Supreme Ruler of Earth?What would you do?

[Will]

Alright, off benadryl now.

I think the main ideas behind change would be ending war and poverty, and providing direction for the species.

To the first end, I'd destroy all nuclear weapons, as I said above. There is no reason to have nuclear weapons at all. I'd also likely fire all soldiers and have job training in place so that they could find decent work. I'd provide a very comprehensive organization of psychologists who can help deprogram the propaganda and brainwashing soldiers get (killing is okay, patriotism matters, etc.). Not only that, but I'd stop worldwide production on ammunition. All of it. The most dangerous weapon on the planet should be antique swords. When one removes the tools of war, mass killing becomes impossible.

So far as starvation and poverty, this is simple: end competition. This probably sounds crazy, but the reality is that free market systems mean that there is competition and in competition there are winners and losers. The losers starve to death, and I won't have that. I will have incentives for contribution, but they will never come at the cost of someone suffering or wanting basic necessities of life. I'd also like to regulate food production on an international level. Too often short sightedness and being secretive means massive mistakes. In the real world, we may see all banana production stop because we bred a species that was less likely to fight off infection and pests because it could be shipped more easily. Not only that, but Monsanto food was breeding genetically modified crops (soy, I believe) in Canada a few years ago, and the pollen managed to spread to many other farms and most of the soy we now eat (from North America) has untested genetic modifications. This kind of thing can't happen, which means global regulations and oversight.

Humanity lacks direction. What I'd like to do is have an international dialogue with people who might have ideas about where we can go next and what we can do next. Clearly this starts with better education (which teaches about religion, but doesn't teach religion). It also means media that promotes thought instead of stifling it. News and educational media would get a check from government to pay their bills and not from advertising, which would under my administration end corporate biases and rating-centric programming. Personally, I'd like to see several directions:
1) We need to become masters of genetics. We may have a map of the human genome, but that's really just opening the door to the world of genetics. Imagine curing every genetic disease and ensuring that no one is ever afflicted with Down Syndrome or Cystic fibrosis again. Not only that, but imagine removing genetic predispositions to alcoholism or homicide. We could even create other sentient species.
2) Space exploration is something I feel very strongly about. We've been to the moon and we have a remote controlled car on Mars. Not good enough. I'd like to have several space elevators constructed which can resupply space-faring vessels. It's time for real interplanetary exploration. My goal would be to have a man or woman on Europa by 2060, and have vessels as far as Pluto by 2150. I'd even like to start to terraform Mars (if we concluded there was no life there).

[Asmodean]

The most dangerous weapon on the planet should be antique swords. When one removes the tools of war, mass killing becomes impossible.

Needs the pneumatic guns for slaughtering cattle, or are we doing it with the antique swords?

[Tom62]

So far as starvation and poverty, this is simple: end competition. This probably sounds crazy, but the reality is that free market systems mean that there is competition and in competition there are winners and losers. The losers starve to death, and I won't have that. I will have incentives for contribution, but they will never come at the cost of someone suffering or wanting basic necessities of life. I'd also like to regulate food production on an international level. Too often short sightedness and being secretive means massive mistakes. In the real world, we may see all banana production stop because we bred a species that was less likely to fight off infection and pests because it could be shipped more easily. Not only that, but Monsanto food was breeding genetically modified crops (soy, I believe) in Canada a few years ago, and the pollen managed to spread to many other farms and most of the soy we now eat (from North America) has untested genetic modifications. This kind of thing can't happen, which means global regulations and oversight.

A free market means for me that anyone should be able to participate in it and profit from it. The idea behind it is not so bad as long as people can really participate in it in a fair way, which is unfortunately not the case today. What is happening now is that the market of essential products are getting in the hands of a small group of companies. What you then get is exactly  what you've described. I'm in favor of a regulated free market system, were the well-being of all people is of the top of the list and were anyone that participates in it (from the factory worker in Indonesia to the people who sell the product) get's their fair share.

