July 14, 2009

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Please accept my deepest appreciation for the remarkable speech you presented in Cairo, Egypt recently. Your words were truly inspiring and have provided a new sense of hopefulness for the millions of us with deep concerns about the world we are handing to our children. Your appeal to the citizens of the world, asking us to focus on our common goals and begin the process of healing, is a beautiful example of the role true leadership plays in the ongoing evolution of human civilization.

I am not alone in recognizing that you and your advisors are elevating the discussion on the global nature of the challenges we face today. Your messages have opened the door for creating a new set of relationships between cultures and between nations.

I am writing to you today, to share what a group of “average” American citizens is doing to ensure you have the support you need to continue to lead us all where we have never been before. We are not radicals, religious zealots or idealists and we are not interested in blaming anyone for the current state of human affairs. We are teachers, lawyers, business owners, sons, daughters, parents and grandparents dedicated to initiating a “street level” discussion about the personal and human, domestic and global, short and long term, benefits of the following idea: 

It is time for the citizens of every nation to ask their leaders to cooperate, as equals, on a two step process that will allow us to effectively address our generational responsibilities to all of the world’s future inhabitants. First, we are asking you and the leaders of every nation to establish an enforceable, global cease-fire. We do so with the understanding of the difficulties involved and with the full understanding that we will never be able to effectively address the problems confronting the human race today while we are still preparing to kill one another. Second, once the cease-fire takes effect, we are asking you to invite your fellow leaders to participate in a global summit where the topic is the long term health of the entire human race.

Mr. President, we are asking you to use the power of the U.S. Presidency and the unique position of our great nation to invite the world to join us in writing a new chapter in the ever-evolving story of human civilization. It is time for us to stop killing one another and begin to talk about our common goals for all future generations. I think you would find that many of us and many of the citizens of other nations are ready to adopt and begin working together on accomplishing our common long term goals. We and our children need:

1. An intelligent alternative to weaponry to settle national and religious disputes.
2. A completely sustainable relationship with the environment.
3. An effective method to address and eventually eliminate, poverty, hunger, illiteracy and all deaths from diseases with known cures.

Mr. President, we understand that our generation may not have the time to accomplish our goals for the world’s future inhabitants, but we trust that you agree - we certainly have the time and intelligence to start the process by calling for a cease-fire and global summit to put these goals on the table.

In order to persuade more citizens to join the discussion and to stand with you, we have established a website <www.Globalsummit.org>. We are also creating a documentary, partnering with existing NGOs and holding salon/town hall meetings. In addition to contacting you, we are also contacting Vice President Biden, our representatives in Congress and the Senate and the Ambassadors of every country with an embassy in Washington, DC.

Your efforts to unite a divided world bring to mind the words of one of the world’s past visionaries.

“All mankind would be grateful for all time to the statesman who could bring about a new structure of international society.”  President Theodore Roosevelt, upon accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, 1910   

Mr. President, you have invited us to provide you with our input on how you might use the power of the US Presidency to influence the conduct of human activity for the betterment of ourselves and all future generations. We think you have the potential to be the “statesman” who was foreseen by President Roosevelt.

I would appreciate the opportunity and privilege to discuss the ideas presented above with you or your designated representative.

With great respect,

Bob McCormick
Founder, Globalsummit.org