This post has a good chance of being misunderstood, so I’ll to my best to be clear without being pedantic. First, it’s not about how to raise children nor is it about my friend Sebastian in particular. He just said something openly, honestly, and publicly in that context that illustrates a common legitimizing myth of our time.
If I’ve learned anything, I’ve learned not to give advice to parents about how to raise their kids. This post is not about one person or how he raises his kids. It’s about liberty, freedom, equality, democracy, and security, since they are what we lose when we violate the Constitution, which polluting and depleting do.
I recommend Sebastian’s books, movie, and Substack (the link is to his post with the video below). Also his episode on my podcast.
In the video you’ll see that he wants to raise his daughters for a year to be “citizens of the world.”
I love the idea of raising kids to be citizens of the world. I also love the idea of not violating others’ rights that our Constitution is written to protect. Actually even more so than individual rights, I want the Constitution to protect our society from devolving into tyranny, civil war, invasion, and civic breakdown. If he plans on sailing overseas and back, I support going overseas. If he plans to go by a vehicle that burns fossil fuels, like a plane or freight ship, I don’t see how he can do it without undermining protection from tyranny, civil war, invasion, and civic breakdown.
Again, I’m using him as an example but I’m talking about all of us. Freedom is only possible if we can’t impinge on others’ freedom.
“But I want to see my mom when she’s sick on the opposite coast!” “But I want to experience other cultures and create mutually beneficial exchange!” “But I want my kids to be citizens of the world!”
You Can Realize Your Goals Without Hurting Others or Risking National Security
I’m focusing on flying overseas because of Sebastian’s video, but when you dig into anything that you want, you can achieve the value of it more, at less cost, without gatekeepers, without hurting others, and without risking national security. I’ll give some examples of people who were citizens of the world.
George Washington briefly visited Barbados in his teens, by sailboat. Otherwise he never left the colonies, then United States, and some territory a bit west of those colonies. I contend that he qualifies as a citizen of the world who understood humanity.
Abraham Lincoln visited Niagara Falls and briefly entered Canada. Otherwise he never left the United States and its territories. I contend that he qualifies as a citizen of the world who understood humanity.
Samuel Adams was a target of the redcoats when they fired the shots at Lexington and Concord. He was on his way to the Second Continental Congress. At age 35, it was his first time leaving the area of Boston. I contend that he qualifies as a citizen of the world who understood humanity.
Meanwhile, there are five-year-olds today who have flown around the world five times. I contend that we have homogenized the world enough that flying and living overseas is not only no guarantee of learning about humanity or how to improve our situation, and will more likely decrease that learning and distract from improving our situation or even learning how.
The Original “Citizen of the World”
Diogenes, Socrates, and a couple others have been cited as the person who started the phrase “I am a citizen of the world.” Whoever started it, started it thousands of years ago, before planes and steamships. That person would likely only have visited a few places around the Mediterranean. I contend that that person qualifies as a citizen of the world who understood humanity.
How to Become a Citizen of the World
If you want to become a citizen of the world, instead of flying elsewhere, stay where you are, meet people you disagree with, listen to them, and practice saying their beliefs to them until they say that you know them as well as they know themselves. To clarify: not until you feel you understand them but until they feel understood.
My book, Leadership Step by Step, teaches how to do it. You don’t need it since the last paragraph describes it, but I recommend it. It’s a lot cheaper than a flight and doesn’t bring on tyranny, civil war, invasion, or civic breakdown. It creates freedom.
To clarify: to understand and state so well that they feel understood doesn’t mean to agree or support. You can understand people you disagree with. That’s the route to being a citizen of the world. Similar routes exist for all other things you want in life that don’t violate protections from tyranny, war, invasion, or civic breakdown.