I wrote this as a Facebook status to Canada, but I think it's really intended for everyone.
Dear World:
Let's get our act together, shall we?
Let's not elect politicians who do not respect the country they were elected to represent.
Let's accept accountability for our destructive actions and commit to making our next actions creative ones.
Let's acknowledge, accept, and celebrate our global citizenship.
Let's remember that this world is our home. Like in every home it needs
cleanliness, mutual respect, and proper communication in order to
maintain stability.
Let's accept one another as a family,
albeit a very large one, and treat each person with the understanding
and compassion they deserve.
Let's stop mourning our losses alone and start striving for improvement together.
Let's commit to each other and to this earth. It's our responsibility as a whole, and rests not on any one person's shoulders.
Accept responsibility. Spread the word. Take action.
The losses that we witness online, in the news, in our lives, are overwhelming. They are depressing. I think this is why we often choose to turn our cheek and alleviate our distress by pointing the finger at our politicians, by buying that chic eco-friendly dishware set, or by diving head-first into a big soothing pool of ignorance.
One day not long ago I decided to take action in my own small way and refuse to support meat production. I decided to go vegetarian and told my friends, family and co-workers of this change. When I informed them of this decision someone, and I will not name who because I do not hold them at fault for it, said that they understood and supported my choice but that they would be sticking to the idea that "Ignorance is Bliss."
Ignorance is seductive and deceptive. It's true that ignorance can calm the urge to wallow in despair when encountered with all the woes our lives and the critical state of the world. It is soothing and comforting, like a security blanket you hide under when your parents are fighting or like the Ben & Jerry's you devour after a break-up. Understandably it's a hard thing to give up. That blanket, however, does not change the fact that their is unhappiness in that marriage and the Ben & Jerry's doesn't change the fact that you are suddenly single. Likewise,
ignorance does not solve the problem.
I like to take the ignorance route when it comes to finances. I hate hate
hate dealing with money. I love buying new things and having grown-up things like an apartment and a phone of my own and a credit card. Then the bills arrive. And I have to pay them. And I don't make enough money to pay them all and I won't have enough money to pay them all in the foreseeable future. So sometimes, when it all just gets too scary, I take the unopened letters into my room and put them in a drawer, telling myself I will sort them all out... later. Then I walk out the door and move on to the more fun things in life. It feels soooooo gooooood. What a relief! If they're in that drawer, where I can't see them, they must not exist, right? ...right?
Wrong. The bills still exist. I still owe that money. I am still in a lot of trouble if I don't get my act together and do something about it. If I don't do something about it, and soon, things will only get worse. And worse. And worse. So eventually I cave. I open all the letters and read them. I finally take the call from my bank instead of pretending I'm not home. I listen to them, I apologize to them, I admit that I don't know what I'm doing and then I take the most important step of all: I ask them what I can do next. One step at a time I work towards paying things off, not all at once and not even a lot at once, but still something.
Here's the funny thing. The relief I felt, that blissful feeling I had when I pretended that the letters in my drawer did not exist and that I was a financially responsible and independent woman? It dwarfs in comparison to the immense joy I felt after I made a payment on my credit debt. That joy is genius. Drug companies can't manufacture euphoria that good. And it was so easy! All I had to do was look at the problem for what it was, ask for help, and commit to taking those baby steps towards a solution.
If we put slaughterhouses in a drawer and walk away it makes it a lot easier to eat that tasty tasty bacon. It's easier if it's just food and not a dead animal. Thinking of the conditions in which the pig that bacon comes from is depressing and depression makes a poor breakfast companion. But every time you buy that bacon it contributes to the problem. It says to the companies that run the slaughterhouses "I'm okay with this," even if when faced with the realities of what is happening you are not okay with it at all. That purchase gives them the green light, the shiny consumers' seal of approval. And like when those bills continue the be ignored, the problem worsens.
Likewise we gives shiny seals of approval to our governments when we choose to complain to each other about how their choices should be reprimanded and then give up on the whole thing by refusing to vote. That's putting them in the drawer. If you are unhappy with the choices being made by your government you have every right to call them out for it. After all,
they are there to represent you. If you remain silent or keep your concerns to your close pool of friends how is the government even going to know that their not doing the job you elected them to do?
Okay, so after reading all that, if you're anything like me, you're probably thinking that that's a lot of responsibility. That yes, you want things to get better, but that all this is too much. It is just too much to handle and too much to deal with and how the heck are you supposed to affect change? You're only one person for frig's sake.
You're underestimating yourself. Your voice has a lot more impact than you realize, so long as you use it. It's not even hard to use. Social media has made voicing our opinions more accessible than it has ever been. If there's anything I took from the whole KONY 2012 debacle it's that spreading the word is easier than microwaving a pizza pocket.
This is all getting very preachy, so instead of continuing to type at you I would like to point you in the right direction. I'm starting a series of posts that will offer some simple steps, and I do mean simple, that you can take to help us all work towards a safer and pleasant world. I will continue to add in my own odd posts in between posts with steps for the future. For your own convenience I will label all steps-for-the-future posts "For The Future: <topic of content>".
Hope you like the series!
