History and Future | Global Future

There's a sense that something is starting here in Nicaragua, a feeling that we're doing the right thing. People are becoming more aware of everything. But shouldn't this kind of thing be happening in other cities, other towns, other small communities, and shouldn't we who participate in this one, help these other places get organized? We have to share knowledge and experiences, without caring about who is receiving. And in so far as they want the same things we want, we should work collectively.

But we have to be humble enough to recognize that we don't have all the information or all of the means to cause positive changes in society. We must do it with others and learn from them along the way.

Humankind is a big family, and we have to think of the well being of all its members, so we can all live better.

Some of the most challenging problems need to also be addressed in the United States, and in each of the countries or regions we know. They have to be addressed at a local community level, at the state and regional level, and then at the international level. But the momentum should come from the base, and then we'll truly be able to say, 'think globally, act locally.' People, like nations, should respect each other's rights and decisions on development—only then will we be able to keep the peace.

-Saul Martinez Contreras