reading

There are countless non-fiction and specialist books focusing on specific areas. These are, for example, books on love and forgiveness, about humanity and inhumanity, about human dignity and human rights, about religion and atheism, about war, peace and freedom, about greed and unjust distribution, about climate change and energetic renewal, about the need or right to enjoy education, about the difference between man and beast and the significance of human intervention into nature.

What has been missing so far is an all-encompassing and less scientific appraisal that everyone understands showing how closely these areas are linked to and dependent on each other.

Therefore we took all good things and all bad things we see in the world in the respective areas, spread them over ten playing fields, and threw them into a lottery pot. In 2016, the lots will be drawn and the game will start. It is up to us if Homo progressivus will be globally successful with a first prize, or if Homo sapiens, with the blanks in the game of life, will perish in disgrace.

Our space telescope Hubble would say:

“If you people could see what I see, you’d know how lucky you are on your tiny speck of dust. I’ve been fascinated by my view of the infinity of the universe for 25 years now and have shared it with you. With all I’ve seen I can assure you, you will not find a more beautiful place within reach than Planet Earth.”

The world is out of whack. This is vividly demonstrated by the ten scenarios and developments described on the following page. The numbers, data and facts cited there clearly show the urgent need for an epoch-making change, especially in terms of politics, economics, religion and humanitarian issues. The whole world must be jolted out of its complacency to assure the survival of mankind and the species living with us.

This primer is not a collection of quotations; it is the authors’ own idea of how to improve the world. The quoted persons and organizations selected by the authors are helping at the right places to enhance the catchiness and palatability of the primer’s messages. The quotes from German-speaking regions were released, updated or newly written specifically for this primer. The 215 quoted persons and organizations are listed at the end of this primer.

This primer is and will continue to be our diary. It is our vehicle of reporting and commenting on what’s happening in the world – for better or for worse. We will keep the readers informed and alert, together with surprising companions

If we carry on as we have been doing, we are in for a rough time:

In 1850, the population of the Earth was 1.25 billion people. By 1950, it doubled to 2.5 billion. As of 2017, 7.5 billion people populate our planet. By 2050, 10 billion people will overpopulate the Earth. Prognoses for 2100 lie between 11.2 und 26 billion people – depending on the future development of the global birthrate.
Compared to 1950, we are consuming six times more energy today. By 2050, the global energy requirement will have increased at least tenfold within 100 years.
In 2015, oil, coal and gas were globally directly subsidized with more than 500 billion U.S. dollars. The subsidies were actually over 5 trillion dollars if damages resulting from burning fossil fuels are included in the calculation.
Subsidies for renewable energies in 2015 were less than 100 billion U.S. dollars.
Without a radical turnaround in the energy sector, up to a billion climate refugees, by 2050, will overrun the borders of the industrial countries that are causing the climate change. In addition, there will be wars over drinking water and food.
In 2016, 8 people owned as much as the poorer half of humanity, currently 3.735 billion people. The great inequalities in wealth are increasing dramatically.
In 2016, 52 percent of mankind lived in cities. By 2050, the number is projected to be 70 percent, that is seven billion people. Rural depopulation (migration) will become a problem for those who remain, while immense slums will separate the rich and the poor in the big cities.
We are compelled to find international solutions to mitigate the drawbacks of globalization (loss of jobs in the industrial nations and poor working conditions in transition countries, global risks due to uncontrolled financial flows, increasing competition on the world market, the growing gap between poor and rich countries).
Digitalization is both a blessing and a curse. The Internet offers us knowledge, education and political information. At the same time, data leeches are sabotaging our security in the network – a nightmare under conditions of fading democracy where Big Brother is watching you.
We live in a selfish and utterly strife-ridden society in “The disunited nations and religions of the world”, characterized by unbridled brutality and violence.

Wake up, everybody - it’s not too late yet!

