This first post in the Exemplary Global Citizens series addresses part one of Dr. Arcaro's thesis of who can be considered an "exemplary global citizen":
First and foremost, an exemplary global citizen always sees the long view and works toward the goal of making a better life for our children, their children, and their children, on to many generations. To quote the document written by the indigenous people we must “Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view not only the present but also the coming generations, even those whose faces are yet beneath the surface of the ground - the unborn of the future nation.”
In this first description of an exemplary global citizen, we have two items to explore. The first is how we express our vision of the long view, and the second is how we make a better life for our children.
The long view is a fairly simple concept to explain. Rather than doing business in a day-to-day fashion, each day must have be linked to a long-term strategic plan. What is the purpose for each action? How will it make life better tomorrow, a year from now, or fifty years from now? I believe that seeing the long view is the great success of development aid groups. Rather than working only on what will relieve pain on a day-to-day basis, they are strategically focused to address root causes. Acting in this manner is akin to attacking the roots of the weed - the deeper part that we cannot yet see - instead of just the flower or stem - the part that has already come into fruition, but by no means the whole. This requires a great deal of patience and faith; we can only see one day at a time, so we have to trust that our actions in development aid will pay off in the end. As when a child is in kindergarten, we must trust that each small bit of education will foster fully educated, global citizens. I know that my kindergarten teacher cannot see who I have become today, but I have no doubt that by implementing the best teaching techniques, she saw the long view. She planted the right educational roots to grow the right educational fruit.
The second concept, the one of making a better life for our children, is a bit more complicated. I will break it down by two interpretations: thinking beyond the WIIFM philosophy ("what's in it for me"), and looking to the wisdom of experts to attain the best lives for our children.
The major tenet of adult philosophy today is WIIFM. We show people how they can personally benefit from our presence and ideas for just about everything, from getting a job to starting a relationship to buying a product. At its base, this idea is selfish and prideful, which means that it can be overcome. If we are to put others first, including our own children, then we must overcome it. Unfortunately, what's best for me may not be best for you, as in the delivery and misplacement of some forms of humanitarian aid. Creating a better life for others (and for our children - those who will live beyond us) asks us not to follow the golden rule of "do unto others as you would have done unto you", but rather the platinum rule of "do unto others as they would have done unto them".
Fighting the tenet of WIIFM is easier for those who care for other forms of human life - their children or their students - than for others who live alone or who are self-centered in most of their actions. The second part of making a better life for our children, however, is particularly difficult for all, no matter your status as parent or caregiver. The thought that we must listen to the experts on how to improve the world, and not always go by our own concepts - even in the way we want to raise our children! - is paramount to the creation of an exemplary global citizen.
There are as many ideas for creating a better world for our children as there are human beings. The lines of "How can you leave that for our children?" and "I'm doing what's best for our children" are often quoted by politicians. Failing to leave behind a world that is acceptable for our children is a button that hits home. Unfortunately, it is often misused and abused by those who want to get others to do what they want and not necessarily what is best for the coming generations. Many parents produce many children, and they all think they are doing what is best for their families and for the world as a whole. We must remember that terrorists have children; even they take the time to instill their own hopes, dreams, and desires into their offspring. Yet, these hopes and dreams are destructive to society.
So, how do we leave a better world for those who come after us, without destroying the world? The Periclean way states that it is best to listen to the wisdom of our experts. We, as individual humans, do not always have enough inside of us to determine what will be best for the coming generations. We are not God. We must show reverence toward the bodies of experts that live among us and those who have dedicated their lives to the betterment of this world. Unfortunately, this may not always mean listening to our elders. Those we see as elders might have lived a life of self-fulfillment and know nothing about serving their fellow human beings. Consider this: would you listen to advice on how to help our children from Robert Mugabe? Wisdom comes in many forms, and it is this search for wisdom that will yield us the greatest results in bettering our world. Just because a person has children does not make him or her qualified to determine humanity's path.
Seeking wisdom from our experts means that we must not ignore their calls for help, the calls from those who know what they are doing and have a clear mission to get us there. In Zambia, we had ideas and did research on underlying issues in rural Zambian development. We could be considered experts, in that we had studied the culture for a matter of years in a scholarly sense. Regardless, we had to listen to our partners on the ground to produce fruitful works. Without Charity's and Voster's unique insight and expertise, those houses would not have been built. They understood the dynamics of the community and what worked and why. When they spoke, we listened. When they asked us to jump, we asked how high. Even when some requests might have seemed outlandish, such as placing bricks in the water to help our bus move the day after, they had the vision.
This dynamic between Periclean Scholars and our partners would do well to play out on a grander scale. That being said, we must ensure that we are not following blindly - that we do listen to our internal compass on all matters. The advice of experts must always be seen in the eye of the long view. In this sense, they go hand in hand. This is the first way that we can become exemplary global citizens.
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