How Would You Like the World To Be?

Many years ago (never mind how many!), I was sitting in a university lecture hall with a friend or two as well as numerous strangers, waiting for the professor to begin our first lecture on philosophy. We were breathless with excitement! Finally, at about age 18, we were far enough along to be taught the Wisdom Of the Ages!
(Well, you know it doesn't quite work that way. I'm not sure what you learn in Introduction to Philosophy. Maybe not much.)
The professor (David Hull) walked out onto the little stage. He was astonishingly short, but kind of cute! The fingers of his left hand fidgeted nervously as he sent his opening words into the silence of the waiting hall:
"How would you like the world to be?"
Then he paused for one dramatic second, turned to a different section of the steaming adolescent student audience, and repeated this:
"How would you like the world to be?"
I was pleased and excited by this introduction, and hoped that Dr. Hull was going to teach us how to make the world the way we want it to be! (Of course, I was only 18 years old.)
Then, during the rest of the semester, I noticed off and on that nothing he said and nothing in our reading seemed to address this question at all. In fact, I have used this story as an anecdote (albeit a pointless one) -- how he asked us the question and then never addressed it. Ha, ha.
Now finally I have come to a time in my life when this HWYLTWTB makes more sense to me. Most people never even think about how they would like the world to be (more on that coming), but I think about it all the time!
Oh, yeah, we have "I'd like to teach the world to sing in pur-fect har-mo-nee, I'd like to pour the world a Coke...."
We have people who wish the world didn't require most of us (or at least oneself) to work for a living. We have people who wish there were rap music in every room, every vehicle, and in the outdoors too (and try to make this happen). We have people who wish everyone were a Muslim. We have people who wish everyone smoked marijuana every day.
But this is my blog, and mainly it's going to be about How I Want The World To Be!
Watch this space.
--Zelora