How to Make Everything Awesome
and fix what's wrong with the world.
“What’s wrong with the world?”
G. K. Chesterton replied: “I am.”
According to legend, The Times of London submitted this question to famous authors of the day. This was the early 20th century.
Chesterton showed self-awareness and personal responsibility in his answer.
He echoed the famous call to action attributed to Mahatma Gandhi: "Be the change you want to see in the world."
Why is this important?
Because even if these quotes are fiction, they contain wisdom.
What we experience on Earth is the sum total of all human action - trillions of individual choices.
This is a central thesis of the landmark book on economics, Human Action, by Ludwig Von Mises.
Alfred Adler built his entire philosophy of psychology on a related premise. “All problems are human problems,” aside from accidents and acts of nature.
So if it is true that "all problems are human problems" then it is possible to solve them.
We have a responsibility to do so.
Yet to address "what's wrong with the world" we must get to the foundation - the root cause - to change the effects.
As an individual, this requires self-reflection.
It requires understanding how we formulated our worldview.
It requires reasoning and creative thinking from first principles.
While difficult, we may have to admit we were wrong.
Each of us holds an epigenetic basket of talents.
If we cultivate these gifts, we can achieve a good life.
Adler believed we must contribute to others to overcome our sense of inferiority.
By creating value from our abilities, we achieve a sense of belonging and fulfillment.
What is true? What is just?
As a society, answering these questions requires reasonable people. Or as I like to say, reasonable folks.
If we know what is true and just, then we can solve what is wrong with the world.
But it takes courage.
We can choose a world of chaos, scarcity, and suffering.
Or we can choose a world of justice, abundance, and beauty.
We will achieve our potential as a society by sharing 2 simple intrinsic human values:
1. Natural Law Rights.
We must have a foundation of morality that makes it easy for anyone to determine what is right and what is wrong.
Natural Law is an elegant, simple foundation for justice.
2. Discernment of Truth.
If we can discern what is true then we can achieve common ground in our disagreements.
The Trivium is an ancient method for arriving at what is true and false. Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. The Scientific Method.
What we experience, and what others experience, is "experiential truth."
It is not true for everyone, yet it feels like truth to us.
Understanding the difference between truth and experience will improve our relationships.
Make Everything Awesome is a mission.
The 2 principal values above are essential for a society to flourish.
The mission will be a success if a majority of humans understand and practice them.
Yet I hope for even more.
Imagine a humanity with liberty and justice for all. One that extends to planets in other galaxies.
Imagine your lineage enjoying space travel and cultures across the universe.
There will always be evil in the world. Yet injustice will become rare when courage and wisdom become common.
Those of you who feel called can raise the consciousness of humanity.
You can fix what’s wrong with the world.
One problem, one soul at a time, we will Make Everything Awesome.
