Just under two weeks into this new decade, Humankind faced its first challenge with a crippling 7.0 magnitude earthquake which devastated cities in Haiti, the western hemisphere’s poorest nation. Port-Au-Prince, from the images broadcast by news media, looks ominously reminiscent of a recent war zone: buildings completely demolished with bodies scattered throughout the dirt streets. After the initial shock of such graphic scenes, a sense of dire urgency becomes overwhelmingly palpable. It is now the second decade of the 21st century—we have the capability, resources and, ultimately, the duty to correspond to these tragic moments unconditionally with strategic, well-planned search and rescue missions immediately followed by clean-up and reconstruction efforts focused on state-of-the-art buildings designed to withstand certain degrees of these natural disasters. So, why should there be any hesitation at all when it comes to a coordinated effort between nations to save as many Human lives as possible, as quickly as possible? Within minutes, a sequence of events could be set into motion which would have several rescue crews, transportation, heavy machinery, medical supplies, food and water at any remote location in a matter of hours. It is well understood that in the aftermath of earthquakes, minutes literally could save lives; yet, efforts consistently are delayed due to miscommunication and confusion. A highly developed plan for such occurrences apparently does not exist; and if so, that ostensible secret likely has gone through some form of monetarily-influenced, bureaucratic mutation which leaves any attempt at cooperative measures practically useless unless, of course, a profit is attainable. Once again, the Human life is illuminated in proportional light with the ever-so-cherished invention that we like to call money. And, once again we must remind ourselves that money will never buy back the lives of the unfortunate people killed in these tragedies; money can never buy an emotion such as happiness—emotions are products of chemical reactions and electrical impulses in our brains—and, of course, money will never buy any of us another life after we die. Life is priceless.
If by an alarmingly good chance Humankind develops an understanding of purpose in life being always equated somehow with money, that understanding revokes any significant, beneficial meaning at all for life. It is in these certain tragic moments, which depend on rapid response to ensure the maximum number of lives are saved, that it becomes painstakingly obvious that we absolutely cannot allow money to dictate, or confusion over “who’s in charge?” to delay, the coordination of efforts required to carry out such a huge undertaking as swiftly as possible. There is no doubt in my mind, nor should there be in any candid mind, that it is indeed feasible, many times over. No longer can we allow the lack of resources or technology to be the vindication for neglect towards these as well as many other pertinent issues. Instead of creating and focusing on trivial, unfounded excuses for how or why an attempt at global Unity may or may not procure hostility—which, by the way, happens regardless; even as you read this very line—we must provide ourselves with a best possible, constantly updating, overarching understanding of purpose in life by collectively pursuing scientific, innovative, artistic, thought-provoking, socially uniting, benevolent endeavors—excluding entirely a necessity for money. However, to understand why we do not need money, we first must elucidate how and why we have reached a point in our existence where money is held in such high regards and granted so powerful a grip on Humankind.
Money is but a fabrication of the Human mind—the most prominent subsidiary of the alleged “natural yearning” towards material possession. The idea, born out of an apparent necessity to acquire “things”, has grown into an all-encompassing monstrosity, intertwined into nearly every single aspect of our lives. The most immediate problem, though, manifests easily through reasoning: by basing the outcome of our time and energy on a system which is exclusively subordinate to money, meaning in life itself becomes subordinate to and confined by the very same principles which dictate the several variations of the monetary system presently utilized around the world. And if meaning in life, as defined by money, is accepted to be the ultimate reason for being, quite simply it is the utmost failure of Humankind to not investigate further than the constructs and imaginings that govern the concept of commerce.
