If you took over the world, what would you do?

[Dr Frankenollie]

I would...

1. Bring about absolute gender and racial equality internationally.

2. Discourage homophobia and add homosexuality nonchalantly into films, literature and even fairy tales, so from an early age most people don't regard it as bad or unusual whatsoever.

3. Make child indoctrination illegal.

4. Introduce a "Parent's License", similar to a driver's license.

5. Convert prisons into rehabilitation clinics.

6. Disallow capital punishment.

7. There shouldn't be an age of consent for sex; the existence of this could pressurise young adults who reach that age into having sex when they're not ready. Instead, the age of consent can vary based on whether the person in question is physically, emotionally and mentally ready.

8. Abolish faith schools.

9. Imprison people with willful ignorance, but not those with circumstantial ignorance. I'll explain what I mean by this terms: somebody who is willfully ignorant has the health and resources to become more intelligent (e.g. celebrities, with much wealth and technology at their fingertips) but chooses not to, whereas someone who is circumstantially ignorant is someone who can't become more intelligent even if they want to (e.g. living in a poor country with no access to a library or computer) or someone who is unintelligent due to a mental illness.

Of course, many of us are wilfully ignorant in one way or another (all reading this has access to the Internet, so could learn about complex quantum physics but may choose not to), so I mean only extremely willfully ignorant people should be imprisoned. This means the cast of Jersey Shore, Rick Perry, Big Brother contestants, etc would be locked up.

10. Allow gay marriage internationally.

11. Replace holy books in schools with texts by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and other atheistic thinkers.

I'll think of more later.

[Chernabog_Rocks]

Aside from a few you mentioned, I would add this one to my list.

1) Abolish any food eating competitions and instead redirect that food and resources towards countries where people are starving.

I find it disgusting how we have contests to see who can shove the most pies or hot dogs down their throat while across the world people don't have any food. Such a waste.

For that matter...

2) Try to send more food and basic essentials to third world countries to help them instead of allowing richer countries to have so much excess.

[Super Aurora]

Rule all of you with an Iron Fist.

[Goliath]

I would rule as a combination of FDR, JFK, Salvador Allende, Néstor Kirchner, Lula da Silva and Willem Drees, which would basically mean we would turn the entire world into Utopia.

Oh, and I would make listening to Bob Dylan and reading his lyrics mandatory in school. I'm still debating which of his songs would be our new 'anthem', or maybe I would just stick with the 'Internationale'.

[Mickeyfan1990]

Well... let's see:

-Allow gay marriage

-Create domes for houses, bulidings, pavements, parks, etc except for grass and plants to protect people from dangerous hurricanes or disasters

-Free money for everyone!

-Create cures for cancer, AIDS, and a serum or pill that will make people live forever and invincible

-Bring back my favorite TV shows and shows that deserve a second chance

-Make sure everything animated is restored, remastered, and released on DVD and Blu-Ray

-Invent helmets that will give you knowledge on any subject (Examples: Social Studies, Science, Math, Filmmaking)


Maybe more to come.

[Semaj]

-Abolish the Republican Party.

-Make integration of religion and politics illegal.

[Disney's Divinity]

I have no idea. This place is a mess.

[Lazario]

2. Discourage homophobia and add homosexuality nonchalantly into films, literature and even fairy tales, so from an early age most people don't regard it as bad or unusual whatsoever.

Well, it's actually really hard to determine what's homophobic in film. For example, people could easily argue that any black person saying "nigger" or anything akin to "honky" in a movie is strictly racist. Or that you can't say the N word academically. Or that, specific example, Hostel is homophobic for using the word "fag" repeatedly - one of the scenes using it aggressively and seemingly mockingly - even though it's implied that one of the characters using it is either gay or bisexual and dealing with those issues internally. The message here just might have been that the character was a hypocrite and the movie might have been trying to find a different way to show that homophobia is bad rather than having another character tell him what he said was wrong.

Filmmaking is so interpretative, it can be hard to figure out when someone is actually homophobic, if they're trying to prove a point, or if they're just making a joke where they mean no offense. Either way, I basically support letting directors and writers choose themselves. It's the studios that should think more about what kind of movies they distribute. Or, better yet, studios should be run by people who want to produce movies not because they make money. If all studios produced movies more thoughtfully, people who have to stop paying to see movies that are just expensive, hip, unfunny, brainless, cliched, etc. We'd get smarter movies if everyone thought more. And studios are the worst offenders here.


