Progress.

I have a niece, named Amy, who is eight years old. When she was born, I was not much older than she is now. At ten, I had little perspective on life outside of my family group. I had no use for e-mail, or a cell phone, and the communication outlets available to me were limited. The last time I visited with my niece, she informed me of the benefits of owning an iPad to utilize as a social medium and to better stay connected (specifically, with her.)
In the eight years that have lapsed between my childhood and hers, our species has seen a tremendous increase in communications and pro-social capabilities in each new generation, exceeding those of the previous. This is based on a simple evolutionary paradigm, that the learned abilities of the former generation are instilled in the latter in increasingly earlier phases of development. My niece, for example, possesses outstanding spoken and non-verbal communications skills that few people in my generation had attained by her age.
Said plainly, the children are becoming smarter. With each technological, scientific, philosophical, and interpersonal advancement in human consciousness that is learned by adults, there is a generation of children born into the inheritance of that knowledge as a priori information - "common knowledge," if you will. This is exciting because the expansion of common, or "shared" consciousness increases exponentially as each generation of intelligence ushers forward even greater intellectual discovery in the next.
I, personally, find it exciting to think of the capability modern humans have to shape the future of our lives and the lives of others, with whom we share this planet. Human rights movements everywhere are beginning to change our individual perceptions on, well, the individual. What makes "you" a separate entity from the rest of society, and, based on that trait, to what rights are you entitled to secure your ability to demonstrate your humanity? These questions open discussion on other controversial topics such as an animal's rights.
We are making important and vast changes in our global consciousness, simply by making changes in each of our personal consciousnesses. Every day I am reminded of the vast potential that modern humanity has to change our perspective on the human experience, and am greatly excited to see the advances brought about by people with similar goals as myself, who want the human race to reach our potential - together.
What changes would you like to make to the planet? I mean, you live here, too. Right?


Harry