Like I mentioned before, most of my writing is in a shorthand form. In order to find something with actual thought behind it I am posting something from one of my classes last semester. The instructor was trying to stimulate a new conversation regarding environmentalism. Her short post followed a newspaper article on the same subject. Here is what she had to say, and my response.
Instructor wrote:Focus Question: Some of us, including me, get tired of listening to people who are worried about the future of the world. They worry about overpopulation, water, global warming, diseases etc. I've heard the statistics that 2/3 of the world is actually starving but there will be 24 billion people by the turn of the century. Part of me doesn't care because I'll be dead long before then but....what should our role be in this mess? Do we,
as indiviuals, have a responsibility to step in and do something? What?
Majination wrote:I mean no disrespect, so allow me if you will,
to play the devil's advocate, and herein spill my fill;
I promise to nurture well, the seed which you have sown,
to take the lead and forge the way, to see this topic grown.
Okay, enough of that nonsense. =)
> Some of us, including me, get tired of listening to people who are worried about the
> future of the world. They worry about overpopulation, water, global warming, diseases etc.
Perhaps you find such calamities easily dismissable because they are past the horizon of your years, or that to bear the weight of change on a "what if" is more than you care to endure, but I can't help thinking that if we were to alter the scenario a bit you might change your mind.
In 1935 the Social Security Act was passed into law, and in 1965 the Social Security Act Amendments. While these two pieces of legislature are by no means perfect, I think it fair to say that to a degree they were somewhat visionary in that they were attempting to alleviate a problem in the future based on the statistical projections of the time. For those who have benefited in the past, those of us now, and (hopefully) those that do so in the future, wasn't such a course of action worth it? Can you imagine the crisis we would have today had not such a plan of action been taken? Even if the system were to fail tomorrow I can find worth in its undertaking knowing it has eased the lives of so many over these last 69 years. I am one of those people, and am thankful beyond words.
You will someday benefit from Social Security, the brainchild of somebody long since gone. Given that, aren't changes undertaken today worth ensuring there is a worthwhile future for those that come tomorrow? Starvation, disease, suffering. If the noble endeavor to spare others of such calamities isn't worthwhile, what is?
> I've heard the statistics that 2/3 of the world is actually starving but there will be
> 24 billion people by the turn of the century. Part of me doesn't care because i'll be
> dead long before then but...
Would you help save the life of a man you pass on the roadside, but not the one you know to be two blocks down simply because you cannot see him? There are many roads, time is but one of them.
When you say, "but there will be 24 billion people" it sounds as though you are giving up because you see you cannot win. Losing is worth it, too, just as it is in my Social Security scenario. If nothing else, efforts made today will give future generations time to find other solutions. It is hard enough to give up on one person, I can't imagine giving up on the quality of life of "billions." It isn't just a number, they will be people with hearts and minds.
> What should our role be in this mess?
> Do we, as indiviuals, have a responsibility to step in and do something? What?
As individuals I think it too easy to look around and say, "What can I do? I'm just one person." In my opinion, the answers to these problems begin with knowledge. Listen with an open mind, educating ourselves and our children. Show compassion to others so that they might learn from your example. To find the answers and solve global problems we will first need to recognize love for humanity, seeing things not as "their problem" but as something that we might be able to help with, too. "Love for humanity" sounds so cheesey. People today are just too wrapped up in themselves, in my opinion.
Once, IF, there was a common sense of humanity I think long strides could be taken in solving a lot of problems. I am not so naive as to think it would be easy, or even successful. I do think that it is worth the effort, though, and that somebody somewhere will be the better off for it. At the very least we ourselves would be.
In the interim, be conscious of your environment and how you impact it. Vote wisely. Make your thoughts known. Communication is the key.
"What you don't do can be a destructive force."
- Eleanor Rooseveldt
PS - If you really want to be a trendsetter, write your state congressman/senators. I think this idea only scares most people into inaction, though.
ProfessorPap 
JohnnyEnzyme 
QuirkyCrow
