As a librarian and a father, I have both a professional and a parental interest in democracy and access to information. In addition to democracy, libraries and education are related to other concerns. For example, our physical and mental health is critical to our ability to learn and to process information fully. Suppose a worldwide referendum was held on a proposal for single-payer global health insurance. The insurance would be funded through a progressive tax on personal income. Coverage within this plan would include preventive health measures such as a wholesome diet, clean water, and so on. All citizens of planet Earth would be eligible to vote, and voting could be as simple as marking on a piece of paper beside the words For or Against, and then dropping the folded paper into a box with a slot in the lid. For purposes of authenticating the vote, webcams could be mounted at polling places to record people who were voting, and the counting and posting of the results at each polling place. It would cost about $9 million for the hard drive capacity to store the video record from a worldwide referendum. That's figuring 10 million polling places, 12 hours per polling place, 300 megabytes (MB) per hour of highly compressed digital video, and $250 per terabyte (TB) of storage. There would likely be a range of opinions on such a referendum. Some people might resent being taxed to pay for health care for other people, especially if the others lived in some remote location such as Rwanda, Honduras, or Cambodia. In their minds, a tax on personal income to pay for global health insurance might be unfair. Personally speaking, I would be in favor of it because of the basic belief in trying to treat other people the way I want to be treated myself. That doesn't mean treating everyone the same because each of us is unique and has different needs. It means trying to provide precisely the resource that is needed for each individual. My way of expressing that value might be a bit secular for some people. For Christians, there is the commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself." The word "commandment" is also meaningful to Muslims; the word "Muslim" means "one who submits to the will of Allah." While Muslims regard Jesus as a great prophet, there is no exact verse saying "love your neighbor as yourself" within the Quran. Still, one of the five pillars of Islam is charitable giving as a way to help the poor and to reduce economic inequality. From the Hindu perspective, there is a belief in reincarnation. People were born into the untouchable caste, according to this view, because of their actions in previous incarnations. That does not mean people of higher castes are supposed to mistreat untouchables. The chief concern of all people is right behavior, and treating others well, because the goal is to be reincarnated at an even higher level in the future, and eventually not have to return to the physical plane at all, and worship in the presence of Krishna forever. Of course, another reason to support universal health care through single-payer global health insurance is that this might be the best way, along with education, to promote birth control. Helping to slow and to stop the growth in the human population is in everyone's self-interest. In spite of popular support, single-payer national health insurance has never been adopted in the United States. The structure of power in the United States, plus divisions between national governments presents an even greater barrier to adopting single-payer health insurance on a global scale. A worldwide referendum might be the best means of making it happen. I know that sounds incredibly far-fetched right now, but think about it. With the exponential pace in the development and deployment of information and communication technologies, that which is impossible today may not only be possible, but become likely to happen in just a few more years. Empowering ourselves to conduct a worldwide referendum could be the next step in humanity's social evolution. If necessity is the mother of invention, considering the depth of our need, it is time for a birthing. vanguard, John Kintree 4043 Delor Street St. Louis, MO 63116 314-351-7454 http://home.swbell.net/jkintree/islt/ This message may be copied without restriction. Responses off listserves are welcome. JK