Imagine a world where wages were competitive universally, where companies were held to the same labor and environmental standards regardless of the location of their manufacturing plants, where healthcare was accessible and affordable to all who needed it, and where quality education is provided to everyone, regardless of economic status, ethnicity, or religious/political/social beliefs.

It wouldn't even be that hard to create that world.

Think about it. If corporations were required to pay their workers in third world countries comparable wages to workers in the US, there wouldn't be third world countries anymore. And it wouldn't companies wouldn't even have to raise the cost of goods because the dramatic increase of potential consumers would mean significant increases in demand.

It is a fallacy that there must be poverty for there to be wealth. Money is an artificial construct, so there can always be more of it. And there can never be a shortage of possessions while new ones are constantly being made.

And do know what would happen? There would be less disease, less famine, less suffering, and less senseless killing. Peace would become commonplace, because there would be no need to fight tooth and nail over the barest of scraps. Open-mindedness and reason would replace fear and ignorance.

We live in a world full of vast disparity because a small handful of people desire it to be that way, and the majority do nothing to change it.

Take a while and really think about it. Which world would you rather live in? This one, or the one I described.

It can be difficult being a thinker. It's easy to look back at a day (or a month, a year, or a life), and say "What have I done with my time?", and feel like one has done nothing at all. When in truth the answer is "I have thought".

And in those thoughts all the secrets of life can be revealed, if only for a brief moment.

We carry the dead on our shoulders
as we pass through the forest.

Flowers of flame and smoke grow from our footsteps,

consuming all in our wake.
From the ashes come fresh life,

old stories retold by young souls.
We are fated to destroy what we create,

but only so that we can create anew.

In the end, I am but a child of thought traveling through life in a broken vessel.

If we want to have any chance of surviving, we are going to have to change quite a few things.

We need to stop being so wasteful.

We need to stop polluting.

We need to deal with all the pollution we've already caused.

We need to stop making food that has no nutritional value, or even worse, is full of poison.

We need to start accepting that everyone is different, and have their own beliefs.

We need to stop actively and needlessly committing harm, both to each other and to the other life forms we share this planet with.

We need to start accepting that we share this planet with others. The world does not exist for us alone.

We need to stop allowing ourselves to be led by the corrupt, and to start playing a more active role in our own governance.

We need to start accepting responsibility for our own actions, and recognizing the effects our actions have on others.

And the list continues. There are many things we need to change. There is a lot to be done, and a lot to be made up for. But it can be done. It must be done.

We can start by being nicer to each other. Start today. Avoid making a hurtful remark. Hold a door open for someone. Give a friendly hello to the cashier at the store or bank, the gas station attendant, or whoever else it is that is providing a service for you. Smile at a customer, or a random person on the sidewalk.

Every person, every living thing, deserves your courtesy and respect until such time that they do something that warrants otherwise. If you can't be bothered to show it to others, then you're not worthy of it yourself.