Foreign policy, environmental activism? What we call it: global citizenry

I'm so excited. This Saturday, March 1, we're going to be TypePad's featured site. I feel like we've won our own little Academy Award. For the past (almost) six months, we've been on one kick or another (anyone know where that phrase comes from?), from ending extreme poverty and helping women around the world, to peace and creating a world fit for kids, with a few tangents thrown in along the way (see list on lower right). And, we've had fun.

If you've been wondering why we weren't writing about the environment or about people and organizations doing work right here in our own back yards (or right there in your own back yard), we've had our reasons. One, everyone is writing about the environment, but more about that in a minute. Two, we feel strongly that one way to "heal the world" is for all of us to belong to the bigger world -- to raise our awareness about bloggers in Kenya, volunteers and organizations working with orphans in Rwanda or Zimbabwe, and the artists saving a village in Egypt.

Thanks to Al Gore and friends, and then, mainstream media, "going green" is a topic everywhere -- documentaries, advertisements, organizations, schools and corporate marketing. Everyone's going green. For the longest time, I've been wanting to add my two cents by writing about sustainability. But, though its a big buzzword, I wasn't so sure I knew what it really meant.

Then something funny happened. While I was trying to figure out what I meant by "sustainability," Liz was trying to figure out new ways to think about foreign policy. We're so cute. We independently came up with our "different way" of viewing our topics, but we arrived at the same phrase: global citizen. Sustainability makes sense when you think of it in terms of being a global citizen. Foreign policy sounds way more inclusive when you think of it from the perspective of a global citizen.

We probably like the phrase so much, as you may know, because it's part of our tagline: Media for the global citizen. But mostly we like it because it's not about what to do, or what to buy. It's about a new way to be in the context of a healed world -- a global citizen.

So we're going to write about the environment, but not in the way everyone else is writing about it (what would be the point of that?). We're going to keep our focus on the whole world, while talking about things close to home. In Liz's new column, you'll hear our reaction to the age-old idea of "foreign policy" (talk about language houses), and, beginning this week we'll share ways to get that "10% more media" with some wonderful ideas we've found about caring for the world in a "sustainable" way that you might not find in the mainstream.

So, to start, if you haven't seen this yet, let me introduce you to the fascinating, entertaining and wonderfully educating "Story of Stuff. This, like no other economics lesson you've ever heard, was created by Annie Leonard, an activist and expert on a new way of looking at being a global citizen in the context of sustainability. The video below is chapter 5, the "consumption" piece of the full cycle of the consumer-driven economy. This is a teaser. I really recommend everyone see the 20-minute show (your 10% more media about possibility for the day) here. I watched it again today and heard different ideas for the first time. If you can, watch it with a family member and later, share it. It's that good.

Over the next few weeks, we won't be looking at what to do so much or telling you what to buy to "go green." Instead, we'll be wondering what people and organizations around the world are doing to balance equity amongst one another and between us humans and the rest of the living planet. We'll find people making their way around guilt and gluttony and into global citizenry -- examples that can help us make new decisions and find our own way into our roles as global citizens.

"There are no easy answers," says me, the girl with a zippy little car, too many shoes and more than enough pairs of earrings. You and I are not going off to live on what we can eat in the woods anytime soon. But if it didn't seem impossible, we wouldn't be writing about it. The impossible just takes a little longer, as they say. Awareness is always the first step to change. We shouldn't let our guilt over our good fortune get in the way of our giving, sharing, and acting upon that longing we have to heal the world.

We can ask questions like my hero, Chris Phillips, the Socrates guy, does: How much is enough? Where does this come from and where will it end up? What do I need? How do I weigh my longing for a better world and the wanting of the next gizmo, gadget? What's my next step for me toward global citizenry? Here are just a few of Annie's tips and many interesting resources. So many possibilities to jump in and start where you are. Let us know your tips and next steps.

New to HumanKind Media? Check out what we're up to by clicking on the links on the upper right or peruse our categories down on the lower left. You can get our free updates here, and join our HumanKind Challenge #3 (put your mark on our map) here. Welcome.