Sunday, August 06, 2006 

The World: A Divergent Rant

I think that the UN should have its own independent military. And I think that the best pool for this is in drafting regulations to certify private security firms (i.e. mercenaries) and then creating a UN force by hiring mercenaries with backgrounds in top level national militaries (such as SEALS, Delta Force, Gherkins, etc.) and thus developing an elite military force that will allow the UN to enforce its resolutions without having to deal with getting member nations to put forth their soldiers. I think that this would work to make the United Nations much more effective as a regulator of global agreements. I like the UN. The fact is that we live in a globalized world, like it or not and it seems to me that right now the UN is the best bet we have for maintaining stability in a swiftly changing world. We're at a nexus of history, the years we are living in have potential to go down as some of the most important moments in western civilization, nay, global civilization. Shall we allow ourselves to be laid out like the Romans, basking in our own perceived glory? Or shall we forge forth and create a truly global society that takes all that humanity has to offer and uses it for the betterment of Earth as an entire system? I regret the former seems to be the path we have chosen, but I hope that if enough of us are willing to start thinking about the needs of the earth as a whole rather than focusing on individual needs, then we might be able to turn this thing around. And it can't hurt to try, you never know what you might accomplish.

I recommend looking into the idea of cultural capital ( www.rtmark.com and other sites are based off this principle), which is essentially just the idea of looking beyond monetary profits and taking into account the opportunity costs of one's actions (focusing on corporations) when making decisions. It's pretty much just the realization that maybe money isn't what it's all about and that all the money in the world don't mean jack if civilization falls apart or we drive the planet into ruin. That's all I'm saying.