Editor's Note: Anwer Sher has posted a comment in response to the discussion below.

The Question: The U.S. starts to choose a president this week. If you could send the candidates one message, what would it be?

What the world today needs, more than ever, is a world statesman: someone who can guide the world with empathy and compassion, not guns and missiles. The world has been brought to the brink of massive destruction, and while one cannot blame American leadership for all of the problems, America must take responsibility for what it has done wrong.

The demands on your attention will be many, some born out of a moral prerogative, others born from the pressures of the commercial world and leading the world’s largest military power. While I do not expect leaders to be perfect, I do expect them to be fair on the issues of world politics.

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The Current Discussion: The slaughter last week of Kikuyus and Luos in Kenya reminded us that this is a world of tribes. How should wise governments deal with the reality of tribal loyalties and tribal violence?

Sitting behind the glazed facade of a heated building in New York, the idea of tribal society and wanton violence as seen in Kenya seems so alien to the human condition. However, tribal societies are an integral part of the developing world, and although tribal societies in the West have faded away, these societies still have those different kinds of allegiances. Tribal societies, when confronted with change, and change that questions their ethos, will react very differently. We have seen this in Rwanda, Kenya, Congo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

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The Current Discussion: In the future, global prosperity will present more of a threat than poverty, according to a recent Post op-ed. Is this just rich-American rhetoric, or is the world really getting too prosperous for its own good?

There is a huge difference between people living above the poverty line and people being wasteful consumers. To argue that China and India’s prosperity will harm those countries and the larger environment is only partially true. Indeed, the environmental concerns of progress apply to all, whether it be America, China, India or any other nation. The failure of countries like the United States to accept and adopt an environmental protocol that actually works is deplorable. In equal measure, India and China's lack of respect for the environment also places them in the same shelf as the Americans.

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The Current Discussion: If countries around the world are doing so well economically, why are they still catching a cold when the United States sneezes?

In a more interdependent world, we simply can’t ignore the economic wellbeing of the world’s largest economy. A further slide in the U.S. cannot remain an isolated event. The U.S. dollar remains the major reserve currency, with all the major commodities being priced in U.S. dollars – so it is hardly surprising that the weakness of the U.S. financial system will have international ramifications.

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The Current Discussion: With the U.S. presidential primary season in full swing, there's a lot of talk here about "change" vs. "competence" in leadership. Which does your country have more of? Is that a good thing?

The U.S. presidential elections attract spin doctors, media machines and a platform based on slogans where one wonders how much truth is under those words of 'change' and 'competence.' I am not sure that candidates have much independence in their positions given that endorsements are a vital part of their campaign. While my American friends will be offended by this view, there is some truth in the idea that when your endorsements come from, say, the insurance giants, why advocate for a universal health care system?

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