[leftyguitarjoe]

3. Rid the world of ALL drugs.

You are refering to illegal narcotics, right? Because I, for one, don't want a world without pain killers  

[LARA]

1. Complete multilateral nuclear disarmament.

2. Install a panel of linguists to create a universal language that pulls the simplest and most logical terms from each language and derives characters from each of the worlds languages, both living and dead, as well as remove any logical inconsistencies such as 'c' sounding like 's' or 'k'.  Additionally it would eliminate homonyms and homophones because puns and my tendency to unintentionally create them completely annoys the shit out of me.

3. Fast track a solar hydrogen energy economy plan after a feasibility study involving the most effective use of after burner or other technology for the recapture of hydrogen gas that may be lost during the electrolytic process or sometime thereafter.

[Asmodean]

but..... uh....


a little weed never hut anybody

If you produce weed for your own consumption and only use it yourself, that's ok enough in my book, but if you buy it from dealers or even get it from a friend with a garden, then you are supporting illegal narcotics manufacturing and distribution and that is not ok by me.

[Will]

Needs the pneumatic guns for slaughtering cattle, or are we doing it with the antique swords?

Pneumatic guns are infamous for missing and causing the animal to suffer for minutes as it bleeds to death. I can't support inhumane methods of slaughtering animals, so I'd suggest that the best way to slaughter animals is likely hypoxia as it's not painful and the animal passes into unconsciousness painlessly before suffocating.

A free market means for me that anyone should be able to participate in it and profit from it. The idea behind it is not so bad as long as people can really participate in it in a fair way, which is unfortunately not the case today. What is happening now is that the market of essential products are getting in the hands of a small group of companies. What you then get is exactly what you've described. I'm in favor of a regulated free market system, were the well-being of all people is of the top of the list and were anyone that participates in it (from the factory worker in Indonesia to the people who sell the product) get's their fair share.

Free market ends in one of three places: heavy governmental intervention, monopolies, or revolution. They're great in the short term, but generally aren't sustainable without interference. The most important problem, though, is what happens to those who don't have the means to pursue a decent living. In order for there to be great wealth like there is in the US, there must be poverty elsewhere. Look no further than the wages of China, Central America, and where we get a lot of our goods, and you'll see the true price of economic stability and prosperity.

If I were left in charge of the human race, I couldn't sleep knowing people were starving and dying while those they served (by extension) were living lavishly. I believe too strongly in equality to allow real market freedom.

[quizlixx]

3. Rid the world of ALL drugs.

You are refering to illegal narcotics, right? Because I, for one, don't want a world without pain killers  

HA  

[quizlixx]

i don't like this "rid the world of religion" business. you shouldn't force people to go without religion, educate them on the shortcomings and lies of it. the romans tried to force it out, see how that worked.

[shedaytrips]

3. Rid the world of ALL drugs.

You are refering to illegal narcotics, right? Because I, for one, don't want a world without pain killers  

Ah, but that's not true.Weed does kill brain cells. Even in moderation.

yes I would destroy all illegal drugs and place stricter rules for prescribing legal narcotics.

[afreethinker30]

but..... uh....

a little weed never hut anybody

Ah, but that's not true.Weed does kill brain cells. Even in moderation.

yes I would destroy all illegal drugs and place stricter rules for prescribing legal narcotics.

But for those with terminal illness it should be made an option.It's a great help for those with cancer especially for people taking chemo.Even with the new medications to help with stomach problems they still aren't that great.For alot of people with cancer marijuana helps with sleeplessness,hunger,upset stomach and depression.

As for ridding the world of religion..I think it would be better done in stages.To many people kill each other over religion.And it seperates people.

I wonder what would be good to do with those people in groups like the KKK??

[Faithless]

This is fun.  Some great ideas.

1.  Take ID out of the classroom.
2.  Completely separate church from state.
3.  Make anyone wishing to have children take and PASS an approved child rearing course.  (There are too many idiots out there who should never be allowed to reproduce.)
4.  Open up stem cell research.
5.  Legalize marijuana.
6.  Put real science back in the classroom.  And real science teachers, not the gym teacher filling an extra hour.

[LARA]

Oh I forgot one.

4. Create a frozen repository of all the worlds species gametes, or the species themselves when practical, for future study and possible reinstatement in case of extinction as well as a complete digital catalogue of the DNA sequences of all said species, complete as possible, compressed mathematically with tidy algorithms so that it could fit on a handy compact storage device.