World Citizen

The great Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius once said, "… My city and my country, so far as I am the emperor is Rome, but so far as I am a man, it is the world. " What does it mean to be a world citizen? One of the greatest values of humankind is to cast aside one's selfish existence and perceive oneself as part of a big whole. It is the ability to see the map of the Earth and mentally fly over the vast expanse, crossing the oceans, mountains, deserts, countries and peoples. It is the ability to travel and find oneself in every corner of the world among 'strangers' and 'aliens'. It is the ability to hear a foreign language but understand what is being communicated. It is also the ability to recognize one's country's mistakes in the international arena and criticize. Above all, it is simply the ability to view all people, nations, countries as similar and one and shout, 'International Solidarity and Peace to the World!'