Don’t be a Global Idiot!

“When we enlarge our view of the world, we deepen our understanding of our own lives.” (Yo-Yo Ma. Cellist, virtuoso, orchestral composer)

(From Wikipedia) An idiot in Athenian democracy was someone who was characterized by self-centeredness and concerned almost exclusively with private--as opposed to public--affairs.[1] Idiocy was the natural state of ignorance into which all persons were born and its opposite, citizenship, was effected through formalized education.[1] In Athenian democracy, idiots were born and citizens were made through education (although citizenship was also largely hereditary).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot_(Athenian_democracy)

(Note from Simpol: Most of us take part in local and national democratic systems. To solve global problems, we now need to be part of a global system, one that is future-safe from private interests by being directly open to everyone.
Simpol hopes to encourage people to co-operate for mutual benefit, across divides of gender, wealth, culture, belief and nationhood in order to build bridges of common understanding, empathy and most importantly of all, trust.)

(From Wikipedia) Democracy is a form of government in which all citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal (and more or less direct) participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law. It can also encompass social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination. The term comes from the Greek: δημοκρατία – (dēmokratía) "rule of the people",[1] which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos) "people" and κράτος (Kratos) "power", in the middle of the 5th-4th century BC to denote the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states, notably Athens following a popular uprising in 508 BC.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy