I grew up with a very negative worldview. The world is getting increasingly worse, crime is on the rise, totalitarianism is around the corner, et cetera, et cetera.
I am not angry with my parents. They did the best they could. I do get annoyed at the doomsayers who make a lot of money saying doomy things. The Chicken Little’s of the world make a lot of money selling their negative books.
The worldview I grew up with was based on a strange interpretation of the book of Revelation in the Bible. Unfortunately, it is still common today. This is the worldview behind the “Left Behind” series.
This worldview shaped many of my decisions. It shouldn’t have, but it did. All of my life, I wanted to be a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. I dropped the dream, in part, because my negative worldview left no place for long-term planning and goals.
Long-term planning? To quote one of the doomsayers, “Why polish the brass on a sinking ship?”
These days, I have a very different view of the future. I believe that the gospel of Christ will continue to spread at the rapid rate it is currently spreading. You can read more about that here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Next-Christendom-Christianity-Trilogy/dp/0199767467
I also believe the future is bright. Bright enough to justify shades.
These days, this is one of my favorite subscriptions. Take the time to read an email I just received from Peter. And, please… Prepare your kids for an abundant future. Ditch the negativity.
Dwane,
Last week, I shared two key datasets showing that global violence is going down.
This week, I’ve got even more proof for you.
This is one of the most important areas you can share with your friends and family, especially if they have a negative mindset.
Nothing gets us down more than watching violence on television or reading about war and brutality in the newspaper. The truth is, there’s a massive reduction in the amount of violence around the world.
The following graph comes from data in the FBI National Crime Victimization Survey. It depicts the rapes reported in the Bureau of Justice Victimization between 1970 and 2010.
On this curve, and in the next curve, you’ll see the impact of the World Wide Web on violence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCsQAoY6H1I
You might hear people decry the loss of privacy in today’s world, but radical transparency is dramatically reducing violence everywhere. Most violent things happen in the dark when no one’s watching, whether it’s an oppressive dictator or someone causing violence in the inner city.
As sensors and networks continue to expand around the world, we’ll see violence drop even further. After all, when there’s a danger that your actions can be caught on tape and shown around the world, you’re more responsible for your behavior.
Here’s another one that shows the impact of transparency. This is trends by armed conflict and the impact on the World Wide Web. We do see an increase in violence here from the 1960s to the 1990s. Watch what happened in 1993 when the Web started reporting this violence, though.
This last graph is the rate of non-fatal firearm crime between 1993 and 2011. Again, watch what happens as the World Wide Web gains popularity: gun violence plummets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCsQAoY6H1I
The Web and level of transparency has an extraordinary effect on what people do or don’t do in public.
I hope you share this with your friends and family. Because regardless of what the news media will tell you, we are living in a world that is more peaceful and more abundant than ever before.
Click here for a video version of this blog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCsQAoY6H1I
P.S. Please send your friends and family to AbundanceHub.com to sign up for these blogs — this is all about surrounding yourself with abundance-minded thinkers. And if you want my personal coaching on these topics, consider joining my Abundance 360 membership program for entrepreneurs.
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If you are learning Latin, I have written a book with all of my best tips and strategies. It’s available as a free download here: https://dwanethomas.com/via/
If you are interested in learning Latin, you can go through the classes on my site 24/7. I recommend the book Lingua Latina by Hans Ørberg. If you tackle the book and find yourself bogged down, you may find the classes on my site helpful. To join, just click here: https://dwanethomas.com/join/
If you want a more professionally filmed experience, check out the best-selling DVD series: Visual Latin.
Or, if you want to skip Latin, and just jump right into learning English words from Latin and Greek roots, you may enjoy the series Word up! Warning. Word up! is a bit wacky. You will learn a lot… but, you may find yourself rolling your eyes, too.
By the way, some of the links in this post are affiliate links. Not trying to pull a fast one on you. I only promote what I believe in.
