Going on a cruise

What if earth were a ship on which we sail? What if each country had a certain portion of the ship to look after? One gets upper deck, the other engine room, another the cabins, and others the lifeboats, hull and so on. I’m sure our main interest would be in running the ship than in just looking after our little area. Also greater respect for one another as we would realize our dependence on each other for the greater common good: Keeping ship afloat!
As such thoughts went through my mind I heard Jim Mathis and his experience on a cruise ship:
“What impressed me most was the crew!” 
says Jim.
“There were 755 crew members from 51 different countries on board. Needless to say, they came in all shapes and colors from many different backgrounds. The one thing they had in common, however, was a servant’s heart! Along with that came a strong work ethic and a desire to please, not only the passengers, but also each other.”
“I made an effort to get to know some of the crew members and learn a little about each of them. Some of them were taking time off from college or had just come right out of school; others were seasoned professionals, and I’m sure there were individuals there that just needed the money. But they all honestly seemed to have great respect for one another and worked hard to make the cruise a wonderful experience for everyone involved.”
“One of the crew members commented that the multinational, multicultural crew was similar to the United Nations – except that aboard the ship, the people actually liked each other!”
“My observation is that at the UN the purpose is for the ambassador to defend his or her country’s honur and vested interests at all cost. On board ship, however, the purpose is to work together in a spirit of mutual cooperation to get the job done.”
“This makes a huge difference.”
“During the cruise, I half jokingly suggested that we should fire everyone at the United Nations and assign the job to the crew of a cruise ship! I honestly believe that with people like these, focused on the common good rather than their own independent interests, viable solutions could be found to most of the world’s problems within a few days!”
But how do we run our ship called earth?
“Hey!” shouts the chief in charge of the upper deck, “We need to do some cleaning! Steal some oil from the engine room! Those guys there have too much oil!”
“But sir the engines need oil and our ship won’t be able to withstand the wind and the waves if we stall!”
“Who cares! Steal the oil!”
And with communal sword and selfishness we destroy engine room, smash rudder, shatter the hull, make holes in the bottom and then stare with horror as the cruise ship called Earth slowly starts to sink!
[email protected]   

Going on a cruise

What if earth were a ship on which we sail? What if each country had a certain portion of the ship to look after? One gets upper deck, the other engine room, another the cabins, and others the lifeboats, hull and so on. Im sure our main interest would be in running the ship than in just looking after our little area. Also greater respect for one another as we would realize our dependence on each other for the greater common good: Keeping ship afloat! As such thoughts went through my mind I heard Jim Mathis and his experience on a cruise ship: What impressed me most was the crew! says Jim. There were 755 crew members from 51 different countries on board. Needless to say, they came in all shapes and colors from many different backgrounds. The one thing they had in common, however, was a servants heart! Along with that came a strong work ethic and a desire to please, not only the passengers, but also each other. I made an effort to get to know some of the crew members and learn a little about each of them. Some of them were taking time off from college or had just come right out of school; others were seasoned professionals, and Im sure there were individuals there that just needed the money. But they all honestly seemed to have great respect for one another and worked hard to make the cruise a wonderful experience for everyone involved. One of the crew members commented that the multinational, multicultural crew was similar to the United Nations except that aboard the ship, the people actually liked each other! My observation is that at the UN the purpose is for the ambassador to defend his or her countrys honur and vested interests at all cost. On board ship, however, the purpose is to work together in a spirit of mutual cooperation to get the job done. This makes a huge difference. During the cruise, I half jokingly suggested that we should fire everyone at the United Nations and assign the job to the crew of a cruise ship! I honestly believe that with people like these, focused on the common good rather than their own independent interests, viable solutions could be found to most of the worlds problems within a few days! But how do we run our ship called earth? Hey! shouts the chief in charge of the upper deck, We need to do some cleaning! Steal some oil from the engine room! Those guys there have too much oil! But sir the engines need oil and our ship wont be able to withstand the wind and the waves if we stall! Who cares! Steal the oil! And with communal sword and selfishness we destroy engine room, smash rudder, shatter the hull, make holes in the bottom and then stare with horror as the cruise ship called Earth slowly starts to sink! [email protected]