To my children and the children of the world:

When I was an adolescent, until I was about 30, I felt that you, my dear children, were always close to me. I felt you were beside me. Wherever I went, the pictures that I took were for you. I knew that I would show them to you one day. Later, when it turned out to be difficult to create a situation in which I could give birth to you, I got increasingly sad. When I was 45 and my biological clock forced me to give up trying to have you, I felt both devastated and liberated. I felt devastated at the fact that you, who were always so close to me, would never be born into in our world. I felt liberated, because it had turned increasingly painful to try to create a situation in which it would be possible to have you; the failed "project" of giving birth to my children had sapped off the best part of my energy for decades.

Today, when my peers send me pictures of their grandchildren, I am deeply sad that I will never have grandchildren. I am more than sad, I mourn and this mourning consumes me; I will never get over having "lost" my children.

However, I do more than mourning. I try to build an alternative family. I have founded   Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies.   . See also my book Making Enemies Unwittingly: Humiliation and International Conflict, Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006.

The world believes that Germans during World War II ought to have stood up and not stood by when Jews were transported away. 6 million people died in the Holocaust. Today, 12 million children die each year before they are 5 years old, of preventable diseases and poverty. I choose to identify with that. Global exploitation of resources makes our world unlivable for coming generations. I do not want to stand by. And in order to stand up, I identify with all humankind as my family. I have made the global village my home and all its citizens my family and my children.

Michio Kaku (2005), renowned physicist, concludes his book on Parallel Worlds with the following paragraph: The generation now alive is perhaps the most important generation of humans ever to walk the Earth. Unlike previous generations, we hold in our hands the future destiny of our species, whether we soar into fulfilling our promise as a type I civilization or fall into the abyss of chaos, pollution, and war. Decisions made by us will reverberate throughout this century. How we resolve global wars, proliferating nuclear weapons, and sectarian and ethnic strife will either lay or destroy the foundations of a type I civilization. Perhaps the purpose and meaning of the current generation are to make sure that the transition to a type I civilization is a smooth one. The choice is ours. This is the legacy of the generation now alive. This is our destiny (Michio Kaku, 2005, Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos. New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Auckland: Doubleday, p. 361).

Humankind is at a tipping point. We might "make" it, or not. I could choose apathy and depression and focus on humankind's lack of ability to stand up to the challenge of building a dignified world. I could find pleasure in imagining how planet Earth gives a deep sigh of relief at humankind dying out. I could also choose more active amusement; I could try to have as much fun as possible while humankind goes down. However, I am willing to put my weight into trying to make it work. This is what I promise to you, my children.

Philosopher Avishai Margalit (1996, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press) wrote a book entitled The Decent Society, where he calls for societies to build institutions that no longer humiliate their citizens. I call for a decent global village applying a Moratorium on Humiliation. I believe that there is an extremely important role for the international community which needs to become more active and facilitate constructive social change towards a decent global village, which includes all citizens of the world in dignified ways.

I promise you, my children, that I will work for a decent global village, a dignified world for my family, humankind.

Evelin Gerda Lindner

When I read this promise from Evelin, this special promise brought tears to my eyes, I can't begin to imagine the pain of not having biological children or grandchildren.

We have been brought together for a reason and having Evelin now sharing my journey to make it a better wolrd for Caitlin Jean and all the children of the world, will be good for all of us.. Evelin, you are a parent for the children of the world! - I am very proud to also include you on the list of  Guardians