The document provides an overview of what it means to think globally through examining songs, images, and quotes. It discusses John Mayer's song "Waiting on the World to Change" and how the song promotes thinking about problems in the world and taking personal responsibility to address issues of inequality and oppression. It also presents images showing how global thinking can help find solutions to issues like lack of clean water, poverty, and human rights violations. Quotes from figures like Greta Thunberg and Oliver Wendell Holmes emphasize thinking beyond one's own experience and acting with urgency on global crises like climate change.

1. Global
Thinking
Stewart Chipman
"globe" by hownowdesign is
licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

2. What Does It Mean toThink Globally?
Global thinking means getting outside of your own
experience and going beyond your cultural borders. It
means learning to value the world through diverse
cultures, languages, and views, even those that
contradict your own. It means finding your higher
purpose, helping to make the world better and more
sustainable for all, and inspiring others to do the same.

3. One SongThat Represents My Definition
“Waiting on theWorld to Change”
by John Mayer
In Mayer’s official video, street artists
listen to his song, draw interconnected
globes and word art that says,
“Exploitation.Think.Wake Up.”The
video visually shows how John Mayer
wants people listening to his song to
stop waiting, wake up, understand the
corruption, and save the world.
Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7667794/

4. One SongThat Represents My Definition:
“Waiting on theWorld to Change”
Part 1
“Me and all my friends
We're all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing and
There's no way we ever could
Now we see everything that's going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don't have the means
To rise above and beat it”
Part 2
“And when you trust your television
What you get is what you got
'Cause when they own the information, oh
They can bend it all they want.”
Part 3
“It's not that we don't care
We just know that the fight ain't fair…
One day our generation
Is gonna rule the population”
Part 1
The song’s opening talks about how young people are thinking about the world and the problems in it, including current
world leaders. Young people want to be responsible, but they feel like the problems are too overwhelming for them to tackle.
John Mayer says that is why many young people are thinking about the world’s problems, but they appear to “stand for
nothing.” Instead, Mayer says young people see the problems, have a desire to fix them, but they are also “waiting on the
world to change.”
Part 2
In this part of the song, Mayer is saying global thinking means going beyond what you see on the news. The news distorts
what is going on in the world. You need to take personal responsibility to find out what is going on rather than “trust your
television.”
Part 3
Towards the end of his song, Mayer says that young people are not indifferent. Instead, they recognize the inequalities
around the world. This could include oppression, torture, starvation, genocide, harassment, environmental issues, and more.
Also, Mayer realizes young people will inherit the world’s problems. His generation needs to be prepared to “rule” whether
they feel prepared or not. While his generation is thinking globally, they need to do more to be prepared to act.

5. Three Images ofWhat It Means toThink
Globally
Clean water means
a healthy planet and
humans. A third of
the earth’s
population does not
have access to clean
drinking water.
"Accessing safe and clean water" by World Bank Photo Collection is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

6. Three Images ofWhat It Means toThink
Globally
Global thinking can
help find solutions
to poverty and the
destruction of our
planet.
"Garbage Family 4" by sheilaz413 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

7. Three Images ofWhat It Means toThink
Globally
Artist JR has the world’s
largest sustained art
project. He invites regular
people around the world
create photo art with him.
Then, the art is installed in
public spaces to get
people thinking and acting
on important issues like
conflict, prejudice, and
human rights violations.
https://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/book_report/street-artist-jr-
describes-his-7-most-politically-powerful-works-55328

8. Four QuotesThat Represent What it Means to
Think Globally
“I want you to feel
the fear I feel every
day. And then I want
you to act. I want you
to act as you would in
a crisis. I want you to
act as if the
house is on fire.
Because it is.”
Greta Thunberg, World
Economic Forum, 2019
“The sun
does not
forget a
village just
because it is
small.”
African Proverb
“Travel is
fatal to
prejudice.”
Mark Twain
“A mind that is
stretched by
new experience can
never go back
to its old
dimensions.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes

9. Summary of Current Events by Region/Country
 Spain – Spain is suffering from a devastating drought and heat wave harming agriculture and the water supply.
Caused by climate change, July 2022 was the hottest on record since 1961. Parts of the Iberian peninsula are the
driest in 1,200 years.
o https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-08-10/hitting-rock-bottom-drought-heat-drain-spanish-reservoirs
 South America – Columbia just elected its first leftist leader, Gustavo Petro, a former guerilla fighter. Petro’s election
has people worried about the country’s democracy. Columbia has suffered from unrest due to political problems,
social issues, crime, debt, and unemployment like other countries in South America.
o https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/08/11/greatest-risk-facing-colombia-and-its-new-leftist-president-pub-87663
 Africa – In the last several years, Africa has suffered from at least 15 ongoing warring conflicts including five in
Ethiopia, Cameroon, Nigeria, Congo, and Mozambique. One of the most concerning conflicts is in Ethiopia where
the ruling party continues to attack the Tygerian region and people who have been massacred and displaced. The
conflict started because the Tygerian administration did not follow the government’s rules about elections during
Covid, and the government thought the area was trying to secede from the country. About 350,000 people do not
have enough food to eat.
o https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/5-conflict-hotspots-in-africa-and-how-their-economies-have-been-affected/6gft3bg

10. Summary of Current Events by
Region/Country
 The Middle East – Instability continues to be the biggest issue facing the Middle East. While terrorism (ISIS) continues to be a
concern, Iran’s funding of terrorists, weapons programs (nuclear warheads), smuggling, and human rights violations are the
biggest issues according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
o https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/2990349/dod-continues-mission-to-stabilize-the-middle-east/ and https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/08/iran-un-experts-alarmed-escalating-
religious-persecution
 Russia – In February 2022, the Russian president invaded the democratic country of Ukraine, and this is now Europe’s biggest
“armed conflict” since the second world war. While the Ukraine’s cities have been destroyed and citizens have been killed, the
the country has democratic allies that have put economic sanctions in place. The Ukraine continues to resist.
o https://www.rand.org/latest/russia-ukraine.html
 Japan – Japan is a country known for gun control and lack of violent crime. However, in July 2022, the country’s former prime
minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated in broad daylight while he was giving a speech.
o https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/08/asia/japan-shinzo-abe-dies-shooting-intl-hnk/index.html
 England – After a series of scandals, the country’s prime minster Boris Johnson resigned under pressure in July 2022. The
allegations ranged from bending Parliament rules to having a party during Covid to using government money to pay for
personal stuff. An election for a new prime minister is happening soon.
o https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks-johnson-digs-ministers-desert-government-2022-07-07/ and https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/06/uk/boris-johnson-scandals-intl/index.html
▪

11. Source: PowerPoint photos