a broken system? We need to change the infrastructure and if we wait until the “right” politician gets  into office it will be too late. We need to assume leadership. Not to say government has no place in modern society. But responsible governance should start by individuals taking responsibility and leadership in their communities. Our whole framework and foundation for society needs to be rebuilt from the grassroots. It starts with one person in the village. One determined, inspired, enthusiastic individual who will assume leadership because he or she deeply cares about what the future will be like for his or her family and community. We need to take ownership of our communities instead of acting as passive participants. This extends to every level of society, most importantly education.

Our curriculum should teach process more than outcome, skills that apply to a wide variety of disciplines, and problem-solving skills through project-based instruction. The role of education now should be to teach a child how to fish and how to fish with others. With a major emphasis on the “how” and the “collaborate.”

My hope for the future is that people will open their eyes to each other’s gifts and view our neighboring countries as neighbors who we can carpool with, have BBQs with and rely on instead of neighbors we try to outshine out of insecurity and unhealthy attachment to “keeping up with the Jones’.”