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I used to think it was religion and politics that started the wars and created the problems in the world but I have come to realize that its not just those two things that have spawned a whole history of violence. The real issue is resources- who has them and who doesn’t. Politics and religion are used as a cover for what is really going on. So to make this easier to understand, one must first understand what I mean by “resources.” Of course the easiest and simplest resources are the basic human needs: nutritious food, clean water, and adequate shelter. Then we must expand to include even more resources such as land, power, money. Why these 3 things are considered resources? Because they are limited and very much tied together. One does not exist without the other. You need money to have land and power, you need land to have money and power, and you need power to have land and money. There is only so much land available on this planet and we have been fighting over it for ages. Money and power are “relative” terms and not fixed. Their values are constantly changing from mind to mind. While one may see a person as having more than enough power or money, that person who wields them may see themselves as not having enough.
Let me define the “ower” as it is used in this analysis. Power is the ability to influence others to your way of thinking. There is nuclear power, monetary power, political power and etc. Political power is very subjective in that it may not cross party lines. The President of the United States has a lot of political power over members of his party but less so over members of the opposing party. However, if one lacks direct political power, history has shown us that with enough money, political power can be purchased. Nuclear power is pretty cut and dry; he holds the weapon is in control.
Another resource, that many may argue is not really a resource, is identity. Identity of a person or a group is very much an important need, especially after the lines of who we are have become so blurred. With a solid identity come many other resources that we need. The Civil Rights movement is a prime example of fighting for identity. Identity can be defined through religion, ethnicity, age, sex, orientation, political stance, and culture. This resource, however, is a problem much of it own. So much of our time is spent trying to fight for who we believe we are that we fail to remember that first and foremost we are Human.
I believe one of the fundamental reasons why we are unable to solve many of the world’s problems is because of our failure to unite under our common identity as being members of the human race. That instead of our needing the basic tenets of life, we become greedy and seek more than we really need. Instead of spending our resources on helping our global neighbors, we seek newer and better technology that will destroy them. The billions we spend on weapons research could be spent coming up with solar powered desalinization plants to provide clean water for drinking and irrigation. These plants would provide jobs, clean drinking water to reduce disease, and irrigation to provide food. Instead of bettering the lives of the poverty stricken we build new missiles. We live in a world that still believes you can bring your wealth and resources with you when you die but we cannot. There is nothing wrong with making money but at what point does it begin to devalue itself because you have amassed too much? At what point do we risk our lives after the pursuit of more money?
We know our oil reserves are on the decline and we know that it is polluting the Earth and the very air we all breathe. Instead of saying “hey, we have developed all of these less expensive, cleaner, alternatives to fossil fuels so why don’t we employ them” we decide that we will milk every last cent out of those limited reserves. Greed has super ceded our humanity. I’m not promoting that we just hand out money to people who have no desire to work, but to give every child the opportunity to grow up healthy and strong no matter where they are in the world. I’m saying we should help create jobs for people that want to work. To allow everyone to have the basic tenets of life that we take for granted here. I’m proposing that instead of fighting over resources that we don’t need to survive that we help bring humanity to the forefront of business goals.
There should be no reason we attach a price tag on human life. All humans should have access to proper medical care and it shouldn’t have to cost them anything. We should all have access to the best education and we shouldn’t have to pay for it. We should use it as a way to educate the future to promote humanity and foster a global understanding. No one should have to fight for the right to live and be happy anymore. We should no longer look at people as black or white, Indian or Chinese, Muslim or Christian, we should see ourselves as homo sapiens.