The Game of Life

I. The Game of Life – It’s Time to Act

Who, how, what: Anyone can play. The game is new. The game is a gamble, it’s poker, it’s bowling, and roulette is played, too – even in the Russian version. There are fallen characters and personalities who stand firm, who are real. The life of Homo sapiens is at stake. The ten messages are aimed at everyone. The first target group includes the main characters

of the 196 nations of this world that agreed to a new global climate treaty in December 2015 and must ratify this agreement in their legislatures as soon as possible, so that the global agreement can go into effect with productive and measurable national action;
of the next summit of the G20 countries on September 4 and 5, 2016 in China;
of the next UN General Assembly beginning September 20, 2016 in New York;
of the World Economic Forum January 17-20, 2017 in Davos;
of the next summit of the G7/G8 countries in 2017 in Italy;
of a long-overdue meeting of the world’s religious leaders (Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Jews); and last but not least
the 62 wealthiest people on earth, who own as much as the poorer half of humanity, currently 3.65 billion people.

In parallel, the living persons cited in this reader can lead the way together before the many ambassadors and mediators proposed here close ranks. Each of us for himself is small and cannot accomplish very much. Together we can achieve much more for the great common cause. This becomes especially clear when all the quotes and quoted people are arrayed. The citations from the German-speaking area were released, updated or newly written specifically for this primer.

Imagine the role models cited in this primer who have already passed away were to return to earth once more, all together. They would read us the riot act, free us of the debris in our bodies and souls – and then call for world revolution. Especially because we have been so wasteful with our resources and so cruel to life on this planet – during the past century in particular.

Let’s compress the age of our planet from 4.6 billion years into a single calendar year. Homo sapiens thus first saw the light of day on New Year’s Eve just after 11 p.m. Our world is beautiful and exasperating at the same time because Homo sapiens is stuck in the mist of evolution since half an hour and threatening to disappear in an evolutionary blind alley.

Homo sapiens’ vital organs are about to cease to function. The human species is languishing in the intensive care unit together with many other species drawn into the wake of this system. Chances for survival are low if we all don’t get a move on and start rising up and fighting together.

Why: Nuclear and other scientists have pushed the minute hand of the “Doomsday Clock” from five to three minutes to twelve. In this team of scientists, you will not find any nutty prophets of doom or namby-pamby angels of peace, but serious and world-renowned experts, among them no less than 17 Nobel Prize winners. The main reason for this step are wars and the unrestrained progress of climate change. On the whole, the experts see “an extraordinary and undeniable threat to the survival of mankind”. We have added three more volatile reasons. On the face of this world clock indicating our doom, we are steering the future of humankind toward an abyss. We have driven away our horologist mostly with atomic and fossil harassing fire without cutting off his connection to the hour hand which is approaching midnight. The reader of this primer will find out how we can win back the horologist and turn back the hand of time.

Proverb:

“If you are up to your neck in water, keep your head high.”

We begin with five wonderful opportunities. If we all seize these together, we can still win the game of life.

The evils of this world have one common root: the aberration of Homo sapiens. Let us extirpate them together and liberate ourselves from these evils in one go. If necessary, we will outsmart evolution and mutate in a flash. After all, mutation is one of the most important factors of evolution since it provides for new, good distinctive marks in the gene pool of our species. That would be the end of Homo sapiens and the birth of an advanced type of human being:

“Homo progressivus” who pays with the “Globe.”

Global currency!

To brighten up the power from above again!

Beginning the Game

II. Beginning the Game – With the Magic of Change

We now embark upon an adventurous and mysterious trip, not only through the history of our Earth. It is a trip through space and time, through heaven and hell, with light and shadows in which the competitors duel. Readers will be amazed at the idea that sounds so absurd as well as its seemingly impossible realization, and at the end they will be surprised how simple the solution can be and what secret lies behind it.

Bertold Brecht said:

“Truth can only be spread with guile.”

“To accomplish something difficult, you have to make it easy for yourself.”

Sean Connery says:

“There’s nothing like a challenge
to bring out the best in man.”

This primer will be an enormous challenge for its readers.

