This morning a friend showed and then forwarded me via email a startling video (of course using his latest touch screen mobile phone device). Check it out you won't be sorry:

What do you think? After checking out the video I also read some of the related comments and posts and it seemed that there were clearly two opposing views; globalisation advocates and doomsday prophets. Granted the video does only show half of what is happening in the world. It does not say that nearly 16000 children die daily from hunger or that in 2006 nearly ten million children died before they reached their fifth birthday as a result of hunger but also diseases such as diarrhea, acute respiratory illness, malaria and measles. All preventable and treatable!

It is possible to argue that the producers of the video in fact had no intention to speak out on the appalling imbalance of basic resources in the world but merely wished to highlight changes in modern communication technology and the impact on education, youth and exchange of knowledge. Viewed in this light the points presented in the video are truly startling and should make all of us realise that the assumptions that have formed the foundation of human interaction, socialisation, politics, development, education and security may no longer be valid in such a new world. It seems that our technological advancements are creating a world of immense complexity and diversity and yet are providing the very tools for us to see the sameness in each other whether we live in South Africa or Brazil, Samoa or Jamaica, Canada or Ethiopia. These same technological advancements have certainly linked our worlds economically as we are all too aware in the current global recession. What will this same technology and new ease of exchange do for our common destiny on this little planet called earth? The answer does not seem to be in the technology itself, which really is only a tool used to serve evolving human needs and desires, but rather in our understanding of the purpose of life, our individual response to this and how we demonstrate that understanding to others whether physically near or far from us.

Over 150 years ago Baha'u'llah expressed a vision that "this span of earth is but one homeland and one habitation" and "the earth is but one country and mankind its citizens". It would seem that a heartfelt consciousness of this basic level of unity combined with the technological advances that are already pointing us in this direction can revolutionise the fortunes of the planet, of you and me and of every single one of our 7 billion neighbours. Am I saying such a change can happen almost miraculously external to us and that overnight the world can be utopia? Absolutely not. Would I rather hold the vision close to my heart and spend my days labouring with others for its success? Without a doubt!