3 Ways to Help Humanity Reach Its Potential in 2010 - The Easy Fix for Mankind

As another decade ends and a new one approaches, we are drawn to consider the reaches of human potential. We are a decent species. Some might even say we are a great species. I think we have some improving to do before we make to the "next level" and join elephants and whales as really nifty creatures.
How can we improve? What do we need to change before we make it to the big tent?
Here are a few ideas.

Stampedes. We need to cut this out. No more stampedes.

People should not die as carpet. I don't want to make light of the deaths of a great many people under the feet of their fellow man. In fact, I feel miserable when considering the unnecessary deaths that happen every year as the result of people-on-people stampedes.

Hold it!. Don't panic people. You heard the teacher say "walk calmly to the exits" during fire drills as many times as I did. Don't panic.

If you are going to walk through a narrow corridor with a thousand people ahead of you and a thousand people behind you, you need to understand that it is not ok to yell fire. Ok?

And if you run with the bulls in Pamplona, it's one thing for the bulls to step on someone and it's another thing entirely for you to do the trampling.
End Stampedes.

Littering. Stop littering everyone. This means you, unless you already throw out your trash in a garbage can, then it doesn't mean you.

Seriously, we need to stop just tossing our waste into the street. Most of us are familiar with the concept of wind. Apparently, some of us do not stop to consider that wind takes waste and moves it. Have you heard about the huge islands of plastic bags in the middle of the ocean? They are real. Real islands made up of plastic bags and cigarette sulophanes and Del Taco wax paper...

What a shame to think about the Brave New World being set on a man-made junk heap, a pill-popping society blissfully oblivious to the fact that nothing can grow from these flotillas of plastic detritus. In fact, these grocery-bag islands kill. That is all they can do. They kill fish. They damage the natural food chain, the natural order.

And all this because some people think it is ok to throw garbage out the window of the car. It is not ok to throw garbage out the window of your car. There, it's been said.
End littering.

Help each other. Let's end on a positive note, but begin this positive with a helpful final dose of negative.

It seems that in order for humans to help other humans they first have to stop thinking that they are "too busy" to do anything (besides what they are currently doing).

Let's all try to slow down. Slow down and realize that in a real way the world is going to be as nice as we make it. We are only as busy as we tell ourselves. There is time and there is opportunity to lend a helping hand.
With small gestures of kindness we can help to shape our species. With small gestures of kindness we can join the elephants and the whales and become really top-notch animals.