Many readers will recognize their knowledge and their deeds. Most readers will come away with new insights. If we jointly learn the lessons from it, we will make significant progress:

Message 1: For a Life on Earth in the “United Peoples of the World”

Message 2: For Love, Forgiveness, Sharing, Peace and Freedom

Message 3: For One Creed

Message 4: For a Fundamental Right to Education

Message 5: For Renewable Energy

Message 6: Against Fossil Energy

Message 7: Against Hunger and Thirst

Message 8: Against the Abuse of Religions

Message 9: Against Greed

Message 10: Against War

Erich Kästner said:

Whenever mischief happens, not only those are to blame who commit it,
but also those who do not prevent it.

Mahatma Gandhi said:

“The world of tomorrow will be, must be a society based on non-violence. That is the first law; out of it all other blessings will flow. It may seem a distant goal, an impractical Utopia. But it is not in the least unobtainable, since it can be worked for here and now. An individual can adopt the lifestyle of the future, the non-violent way, without having to wait for others to do so. And if an individual can do it, cannot whole groups of individuals? Whole nations? People often hesitate to make a beginning because they feel that the objective cannot be achieved in its entirety. This attitude of mind is precisely our greatest obstacle to progress, an obstacle that each person, if they only will it, can clear away.”

Queen Elizabeth II said:

“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of the great imperial family to which we all belong. But I shall not have the strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join in it with me, as I now invite you to do.”

Oscar Wilde said:

„Wisdom is to have dreams big enough
not to lose sight when we pursue them!“

Anselm Grün says:

„Every new beginning at first generates fear. It means having to break with what is familiar. And when I make the break, I do not yet know what will happen to me. The unknown creates a feeling of fear in me. A promise is ensconced in the break at the same time, the promise of something new, something that didn’t exist before, never seen before. Those who do not continuously make the break, their lives become moribund. When something does not change, it becomes old and stuffy. New chances in life want to sally forth in us. Many people aspire to a life that unfolds without dangers. They believe they have to insure themselves against all dangers so that nothing can go wrong. But the more we protect ourselves, the more insecure we become. And ultimately we don’t dare to do anything. Everything has to be insured. Don’t risk anything without enough security. That increasingly leads to torpidity, as the political and economic situation today demonstrates clearly enough. We will only get out of this dead end if we risk something, even if we risk making a mistake.“

Hugh Jackman says:

“I don’t want to ever say ‘no’ to something and then later sit somewhere and think: I wish I had had the courage to do it.”

Billy Joe Armstrong (Green Day) says:

“It’s better to regret something you have done
than to regret something you haven’t done.”

Norbert Lammert says:

“It is not easy to change the world,
but the attempt is worth it and sometimes overdue.”

The countless voices crying for peace, freedom and justice demonstrate the necessity of new values and new rules. They challenge us to speak out against outmoded, parochial and selfserving behavior. For us, they are a powerful force and a great incentive for the future, which begins today!

An urgent appeal to all and especially:

To the 196 nations of this world that agreed to a new global climate treaty on December 12, 2015 and which must ratify this agreement in their legislatures as soon as possible so that the global agreement can go into effect with productive and measurable national action

Agreement of December 12, 2015

Signing on April 22, 2016

Obligation to decarbonize our Earth by prohibiting fossil greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest - analogous to the ban on asbestos and CFCs!

On “Earth Day” on April 22, 2016, representatives of 175 nations signed the world climate agreement at a meeting of the United Nations in New York. The treaty goes into force if “at least 55 nations with a total of more than 55 percent of global emissions” affirm the Paris agreement in their legislatures. Only 15 countries had carried out the ratification up to April 22, 2016. Among them were in particular island states such as the Marshall Islands, Granada, Nauru, Palau and Fiji as well as Palestine and Somalia. We cannot wait for this world climate agreement to go into effect in five years when the Kyoto Protocol has run out at the end of 2020. We cannot waste the time until then. After all, there is a major discrepancy between the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 to 2 degrees and the actual climate protection policy of individual states, which is based on voluntary measures. There has to be an end to lip service and appeals to morality. To reach the goals, neither coal nor gas nor oil can be allowed to be burned from 2050 onward. Countries like Germany can demonstrate that the “Energiewende”* (energy turnaround) works, including storage technologies for mobile and stationary applications. Industrial nations must offer developing and transition countries alternative solutions to prevent them from repeating mistakes recognized in retrospect.

To the participants of the next summit meeting of the 20 most important industrial and transition countries on September 4 and 5, 2016 in China (G20: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States of America and the European Union as well as the permanent guests: International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), Financial Stability Board (FSB), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), World Trade Organization (WTO), International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations as well as Spain and the Chairmen of the African Union, NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)

You, too, bear a major responsibility for peace – in a free world without borders! Fulfillment of Messages 1, 5 and 6: Creation of a new world order under the auspices of the “United Peoples of the World.” Decarbonization of the world by 2050 at the latest! We urgently request that the Paris world climate agreement be ratified by the legislative bodies of the G20 states before the G20 summit in 2016 so that the global agreement can go into effect with productive and measurable national action.

To the UN General Assembly at its next meeting beginning September 20, 2016 in New York

Fulfillment of messages 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10: The UNO – while maintaining its positive values – should be replaced by a more assertive, more resolute, and thus more effective government of the “United Peoples of the World”!

That would be a wonderful gift for Children’s Day on November 20, 2016.

The International Day of Peace will be celebrated on September 21, 2016!

To the participants of the next World Economic Forum January 17–20, 2017 in Davos

(more than 2500 top representatives of business and commerce, politics and society)

Obligation to provide for a sustainable economy!

Fulfillment of Messages 5, 6 and 9: Decarbonization of the world by 2050 at the latest as well as establishment of a new value system for the global economic and financial world with responsible employers engaged in long-term planning and showing entrepreneurial spirit instead of managers who have nothing in mind but quarterly figures, shareholders, and their own profit!

To the next G7/G8 summit in 2017 in Italy

The results of the G7 summit meeting of May 2016 in Japan were rather meager. There were no specific agreements and commitments to solve the global conflicts and crises. Yet the exchange of views among the political decision-makers in this group remains important. Even more important would be the return of the Russian president to the group of seven, which is supposed to happen after the mutually imposed sanctions are lifted. Returning to the G8 is far better than the idea of sitting at the round table in Italy with Donald Trump in 2017.

To the participants of a long overdue meeting of the religious leaders
(Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews etc.)

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hatred, hatred leads to unspeakable suffering.

Too bad we couldn’t find a photo showing all the religious leaders together.

Therefore we recall Yoda, who knows how we can find one another and unite! Fulfillment of Messages 3 and 8: The positive and common values of the different religions should be combined to suggest one creed for humankind and to live accordingly – with kindness and compassion against inhumanity in an open, civilized world society.

Then it will be up to anyone’s discretion to follow their individual faith or the principle of randomness!

To the 62 wealthiest people on earth, who own as much as the poorer half of humanity, currently 3.65 billion people

Please take the lead and convince at least the other 59 to join in! Fulfillment of Messages 2 and 9: We human beings have to learn to share amicably and justly. Those who have much must give to those who have little. The Ethics Commission (yet to be established) of the “United Peoples of the World” must develop and lay down concrete and binding rules for the donation and sharing of riches. Angelina Jolie says: “It’s a wonderful feeling to be generous and give money to people who need it far more than a Jaguar dealer.”

For your attention and in the hope of kind consideration for a better world.

The Power of Consumers

So what can I do? the individual reader may ask, often feeling helpless and left alone. A couple of answers can be found in Chapter VI: Game Without Borders - With the Power of Consumers. 10 tips for things to do by yourself or with others. Consumer power can also be exercised and expanded through the channels of the World Wide Web. As a multiplier of the good!

Readers will notice that message 2, “For Love, Forgiveness, Sharing, Peace and Freedom,” is the key message. By putting it into action, wars and greed as well as hunger and thirst can be vanquished with renewable energy, with educated people and one creed - under the umbrella of the “United Peoples of the World” - while sustaining individual endearing cultures, customs and practices. Knowing this, it is clear that the only way to proceed is united.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said:

“What’s left undone today will not be done tomorrow.”

