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GLOBAL
SENSE:
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
PART
IIV:
OUR
ABILITY FOR DEMOCRACY AND WORLD
PEACE
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18.
Common Global Sense
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19.
Global Sense Counts
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20.
The Price of Peace
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21.
Practical Idealism
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22.
Morality, Spirituality,
Politics
- .
23.
Seed Time of Good
Habits
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24.
Begin the World
Anew
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There
are times when the greatest
change
needed is a change of my
viewpoint.
- Denis Diderot
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Chapter
18. Common Global Sense
- Is humanity
ready for the blessings and struggles
of global interdependence? Why or why
not?
.
- When did you
first see the Apollo XVII photograph of
the whole earth? How did that global
icon affect your thoughts and
feelings?
.
- How does our
global interconnectedness give you the
power to change the world by changing
yourself?
.
- Darwin defined
"natural selection" as wise adaptation
to shifting life conditions. If true,
rather than "might makes right," why
does "right make might" better describe
natural law?
.
- As we enter a
global age, are you suffering from
"future shock"? What effects in your
life can you identify? How can global
thinking help you cope with rapid
social change?
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New
opinions are always suspected,
and usually opposed, without
any other reason but because they
are not already common.
- John Locke
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Chapter
19. Global Sense Counts
- The
author estimates 25-30 million global
thinkers in the U.S. and 600 million
worldwide. Do you agree with these
numbers? Why or why not?
.
- Do
you give any credence to the
Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon? Can
you site actual examples of cultural
shifts in history? How close are we to
the "tipping point" for global
consciousness?
.
- Do
you accept the idea that our global
interactivity means one person is
enough to change the world? What have
you done today to change our world?
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Civility
costs nothing,
and buys everything.
- Mary Wortley Montagu
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Chapter
20. The Price of Peace
- The money spent
on war, says the author, could be
better spent on peace. He names several
areas where the money could be spent
instead. How would you spend the money
now going for war?
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- If widespread
"prosperity for posterity" reduces the
dangers of war, for humanity to enjoy
world peace, how would you expand
prosperity for everyone on earth? What
are the alternatives to topdown state
socialism?
.
- The author says
world peace depends on men giving up
the need to dominate society. Instead,
he invites men to open up emotionally
and face their shadow pain. What is
your view of the "men's liberation"
movement?
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Imagination!
who can sing thy force?
- Phillis Wheatley
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Chapter
21. Practical Idealism
- What's your
response to the strategy of Robert
Fritz for holding a vision in our minds
and migrating one decision at a time
from the reality we have now to the
reality we vividly imagine? Have you
tried this?
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- Do you feel all
changes in yourself or in the world
must happen very quickly? Does this
feeling express our addiction to
instant gratification? Discuss the
advantages and disadvantages of
incremental change.
.
- Consider how you
live, love, learn, work, play,
and vote. Discuss each
category in turn. Which of your daily
choices make global sense, and which do
not? What choices would you like to
change?
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Labour
to keep alive in your breast
that
little spark of celestial fire,
called conscience.
- George Washington
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Chapter
22. Morality, Spirituality,
Politics
- Apply
Immanuel Kant's "Categorical
Imperative" to test the morality of
your government's policies for
security, civil rights and other social
issues. Which of your government's
policies, logically, are immoral?
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- Discuss
the Great Law of the Iroquois, that we
must consider the impact of our
decisions upon the next seven
generations. What can you do to help
you foresee the consequences of your
choices?
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- What
do you do every day to help you feel
the "mindfulness" of global
awareness?
.
- Discuss
the logic behind the idea that in our
interactive universe, we each are
"co-creators" with God. What does this
mean to you? Are you able to relate to
God as a partner rather than as a
king?
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- Discuss
the idea in Judaism of tikkun
olam, the spiritual and moral
obligation to work on perfecting or
repairing the world. Is social activism
our moral duty? Why or why not? How do
you help repair our
world?
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One
today is worth
two tomorrows.
- Benjamin Franklin
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Chapter
23. Seed Time of Good
Habits
- Why
can state tyranny never be defeated by
force of arms? How can humanity evolve
beyond the absurdity of trying to use
violence to end violence?
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- Why
is the decentralized global
enlightenment movement (The "Aquarian
Conspiracy") a more effective social
force than any political movement in
human history? Why does it get so
little notice in mainstream media?
.
- What
may happen to ourselves and our world
if we let pass today's opportunity to
take effective actions toward freedom
and peace? Will we ever again have the
political will to throw off the
shackles of authority addiction?
.
- If
our present inertia is like a frog
placed into a pot of cool water over a
low flame, floating placidly as the
slowly rising heat boils us alive, what
will get humanity to jump out of the
pot? What can you do to help?
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- Talk
about all the ways you've played small
in the world. How have your fears and
insecurities kept you feeling weak and
powerless, even hopeless? What can you
do now to become your highest and best
self?
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Every
generation needs
a new revolution.
- Thomas Jefferson
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Chapter
24. Begin the World Anew
- Do
you agree that humanity needs a new
social contract for our global village?
What mistakes of the past do we need to
avoid? What have we done right that we
need to preserve?
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- Paine
wrote in 1776, "We have it in our power
to begin the world over again." Explain
how and why we have such a power today.
Why is this moment in the human story
so pivotal?
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- The
author closes the book with an
affirmative prayer that brings together
all of the central ideas in the book.
Identify these key ideas. Talk about
the relevance of these principles your
own life. When you read the prayer to
yourself or aloud in a group, what
feeling arise inside" Do you feel
yourself shifting as a result?
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- How
have your thoughts and feelings changed
by reading Global Sense? Are you
willing to claim responsibility for
your global power? What can you do
today and this year to change the world
by changing yourself?
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