Word of the decade and to come

By Karl Cassell

At the close of this monumental decade; the first decade of the “new” millennium, many have composed various topical lists. The top 10 events of the decade, top 10 most influential people, top 10 songs and the top 10 power couples, just to name a few.

Many of these lists will be intriguing, but their significance will be soon forgotten as the decade blends into the next and old trends become new, then old again.

Though I am not the usual suspect one might consider contributing to these lists, I offer my perspective on the word of the decade.

“Global” became the word that most symbolizes this decade. It might also become the adjective that most shapes the world for decades to come. It crept into the English lexicon sometime during the last 20 years and now will forever shape the world in which we live.

The decade started with the Y2K scare for computing systems across the globe. Then, there was Sept. 11 and the global war on terror; next, the convergence of the world markets, which has led to a global economic crisis; and finally, we finished the decade focused on global climate change.

You don't have to be a genius to conclude that all this means there must be a global approach to dealing with these issues.

We must have global leaders coming to global consensus, with global governance to hold each one accountable. Will these leaders be elected, and if so, will they be responsible to their national electorate or global patrons?

The biggest question of all: Will these individuals have the authority to police and enforce global law?

I ask these questions to put in context the magnitude of this global focus and most importantly, what we should pay close attention to as we approach a new decade.

If you will challenge yourself to read local, national and international news articles during the coming year, paying close attention to the call for “global cooperation” in the areas of finance, politics and the growing climate change issue, you might be surprised at how systematically these have begun to govern our lives.

It is inevitable that the next decade will sort out the “global” power structure among nations, but who and what nation(s) will provide leadership and what will this mean for us in our community is still unclear.

Technology, environment, politics, finance, government - let's examine each a little closer from a global perspective.

Stay tuned because the coming years will be historic.

Karl Cassell is executive director of the Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission.