The Cruzades, Jihad all in the name of religion did and do kill lots of innocents in the name of religion. Most religious people are hypocrites anyway. They preach one thing and behave the opposite way.

All ideas headed in the right direction … though won’t hold my breath till we get there

What I’ve been attempting to do is listen for ‘the political & civil rules’ of other nations regarding these issues that appear to be working - and wonder if their success couldn’t be copied ‘over here.’ But since the angry block no doubt feels that ‘We’re #1!’ … so how could anything not conceived of or implemented here first be worth considering..?

And, if I learn of another nation.. convince my ‘kids’ to move there, then come get me

Taking everything in me not to make a MCU joke

I don't paint religion as the absolute reason for "all problems" but I agree many of the issues we face in America at least would probably be solved with true separation of church and state....... though I don't see how that's ACTUALLY possible

It depends on what you think the "problems" are. Some "problems" have an equal force pushing back on you, and they think you're the problem and not them. Take for instance religion. That's not a good example of equal force because they outnumber us most likely, but I hope you get my drift.

I don't agree with the concept of term limits because learning the ins and outs of government is complex, and if someone stays in office only one term, they never really learn to be effective at their jobs. However, with the development of videoconferencing, it should be possible for elected officials to do their jobs while remaining physically IN the districts that elected them. That way they are less available to lobbyists and not as likely to fall into the arms of the various temptations that life away from home offers. I agree with the idea that corporations (and lobbyists, I would add) can only communicate with elected officials via email, letter, or youtube video (so that the public at large can also see the message). The problem with my ideas, as well as some others that relate to simplifying government, is that government is required to solve complex problems. No one person can understand policing the internet, foreign policy, military expenditures and activities, environmental preservation and pollution prevention, etc., etc. Perhaps we should be electing officials who deal with a specialty and not a geographic region. That way the people looking at and sponsoring proposals know what the hell they are talking about, and lobbyists and corporations lose some influence because they don't control access to information. I just came up with this idea so I haven't had a chance to think about all the pros and cons yet.

So well said! I would like to add that contraception should never be outlawed and should be given wherever it is needed and requested. Overpopulation is a serious problem denied by religious institutions. Then there is the competition to produce a larger population than their enemies: e.g. Israel vs. Arab neighbors. Each wants to out populate the other. Then certain religions outlaw contraception and encourage their flock to populate. Then these religious followers claim there is no global warming and that God will take care of everything while the ice melts and melts and melts. Meanwhile oil companies keep on thriving.

I would like to add that big corporations like Monsanto have found a way to own our food. There's a solid market there. Just spread their Frankenstein science and make people believe that their GMO"S/Glyphosate products are necessary to feed the emerging population...that organic proponents are wrong. Not only do they get fatter and richer, but they aid the Pharmaceutical industry...keeping the population nice and chronically ill thinking they need more and more "medicines" to stay partially alive. That's a great market for them. Then when cancer kicks in...Wow! then there's a big windfall of money. That's the jackpot. You do get to see many executives of these companies at holistic hospitals when cancer gets them, while they denounce them and some actually murder holistic doctors. So far, to my knowledge, 85 have been murdered.

My advice is to get smart and eat organic and for heaven's sake, do not use Roundup on your lawns Workers in the fields where roundup is used have an epidemic of Hodgkin's disease. Do you need this?

Buckminster Fuller declared a prophecy that all our institutions would tumble before a world of sanity would emerge. He said that there is enough knowledge to feed the whole world right now.

Our problem is that we do it to ourselves and to each other. The solution is Nail Soup (or Stone Soup, depending on which version you heard.

We're already solving all the problems of the world. Your issue is with scope and speed.

Go back 0 years and see if the major complaints of that era still exist today? Civil rights, technology, potable water, available food, health care and life expectancy, there are many places in the world that are strong in any area you can think of and a lot of others that are advancing and some that still struggle, but progress is a process. We are a problem-solving species, problems are introduced, change and evolve and we adapt and overcome. Pollution is a new(er) problem and we've been working to solve that for longer than I've been alive. If I ignore the progress that's been made I could say that pollution existed when I was born, and will probably still exist when I die. But that would be ignoring the growth of the issue, the knowledge around it that has developed, and the successful steps we've taken to approach it.

Regarding politics, we have developed there too. Name the monarchies that still exist based on bloodline? That used to be a thing. There are many nations in the world which have little issue with their system other than sometimes dealing with someone sneaking in, but the system either regulates their power and/or removes them quickly.

One lifetime is not the yardstick for every problem of our species.