If I Ruled the World

My friends and I will talk about the woes of the world, offer our solution and then laugh, “When I’m Queen….” We tackle some of the world’s biggest problems and often come up with some pretty simple solutions. Or we just completely eliminate issues as if they never existed. Wave our magic wands. Sprinkle the pixie dust. Send out our decree. If only….

If I ruled the world, of course there would be no war or poverty or hunger or disease. That’s a given. But I’d also eliminate deceit and prejudice.

Only people that wanted children would give birth to children. That would eliminate the need for abortion and foster care in one fell swoop.  The job of Stay At Home Mom would be revered. Teachers would rank right up there with doctors. They would be the celebrities of their communities.

And celebrities? They would be entertainers. That’s it. Nothing else. No hanging on their every word, burp or latest visit to Target. If they had something intelligent to say about an issue, we’d listen. Just as we would listen to anyone else who had something intelligent to say. But no more going to world leaders, with their 10th grade education and fishbowl perspective, simply because they won an Academy Award, excelling at their craft of entertaining.

We wouldn’t need to organize Neighborhood Watch because that’s just what good neighbors do. Watch out for each other. Get involved when we see injustice or something suspicious. Look out for each others children and step in with a gentle reminder if your neighbor’s child misbehaves. And the parent would be glad you stepped in and took care of it immediately in their absence. Because, after all, it truly does take a village.

And Neighborhood Watch? Wouldn’t be necessary, of course. No major crimes unit here. Just the occasional teenage prank or mis-step. Because they’re still learning, you know.

We’d encourage our friends and celebrate their successes. No more jonesing for the Joneses.

No waste. We’d grow only what we could eat. We’d all recycle. We’d buy only what we needed. And we wouldn’t need too much because no one’s looking to see if you wore that dress at the last party, or if your son’s pants are hand-me-downs. No one cares because it’s what’s inside that counts.

Ok. So it’s a bit sappy. Pollyanna. Glass half full. Resemble a Disney movie you saw recently. But that’s the kind of world I’d love to live in. I’ll take sappy over scary any day of the week.

Yep. If I ruled the world……if only.