* Change of direction in energy policy, i.e. the substitution of fossil and nuclear fuels for renewable energy and increased energy efficiency.

Game Instructions

III. Game Instructions – The Point of It All with Good Intentions

The idea of this primer: We doubtlessly live on one of the most beautiful specks of dust in the universe. At the same time, this speck of dust is hell for so many creatures. We have to and we are able to change that. Admirable traits, exemplary attitudes and ethic values are passed on best by way of positive messages. To get these messages through to people, we need acknowledged personalities as ambassadors and mediators. They in turn take their orientation from role models of the present and past, who unfortunately did not live at the same time and were thus not able to jointly exert their influence.

To communicate these ideas, we welcome ambassadors who all live in our time and are committed to the commonweal. Thanks to the knowledge available today in an increasingly digital world, we can take a common path and smooth it for everyone - with a set of rules appropriate to our time. The proposed ambassadors and mediators as well as all our readers can, if they so wish, lend wings to this idea to carry it far and wide.

Richard Dehmel said:

“All suffering is loneliness, all happiness is togetherness.”

Albert Einstein said:

“If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.”

We are absurd and courageous enough to believe we can resolve the conflicts and flashpoints of the world. What we need to do is to tackle the underlying problems – all of them at once, now, and all of us together. This can succeed if all who care for our planet and its creatures now come together and stand by each other. Joining in may also help those who are stuck in depression and are suffering.

Roman Herzog said:

“Visions are strategies for action.
That distinguishes them from utopian schemes.”

Bobby Dekeyser says (to politicians in a talk-show):

“If I led my company the way you lead the country, I could close down.
You don’t even talk about visions, trust or common goals –
all you do is continuously attack each other.”

It’s about time we changed that – together!

Our vision: a shock wave sweeping the world to rouse it from its slumbers!

“Homo progressivus – the energetic rebellion”

Helmut Markwort says:

“Ash Wednesday is increasingly being turned into its opposite.*
The political class has agreed among itself to read the riot act to the others, instead of spreading
ash on their own heads in repentance.”

The content of this primer: Numbers, data and facts accompany each message in this primer, including a description of their connection to each other, showing the insights that can be derived.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca said:

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare to do them,
it is because we do not dare to do them that they are difficult.”

Circulating this primer: The idea and the content of this reader should be infused with life. This can happen by discussing them face to face, from ear to ear, by mail or via the Internet, YouTube, Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. That way, general curiosity can be aroused, triggering a pioneering spirit in many people.

There are lists of proposed ambassadors and mediators at the end of each of the ten messages. These ten lists are open-ended for people who have something to say and who mean well.

Nena says:

“Every obstacle is a springboard.”

Photo: Kristian Schuller

The secret of this primer will be revealed when a large number of the people cited here as well as the proposed ambassadors and mediators join together to proclaim:

“We stand for the “United Peoples of the World,”
united in one faith,
in peace and freedom.”

Who will start? The people quoted in this primer who have already passed away stand by us with what they have bequeathed to us. The persons still living and the organizations cited here can preserve their legacy by carrying the idea with their own quotes and making it come to life - best of all by jointly standing in front of it and backing it.

That would be a delightful joint action and a powerful signal at the same time.

Dante Alighieri said:

“Some wait for time to change, others seize the moment and act.”

Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, the Matrix and Snow White hold us spellbound. We were inspired by many a hymn as well as a president’s vision of a world without atomic weapons. Furthermore, there is a force inside us and all around us. We feel that this force is good. We do not know whence it comes, nor why it has chosen us. We do not know exactly how we came upon this idea, and how we could write this primer. We are not clever enough to provide answers to everything. But, with the help of our readers, we will feel wiser and better at the end.

It is not our intention to frighten anyone or spoil their good mood, but to encourage and convey confidence. We want to shake as many people as possible out of their apathy. We want to instigate a revolution of the good.

This joint project could accomplish much more than the many well-meant individual actions, as a glance into the past shows, and as current problems reveal.

