In the late 1990s, when the Internet was just beginning to transform education, we believed it could become more than a communication tool. We believed it could help people understand one another by comparing different cultural values and criteria for decision-making. Our presentations, Enabling Internet Students to Enthusiastically Compare Cultural Values and Culturally Different Criteria for Decision-making, were based on that hope.
Nearly three decades later, however, the world seems to have taken a different path. The Internet has connected billions of people, yet social media often strengthens division rather than mutual understanding. Political leaders frequently fail to appreciate the cultural and historical perspectives of others, while societies increasingly value efficiency, profit, and immediate results over patience, dialogue, and compassion.
During this journey, I was deeply inspired by Priscilla Fawn Whittaker, whose life embodied the true spirit of Global Education. Her poems reminded us that peace begins not through technology or power, but within the human heart. One line has remained with me ever since:
"I searched a home within my heart."
I have often wondered why so few people begin there. Perhaps humanity's greatest mistake was not the invention of new technologies, but forgetting to search for that home within ourselves before trying to change the world.
This book is not about the Internet alone. It is about education, humanity, and the hope that understanding culturally different ways of thinking can still become the foundation of lasting peace. Even today, I believe that peace begins when we sincerely try to understand why others see the world differently.
Before we change the world,
we must first find a home within our hearts.
Only then can we truly understand one another,
and only then can peace begin.