I stumbled across these incredible words on a beautiful poster on the back of a public bathroom door in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA.

It was the best visit to a public bathroom in my life!

You’ll understand why when you read the following words from the poster  (which you can purchase here.)

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“How to Build a Global Community”

 Think of no one as “them”

Don’t confuse your comfort with your safety

Talk to strangers

Imagine other cultures through their poetry and novels

Listen to music you don’t understand * Dance to it

Act locally

Notice the workings of power & privilege in your culture

Question consumption

Know how your lettuce and coffee are grown; wake up and smell the exploitation

Look for fair trade and union labels

Help build economies from the bottom up

Acquire few needs

Learn a second (or third) language

Visit people, place and cultures – not tourist attractions

Learn people’s history * Redefine progress

Know physical and political geography

Play games from other cultures * Watch films with subtitles

Know your heritage

Honor everyone’s holidays

Look at the moon and imagine someone else,

someone else, looking at it too

Read the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Understand the global economy in terms of people, land and water

Know where you bank banks

Never believe you have the right to anyone else’s resources

Refuse to wear corporate logos: defy corporate domination

Question military/corporate connections

Don’t confuse money with wealth, or time with money

Have a pen/email pal *Honor indigenous cultures

Judge governance by how well it meets all people’s needs

Be skeptical about what you read

Eat adventurously * Enjoy vegetables,

beans and grains in your diet

Choose curiosity over certainty

Know where your water comes from

and where your waste goes

Pledge allegiance to the earth: question nationalism

Think South, Central and North –

there are many Americans

Assume that many others share your dreams

Know that no one is slient though many are not heard

Work to change this

©2002 Text by Members SCW Community and Illustration by Melinda Levine