Edmund Burke (1729–1797) said:

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil
is that good men do nothing.”

It is time to turn the tables!

The daily news presents us a world in which the negative far too often drowns out the positive. Let us cast a realistic glance into the mirror of the world. On one side we see all that is good and beautiful, and on the other the many cruel and ugly things we human beings commit and inflict upon each other.

In a moment of reflection we, the authors, realized: Either

we all unite to change the world as a whole_in one fell swoop …

or we let things take their course, each of us for himself, and just watch the world go by. But for us, with our knowledge and the corresponding outlook on life, this attitude is strictly for the birds.

We want to inform and to provoke. We encourage discussions and dialogues, also on an emotional level, that can turn out to be profitable for everyone at the end of the day.

The idea will work if it is put into action. The idea will shine brightly if it is lighted and passed on like a torch, if it is inspiring and addictive for the reader. The idea is meant to electrify the reader and spread around the globe like a benevolent, warming wildfire. The start was successful. We hope we will soon reach our goal together. If the idea lives, it can also become a protective screen for our Earth.

Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727) said:

“What we know is a drop, what we do not know, an ocean.”

We think we have become a few drops smarter in the meantime. We firmly believe that every good deed will bestow another drop upon us. Quote from the film Cloud Atlas: “What is an ocean if not a multitude of drops?”

This is neither a parable nor a. story.

It’s a wake-up call, a guide, and an invitation to join in.

The time is ripe to set off into a better world in which
Homo progressivus pays with the Globe!

Back at the beginning, but not at the end of good intentions: We know that our planet is more than a tolerable place to live in. It is a gem in the universe, which is worth preserving – as long as our sun continues to shine and impart its power to us.

The entire net publisher’s profit from the sale of this primer will be alternately donated to existing foundations and organizations who serve exclusively charitable purposes.

* As a Bavarian specialty, the “political Ash Wednesday” consists in mass rallies held by all political parties. The original intention was for each party to review its own policy. Since national party leaders often speak at these gatherings, they are not merely of local interest.

Playing Fields – With Oversight from Above

IV. Playing Fields – With Oversight from Above and Ten Messages

What has been missing so far is an all-encompassing and less scientific appraisal that everyone understands showing how closely these areas are linked to, and dependent on, each other. Recommendations for action where deficits are observed, are also part of such an appraisal.

Therefore, we took all good things and all bad things we see in the world in the respective areas, spread them over ten playing fields, and threw them into a lottery pot. In the following ten chapters we present positive features, characteristics and situations, deficits and proposals for improvement as well as people who bear responsibility and serve as role models. We want to induce all people to participate in a playful way and according to rules everyone understands. There are five major prizes representing the good in this game and five blanks representing the bad. In 2016, the lots will be drawn and the game will start. It is up to us if Homo progressivus will be globally successful with a first prize, or if Homo sapiens, with the blanks in the game of life, will perish in disgrace.

The sun shines from above
upon us and right into us
and comes shining back out of our hearts.

Its energy generates life and accompanies our lives
and may finally lead us upward again.

Socrates (469–399 B.C.) and Plato (427–347 B.C.) both knew:

The sun is the source of all being and all truth,
the source of all life and all knowledge. The sun exists
in every person - one only needs to make it shine.

Despite this positive force, our world is increasingly degenerating
into a contaminated garbage dump
where people spread like vermin, catch diseases,
thrash and kill each other like a violent mob, and are
less and less capable of getting along with each other.
This must and can be changed!

Harald Lesch says:

“Progress is the work of the dissatisfied.”

We must treat our planet like a raw egg
and not vandalize it with a wrecking ball.

We can make the world a better place by conscientiously exploring
and eliminating the causes of war, hatred, and greed,
of sorrow and pain, which we must do with love,
compassion, tolerance, and a cosmopolitan mindset –
peacefully, across all borders and, most importantly: together.
The people cited here, the proposed ambassadors and mediators
as well as all who feel attracted to our project
can contribute and be a factor in deciding whether the messages
of this primer will be spread and lived by.