Feeling discouraged lately? I have been, as well. When we see things going poorly in the world, it can be easy to give in to discouragement or cynicism: believing that things are getting worse, and there isn’t anything I can do to stop it.

It’s tempting to either rant and rail about the harm or just be silent. But as natural as it can be to fall into discouragement and cynicism, I believe they are cop outs that just make the problem worse on the one hand, and excuse us from doing anything to help out on the other.

Working together is our greatest human strength. A failure to cooperate is failing at what matters most. And when we cooperate, we humans can move mountains.

What would it mean for us to move toward one another? To cooperate to help create a better world for all? To stop being so focused on what we are against, and start moving toward what we care about and value?

Positive values have to be what we organize around. They are what helpfully motivate us toward creating a better world and chart our course to get there. So here are mine:

I value kindness and respect. The golden rule ought to be the grounds of all our ethical decisions. How would you like to be treated if you were in their shoes? No exceptions. No exemptions. Every person. Every time.

I value wisdom and education. The more we know, the more science, math, history, language, psychology, sociology, and economics we understand — the better choices we make. The more we read, the better off we are. We need understanding. We need wisdom. We need to learn from those who have spent their lives becoming experts in their fields.

I value our planet. There is nothing that brings me as much joy as hiking to a waterfall, scuba-diving at a coral reef, or snow-boarding down a snow-covered mountain. This planet is so rich in beauty and abundance. It is what gives us life. We owe conserving it to our descendants. Anything that isn’t sustainable has to stop.

Over half the green house gases in our atmosphere have been released since 1992 and the Kyoto conference. If we keep going on the path we are now, we will kill 1/3 of plants and animals by 2050. Changing course will take massive cooperation.

It will be the largest logistical and cultural change in the shortest amount of time our species has ever attempted. But we humans can do amazing things previously believed impossible when we work together. Perhaps all of our learning and development has been preparing us for this moment?

I value cooperation. All flourishing is mutual. We have to start seeing other humans and other species as part of ourselves — not others to exploit or use. The idea of Ubuntu — a person is a person through persons, or I am because we are — is much more true than the concept of me as a separate and independent individual who doesn’t owe anyone else anything.

I value compassion. I believe societal greatness is measured not in how opulent or rich those at the top get, but rather how society takes care of its weakest and most vulnerable. This means we need to spend way more time and money thinking about and caring for the young, the homeless, the addicted, the mentally ill, the undocumented, the incarcerated, the elderly, the lonely. According to one prominent religious text: what we do for the least of these is what we do for our God.

I don’t think most people would be against any of those values. What if you define yours, and we start looking for solutions? Join me in moving away from entrenched political positions and toward the things we most deeply value. Let’s start being clear about what matters most to us so we can have open discussions and start changing. Our survival depends upon it.