Imagine a "people" centered world

I am days behind in my posting. Life sometimes gets in the way.  I've had company--my oldest son and his family.  We picnicked, we hiked, we swam, we went to the play ground, we had ice cream.  All the things you do when a three and five year-old are involved.  In short, we had a grand time. 

Now it's Monday and I'm playing catch up while my son heads off on the next phase of his vacation.

Today, I must return to a "people" world.  It is on my mind all the time.  On my mind because somehow, somewhere, at some point in our history we set people aside for things, possessions, wealth, advancement, one-upmanship.  Somewhere along the way we hitched a ride on the wrong train with the best of intentions, thinking that if we went where everyone else was going we'd surely be in a better place.

The train was driven by someone else, designed by someone else.  It was a complex train.  Great "engineers" built it.  It took centuries.  Sometimes its workings came together almost by accident.  Like a puzzle that's missing only one piece and suddenly you find it.  A lot of thought went into this train and a lot of modifications occurred along the way.  Today this train, in one fashion on another, monopolizes all the "transport" in our world.  And this train has brought us to today.  August 9, 2010.  The Twenty-First Century. 

All of us with enough life experience have ideas about this century.  Where we're going and what the outcome might be.  But one thing is certain, the train we've all been riding on has not brought us to the destination we envisioned when we entrusted ourselves to its designers.  To be sure, there have been many sights along the way, many adventures, many good and important experiences.  But in the end, we did not arrive at abundance for all.  We did not arrive at security for all, health care for all, affordable education for all, housing for all.  Our final train stop dropped us on the platform of "pay or perish". 

I could add to that last statement, but in truth it is the only one that matters.  The time has come to reroute our train.  We must design a new model, one that considers the person first and takes in all aspects of that person from birth to death.  I.e., natural resources and the health of the environment that sustain human life.  Income security.  Health security.  Educational security.  Shelter (home) security.  Never must or should any of these be neglected for any reason.  Not for any reason.  No one goes without. This is not about entitlement programs or social welfare.  This is about a new system.  This is about turning capitalism (the making of product and profit) to people-ism, if you will.  It's about using the design, but changing its destination.

How you say?  Not how, I answer, but when!!