Saturday, October 13, 2007

Beyond Borders


Perhaps the most moving thing about Al Gore and his sharing the Nobel Peace Prize with the IPCC is the remarkable turn of events that has occurred in the last 7 years. When Gore had the presidency taken away by a compliant press and a corrupt court, he bowed out gracefully. But he was known as a colossal loser, a man who had won the vote count by over 500,000 votes, and had lost by a few electoral votes due to shannanigans in a state run by his opponent's brother.

Now, Gore is an international hero and his opponent is internationally ridiculed.

There is no reason for Gore to run for president.

He has transcended the presidency.

He will be treated as a head of state from now on and well he should be. He has bested his rivals and his political alllies with his own trifecta of Oscar, Emmy, and Nobel in one year. He has amassed a small fortune and he is making more every day. He has the ability to move beyond borders and beyond the power of the state.

He will be able to bring the earth together, not as the president of some great nation state, but as a new kind of planetary leader. A planetary leader who understands that the lines between social space and geographic space are becoming more and more blurred. A leader that understands the power of the internet that he helped into existence, who actually carries around a powerbook as he travels. A leader that is in on the board of directors of Apple and on the advisory board of Google.

All this reminds me of this piece from the first year of Earthfamilyalpha. It's about a new form of multinational cooperation, the cyberstate.

It is not easy to imagine a World without countries.

And I won’t even try.

It is a little easier to imagine a world where the people on it

Understand that We are on a spaceship.

And that the spaceship is hurtling through space,

Around the Sun at 66,000 miles per hour.

It is a little easier to imagine

That the people on this spaceship

Will begin to care about their mothership,

At least as much as they care about their motherland.

Besides, the motherland does not mean that much

When you get A T & T phone solicitations from India

And everything you buy has China on the label.

As the World becomes more connected with our communication tools,

As more and more of us travel from one geographic state to another,

It will occur to more and more of us that perhaps we need to rethink

Some of these very very old and very destructive ideas that we have.

Look around you.

Everywhere, all the time,

It is America this, America that.

All the pictures behind the newscasters in Washington

Have domes and monuments in the backgrounds.

They all reinforce in your mind

These ideas. These very old ideas. These very destructive ideas.

Cyberstates are new.

They are new inventions of social contract.

Unlike the geographic state,

Cyberstates have no defined territory,

Even though they may own lots of land.

Cyberstates do not print money,

But they may be very rich.

Cyberstates do not have armies,

But they may be very powerful.

Cyberstates do not have a capitol.

But they will have many points of access.

Cyberstates do not collect taxes,

But they may collect fees.

Cyberstates can provide everything

That the best geographic state can provide

Without the whining from the wingers.

You are not born into a Cyberstate

Because of your coordinates on the Planet

You choose your Cyberstate.

And, if you choose to choose another,

You do.

A Cyberstate is a group of people

Who have chosen to work together

To provide for themselves and their loved ones,

The peace and prosperity we all seek.

And the security and tranquility we deserve.

It is a family.

An Earthfamily.

Beyond Borders.



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Beyond Borders courtesy of Hessam Abrishami

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Another brilliant Iranian artist. Nice going OZ.

SB

3:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is pretty amazing that Al Gore won the Nobel Peace prize, an academy award, and an emmy all in the space of one year. I felt a sweet flutter in my heart when I heard the news.

Hopefully he can use this award as a springboard for important change in our beleaguered world. Hopefully we will pay attention. Hopefully it is not too late.

This is beautifully written as usual and I appreciate the opportunity to read the old post.

I missed Gore's speech.

You really make it so easy.

Thanks.

7:19 AM  

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