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The most meaningful topic today for me is “The Future of Democracy”. In the US the news topics are just getting out of control. So many areas, regarding government, messy politics, big tech, media, liberals vs conservatives, voting fraud, freedom of expression, and speech...the list goes on and on. I often wonder will this soon pass or will this be a constant battle and is there anyone who can unite to put in place leaders with integrity.

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I fear that we're in for a long pitch battle. I often wonder about how the Romans felt in the 5th century. Did they see the end coming? To what extent was it a debate?

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Good points and good questions. There is always hope for a balanced outcome. I’m often inspired when seeing the Ukrainians persevere. How they stay strong together by their will to not give up. I saw the other day on the news, two ladies who had been dressed professionally for a day of work, pulling large debris from their office when arriving and discovered it was targeted by a missile. Very inspiring!!

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The Future of Work :)

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Of course!! 😉

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I wanted to add climate change but what I really want to say is finding a vision of life that is compatible with life that we are happy to live...

And avoiding some revolution in the meantime..

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We'll certainly need to do some adjusting in our lifetime... consumption habits, status symbol hunting, job satisfaction, life fulfilment.... all things that will be aided with greater self-knowledge and a sense of responsibility.

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I would like a conversation on : one of the least talked about subject is the sharp and continuing declining demography in the vast majority of the world except the poorest countries and religious segments.

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There are surely a host of big topics missing. Demographics (and perhaps a corollary, immigration) among them! Thanks for the input, Yendi.

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I believe it’s via strengthening international relations, that we can foster a better understanding and a fairer distribution of our resources and hope to solve or address all other issues.

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The "global" world does look frayed these days.

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Climate change pips them all for me, because without addressing it the others will all be null and void anyway. All 4 of the other subjects are actively torn apart without addressing climate crisis. Democracy, international relations, the economy, even freedom of speech - they're all gone if the world is falling apart.

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Indeed. Speaks to your longer-term vision of things, Simon.

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It's difficult to remain optimistic as a science fiction writer! That's something I really admire about Kim Stanley Robinson, who doesn't shy away from challenges but always finds a way to inject hope.

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