Have we ever been great?

When we shun all lies and disinformation and value openness, honesty and transparency—that will be a great achievement.

When we have at least 7 of the largest political parties participating in presidential debates, that would be an accomplishment that we could feel great about.

When we value solar and wind, eliminate nuclear power and weapons, and encourage the cultivation of hemp in all of its biodegradable uses—that would be great for the ecology of the planet.

When all of our lives we study math, science, social studies, and language arts and share what we have learned with our children and grandchildren—that can lead to greatness for all.

When we start using more trains and busses and far less cars, that would be a great accomplishment.

When we eliminate imperialism, capitalism, racism, patriarchalism, nationalism, and materialism from our hearts and minds and motivations—we the world will be great for the first time.

When there is universal acceptance of members of the LGBTQ community so that they will never need to hide their sexual orientations—that will be a great sign of social progress.

When we build democratic, consensus, intentional, autonomous, and interrelated communities from the grassroots level to the global level, building from the bottom-up—then we will have a great world to live in.

When we encourage neighborhood control of neighborhood schools to create neighborhood togetherness and intentional community-that will be a great innovation that has never been tried yet.

When political parties that capture at least one percent of the vote are represented in a Constitutional Convention to create a new national constitution with every new generation as Thomas Jefferson encouraged—that would be a great milestone in our social progress.

When we implement public banking, proportional representation with a unicameral national legislature, ranked-choice voting, the elimination of the Electoral College System, and the empowerment of multiple political parties—then we can feel great about ourselves.

When we are concerned about taking care of the needs of every person and species on the planet—the world will consider us great.

We we strive to be a vegan for ecological, ethical, and health reasons—we will be a model for the greatness and sustainability of future generations.

When we create a democratic world government from the bottom-up, instead of succumbing to a new world order imposed on us from the top-down—future generations will consider us great.

When we have single-payer health insurance and free public education for all at all levels, then we can be as great as many other nations.

When workplace democracy is welcomed by all, that would be a great economic and social improvement.

When we as a nation stop intervening into the affairs of other countries to promote our own agenda, that will be great for the world and the planet.

When the United States leads the world in reducing all military spending, and it leads the world in removing all nuclear weapons from the face of the earth—that will be the greatest achievement of all.

Roger Copple retired from teaching general elementary and high school special education in Indianapolis in 2010. His website is www.NowSaveTheWorld.com.

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