One of the most astonishing quandaries money has to offer is the ability to render honesty and integrity both null and unnecessary. Since the recorded conception of bartering, and later coining money, the system has fulfilled a perpetually growing understanding which places profit over people, no matter how shady, illegal or inhumane the means to profitable ends are; essentially creating a gap in lifestyles now known as “classes” of citizens. These classes exclude entirely a person’s attitudes, beliefs and intelligence, along with practically all other truly significant traits. Instead, citizens are subject to categorization based exclusively on financial standing, forcing millions of low-income citizens to become more and more disenfranchised. Possibly the worst repercussion to such disdainful classification is the perception that the less money someone has, the less worthy that person becomes of even the most basic necessities. Sadly, sometimes acknowledgement of belonging to the Human species seems to be sacrificed as well in this invidious hierarchal concept. Prudence in collective decision-making, however, would altogether dissolve the supposed necessity to belong to any of these classes and lead us to accept the fact that we all belong to a single class—the Human class.
Another predicament arises by considering the ever-changing value of “things” based on supply and demand. Just take a moment and think about that: a desire to “own” something—to declare an object yours—advocates a change in the worth of that object; and that “worth” is determined by a private company which profits proportionally to that determination. In my personal opinion, it is beyond perplexing that we continue subjecting ourselves to such a disuniting, selfish idea. Perhaps, most frightening is the fact that this idea of worth and value continues to be placed on Human lives, as Human trafficking takes an unprecedented step into the ruins of the Haitian nation. Reports, verifiable by the Prime Minister of Haiti, are now being made by CNN that many of the country’s orphaned children may have been trafficked out of the country since the earthquake; possibly by unbeknownst adoption agencies in the chaos and confusion. In addition to this heinous, unforgivable offense, the reports also claim that many of the country’s citizens are possibly being trafficked for vital organs to be sold on the Black Market. These types of offenses are indescribably appalling—a fruitless attempt it would be to try and explain the horrific ramifications of Human trafficking in any new light; the very thought alone says it all. And merely explaining the horrendous nature of such acts does nothing to quell or prevent these acts from being carried out. It is as though dollar signs constantly are flashing in the eyes of sick individuals who will do anything at all to turn a profit—even buy and sell other Human beings; paying off companies, political leaders and other individuals along the way. All-the-while, no government seems interested enough to do anything remotely considerable to stop this atrocity from taking place. How is this happening? Why is this happening?
The truth is: it will probably take years to eradicate Human trafficking—money still is far too influential. It can be easily surmised, though, that if money becomes unnecessary, so too does the class system which so elusively rules the conduct, and misconduct, of nations. And, unless we begin taking steps towards Unity on a global scale this decade, by 2020 it may be too late to accomplish that end through reasonable, peaceful, civilized means. The global stronghold powerful, for-profit corporations now have is slowly but surely growing to a point that should be considered a major threat to the advancement, well-being, health, education and future of Humankind. When corporations begin to influence political decisions through campaign contributions, cronyism and media control, it is the duty and responsibility of elected officials not influenced by such corporations to enforce laws which prevent any type of governmental corruption at all. And, if a majority of elected officials prove to be corrupt, it becomes the duty and responsibility of citizens to use the ultimate authority and power of voting to elect new officials. But, even the democratic process of voting into office representatives of the people is one that bears no meaning to this day in some countries. So, to truly ensure the most beneficial, prosperous future for our Posterity, something major has to happen on a global scale—governmental Unity; by the people, for the people. (Do not confuse my plan for global Unity with some other, possibly corrupt idea that so many people have accused me of conforming to—the so-called New World Order. This is the first time I have ever acknowledged that idea, and will probably be the last.) As sad as it sounds, and sad as it is to say, only in the aftermath of devastating disasters like these does it seem to become necessary for Humankind to acknowledge the deep connection between all of us; if even just for a moment. That connection knows nothing of money; nothing of greed; nothing of class. Rather, it shows just how vulnerable each and every one of us truly is; and how benevolent we all can be. Millions of dollars have been given already from around the world to finance the relief efforts and thousands of volunteers have devoted their time and energy to help save lives. This is Humankind as I see it—selfless, caring and willing to work towards the betterment of society as a whole. It is in the near future, as a more definitive, deep understanding of purpose in life is sought, and as technological innovation evolves at an exponentially, ever-expanding pace, that I foresee money becoming completely obsolete—at least in the form that we now so blindly adore. Perhaps as the era of digital currency dawns, it is only a short matter of time before Unity, at least of the monetary system, will manifest itself.
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