Since everyone else has covered all the major suggestions, I just want to add that NEWS and talk radio need to be gutted of all figures who spew politically hateful opinions. You know, when Bill O'Reilly calls a celebrity a pinhead for standing up for what they believe is honest racism- O'Reilly should be SERIOUSLY reprimanded. He should be suspended without pay and the chanell and studios to issue sincere apologies. That kind of talk shouldn't be allowed. And worse still, his attitude of superiority for doing NOTHING more than turning one side against another should not be tolerated yet things like this are for the sake of ratings. And the problem more than anything is that ratings (on both TV AND YouTube) are in fact boosted by people watching who don't agree with their viewpoints. So, I guess people we know are spewing hateful social propaganda should be removed from TV and radio. We need people we can trust to review TV masquerading as true News reporting and all radio shows. At least, if we care about letting the rest of the world know we are not idiots (though our movies and television shows beg to differ) and we value the ideals that we say we do everytime we raise a flag or pledge to it.

[littlefuzzy]

I would...

3. Make child indoctrination illegal.

OK...

2. Discourage homophobia and add homosexuality nonchalantly into films, literature and even fairy tales, so from an early age most people don't regard it as bad or unusual whatsoever.

11. Replace holy books in schools with texts by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and other atheistic thinkers.

Sounds like child indoctrination to me.

[Lazario]

I would...

3. Make child indoctrination illegal.

OK...

2. Discourage homophobia and add homosexuality nonchalantly into films, literature and even fairy tales, so from an early age most people don't regard it as bad or unusual whatsoever.

11. Replace holy books in schools with texts by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and other atheistic thinkers.

Sounds like child indoctrination to me.

Yeah- I thought about that myself. But of course, Dr F didn't mention whether those schools would be public or private. Or both. I'm not sure this "if you ran the world" scenario would work if this is like us in government and tried to use our power to tell private schools and institutions what they could do. Unfortuantely, I think private institutions are exercising freedom just fine: it's their money (although it's money mostly stolen through corrupt politics, insane texes the rich don't have to pay, etc) and they're legally / technically using to indoctrinate children in families who have the legal right to force indoctrination on them. Although in this case, I'm not sure private school kids who don't go to religious private schools specifically are the biggest religious nuts in America.

Most important thing though is to get the holy books out of all schools that can be legally. People who read them without an appreciation for personal freedom and recent converts are the most likely to try and use those books against anyone or anything they don't agree with and start a fuss over something they have no right to try putting a stop to like gay marriage.

[Dr Frankenollie]

Sounds like child indoctrination to me.

Well...I meant make religious child indoctrination illegal. But what's wrong with putting texts by Dawkins and Hitchens in schools? A lot of their books are about science. Are you saying that educating children in science is indoctrination?

Yeah- I thought about that myself. But of course, Dr F didn't mention whether those schools would be public or private. Or both. I'm not sure this "if you ran the world" scenario would work if this is like us in government and tried to use our power to tell private schools and institutions what they could do.

I wouldn't influence private schools too much, but I would still tell them several things they would be required to do, which really already happens (e.g. teaching children mathematics, etc.)

Most important thing though is to get the holy books out of all schools that can be legally. People who read them without an appreciation for personal freedom and recent converts are the most likely to try and use those books against anyone or anything they don't agree with and start a fuss over something they have no right to try putting a stop to like gay marriage.

One of my ambitions is to get all holy books from schools. They are filthy, brainwashing, homophobic and sexist pieces of garbage that should be eradicated; they should be especially removed from schools considering how impressionable children are.

[ajmrowland]

everybody be equals or die horrendously!

[Scarred4life]

Abolish Religion!

[jazzflower92]

Abolish Religion!

I'm a Christian and I would have a big problem with that and besides the Soviet Union tried to do that and it ended not so pretty.

I also think that really carries ugly implications because of the fact that there are many places in the world that has banned Christianity and has Chirstians persecuted.So,I kinda of take offense to that.

[Chernabog_Rocks]

To jump on the religion topic.

I wouldn't abolish it since I think everyone has a right to their own religious beliefs. However. I would make it a rule that religion stays at home or in the church/holy places/places of worship and keep it out of politics and schools. Some people might cry foul at the school bit, but there are lots of schools for Christianity so I don't see that as an issue. Go to those schools instead.

