mor action, less tears
As my mother led us in saying grace last night before dinner, she asked God to please keep the world at peace. I cringed, and told her later that the world must first be at peace in order to be kept at peace. But I do not think it is God's job to bring the world to nor keep the world at peace. It is only we who can make that difference, and it seems as though we stray farther from this goal by the hour-- that is, if it is still our goal at all.
I find it difficult to believe that we will ever achieve peace in the world when there are still countries which hold public execution. And what might be far worse than that is the fact that we are so calloused to the idea of death-- that we would watch the footage of this execution, for the mere reason that it will be the hottest topic at tonight's party. I do not care how terrible the person is or what awful things they have done-- there is nothing that would compel me to watch another person's execution. I don't approve of the death penalty either, but that is truly a separate subject from the point I am attempting to make.
I think that it is so sad that we as a species have become so cynical and jaded that we no longer believe we can make a change in this world. Do we not realize that we are "the other guy" whose shoulders we keep shifting the blame to? We hear about the topic of global warming and we become overly defensive-- it is not my fault, my one truck doesn't contribute THAT much to the problem, this one individual cannot make any difference by themselves... But the thing is, if every individual changed one aspect of their lifestyle-- use different lightbulbs, begin to recycle, buy an electric car, turn off the lights when you leave the room-- then the world would be a whole lot better off than when everyone was saying it is not their fault. Of course it is our fault! Everything we do contributes in some way, whether positively or negatively. Think of this: If every person in the country gave one single dollar to help a good cause, that would be close to 300,000,000 for that cause-- and each individual would be out only a single dollar. It's the same exact thing. Your one dollar will make a world of difference, but only if you contribute. Your one small lifestyle change will make a huge difference in the issue of global warming, but only if you make a change.
And it goes exactly the same for other issues, as well. If every person wanted to help make a positive change in the world-- let's say every person in America-- again, that would be close to 300,000,000 people working toward the betterment of our little planet.
When I think of the magnitude of this problem, this issue of peace in all of its endless facets, I become so discouraged that I find myself standing on the edge, ready to throw away all of the hope that I once held so fervent. But I will battle through cynicism, and I will do my best to encourage each of you to make a positive change-- because one person can indeed make a very significant difference, especially with the help of their neighbors...
Don't just pray for peace, do something about it.
I find it difficult to believe that we will ever achieve peace in the world when there are still countries which hold public execution. And what might be far worse than that is the fact that we are so calloused to the idea of death-- that we would watch the footage of this execution, for the mere reason that it will be the hottest topic at tonight's party. I do not care how terrible the person is or what awful things they have done-- there is nothing that would compel me to watch another person's execution. I don't approve of the death penalty either, but that is truly a separate subject from the point I am attempting to make.
I think that it is so sad that we as a species have become so cynical and jaded that we no longer believe we can make a change in this world. Do we not realize that we are "the other guy" whose shoulders we keep shifting the blame to? We hear about the topic of global warming and we become overly defensive-- it is not my fault, my one truck doesn't contribute THAT much to the problem, this one individual cannot make any difference by themselves... But the thing is, if every individual changed one aspect of their lifestyle-- use different lightbulbs, begin to recycle, buy an electric car, turn off the lights when you leave the room-- then the world would be a whole lot better off than when everyone was saying it is not their fault. Of course it is our fault! Everything we do contributes in some way, whether positively or negatively. Think of this: If every person in the country gave one single dollar to help a good cause, that would be close to 300,000,000 for that cause-- and each individual would be out only a single dollar. It's the same exact thing. Your one dollar will make a world of difference, but only if you contribute. Your one small lifestyle change will make a huge difference in the issue of global warming, but only if you make a change.
And it goes exactly the same for other issues, as well. If every person wanted to help make a positive change in the world-- let's say every person in America-- again, that would be close to 300,000,000 people working toward the betterment of our little planet.
When I think of the magnitude of this problem, this issue of peace in all of its endless facets, I become so discouraged that I find myself standing on the edge, ready to throw away all of the hope that I once held so fervent. But I will battle through cynicism, and I will do my best to encourage each of you to make a positive change-- because one person can indeed make a very significant difference, especially with the help of their neighbors...
Don't just pray for peace, do something about it.
posted by Sweet Guenivere | 6:33 PM
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