I would also make sure that churches (regardless of religion) don't lash out like the Westboro's do. That would get stamped out quickly.

[jazzflower92]

To jump on the religion topic.

I wouldn't abolish it since I think everyone has a right to their own religious beliefs. However. I would make it a rule that religion stays at home or in the church/holy places/places of worship and keep it out of politics and schools. Some people might cry foul at the school bit, but there are lots of schools for Christianity so I don't see that as an issue. Go to those schools instead.

I would also make sure that churches (regardless of religion) don't lash out like the Westboro's do. That would get stamped out quickly.

You wouldn't forbid relgious people from getting into politics would you because of the fact that if you look up on the internet a lot of religious people are also political activists.For a lot of things beside anti-abortion and against gay marriage things.So,I think when it comes to poltics it would be a mixed bag I think.Mainly because there is a seperation of church and state but that doesn't mean a person's faith can't influecne thier decisions if it is with good reason and good understanding of scripture.

[Lazario]

Abolish Religion!

I'm a Christian and I would have a big problem with that and besides the Soviet Union tried to do that and it ended not so pretty.

I also think that really carries ugly implications because of the fact that there are many places in the world that has banned Christianity and has Chirstians persecuted.So,I kinda of take offense to that.

Well, hey, tell your people to stop persecuting gays, women, and people of every other religion and we'll all celebrate by holding hands and singing... yep, you guessed it:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6EhQmzLt-OQ" frameborder="0"></iframe>

You wouldn't forbid relgious people from getting into politics would you because of the fact that if you look up on the internet a lot of religious people are also political activists.For a lot of things beside anti-abortion and against gay marriage things.So,I think when it comes to poltics it would be a mixed bag I think.Mainly because there is a seperation of church and state but that doesn't mean a person's faith can't influecne thier decisions if it is with good reason and good understanding of scripture.

Politics will never be free of religious influence but they damn well should be. Screw understanding scripture. People choose to read scripture and then decide that women are inferior to men and gays are perverts and sinners just be being alive. Etc. It doesn't matter what or who gets the blame, the fact is religious people can't be trusted. And everyone saying we should abolish religion are of the noblest intentions. Will that solve all our problems? No. But for once, I think we should look at this issue from a point of view free from this kind of "oh, but Christians are the best. Really they are." Yeah... I'm not buying it.

[milojthatch]

How odd, I was thinking of this very subject the other day. At first I had a large laundry list of things I'd do to "make the World a better place" (warning, some of it conflicts with other's laundry lists posted here already).

Then I realized, forcing people to do what I see as the right thing (or actually is the right thing) is itself wrong. As I believe I have mentioned on this board in the past, I'm LDS (Mormon) and one of the doctrines we believe in is agency. To takeaway someone's else's choice is to take away the point of being on Earth in the first place. We are here I believe, to be tested and tried. It is easy to do the right thing when you are being forced to do it, much harder when you have a choice in the matter. When you are able to do the right thing 100% on your own, it shows a strength of character no man could even develop if he was forced to do the same action(s). People need to abolish pride on their own and learn to work together on their own. We'll all be better for it, which, in a nut shell, may be if not the biggest, one of the biggest reasons why God stays out of human affairs, for now.

However, for fun, I might get rid of "JJ-Trek" and this "Spider-Man" re-boot and get the original "Star Trek" and "Spider-Man" series back on.

You wouldn't forbid relgious people from getting into politics would you because of the fact that if you look up on the internet a lot of religious people are also political activists.For a lot of things beside anti-abortion and against gay marriage things.So,I think when it comes to poltics it would be a mixed bag I think.Mainly because there is a seperation of church and state but that doesn't mean a person's faith can't influecne thier decisions if it is with good reason and good understanding of scripture.

Amen. My religious views influences my World views at all levels at all times.

[Lazario]

Well, this discussion has certainly taken a fascinating turn. Kind of like:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ksLpCRRAndw" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Milo- you are the last person who should be preaching about choice / freedom. You have spouted enough anti-gay propaganda to last us into the next decade. As usual, it's more like: freedom for the superior (the white and straight) and screw everyone else. Unless you expect us to believe you've recently turned over a new leaf and have learned to practice what you preach. For once.