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| Thoughts on Helping Out ~ Demand More | << Prev | Entry 6 of 10 | Next >> |
It is tempting to sit back and blame others for the problems we face in the world today. It's easy to feel helpless and powerless, to deem "making a difference" an impossibility. Yet we must fight the urge to throw up our hands and leave matters to others. We - the ordinary, everyday citizens of nations across the globe - must demand more of our leaders, our corporations, and ourselves. Doing so implies more than declaring our demands. We must seek involvement ourselves and treat doing so as a privilege and responsibility. It's amazing how hard people will fight to gain a voice in the way they're governed, equally amazing how quickly those who succeed them lose touch with the battle fought. We are eager to embrace the rights and privileges gained via a democratic system of government yet quick to ignore the inherent duties and responsibilities. Demand more... - ... of our System of Government. Too often, objective criticism is equated with disloyalty and lack of patriotism. Only those who care little about our system of government will fail to find anything to criticize. As good parents effectively balance discipline and love, good citizens will respect a nation's history and simultaneously fight for improvement. Our nation is heavily shaped by two political parties, both funded by big business. While big business can be credited for positive aspects of modern American society, it is also responsible for numerous problems. Are we satisfied with a political system where corporations so heavily influence our policies and funding choices? In the name of patriotism, our nation languishes in self-delusion at times, failing in any sort of honest introspection about weaknesses and shortcomings. We must work to change this. We must demand more. (Write letters. Vote differently. Demand objective assessment of our government's actions.)
- ... of our Leaders. We must hold our leaders accountable. When war is deemed necessary, we the people must demand that all due diligence has been performed to seek alternative means of conflict resolution. Wars are waged in our name, after all - for our freedoms and peace of mind. Are we building a world where better ideas and ideals triumph - or a world where superior military might conquers all? If we don't demand more of our leaders, are they alone to blame? They work for us. If our performance evaluations don't communicate dissatisfaction, what right do we have to come back later and blame our employees for the company's problems? We must demand more.
- ... of Corporations. I disagree with those who declare corporations the worst invention in human history. They could (and some do) have positive impacts upon society. And yet, the basic motivation of a corporation is financial. Corporations exist to produce profits for their owners, people who are generally far removed from the entity's daily activities. We, the owners of those corporations, must become better aware of their actions and demand more. We must reward companies for good stewardship of the environment, for fair treatment of employees and foreign partners. Once again, it's too easy to sit back and blame something or someone else for our problems. If corporations are causing problems, things will change only if you and I become willing to sacrifice a penny per share in profits for the benefit of humanity. Many will scoff at this, but if a capitalist society is to succeed, we must motivate proper behavior with our bank accounts. Mutual funds exist today with holdings restricted to socially responsible companies. Invest in them. Reward responsible behavior. We must demand more.
- ... of our Political Discourse. Since I have an entry in the [Composites] section dedicated to this topic, I will keep things brief here. Among my biggest pet peeves about American society today is the fractious nature of our political debate. What happened to multiple points of view being presented? What happened to actually listening to the merits of an argument? Personally, I don't care who started it. Don't care who's worse. If we're going to change anything, we must learn to listen to each other and communicate with at least a modicum of respect. I'd suggest that on both sides of the aisle, we're preaching to our respective choirs rather than persuading people whose opinions might actually change. There are unselfishly-motivated people on both sides of the aisle on many issues. Their ideas might be lousy, but they're not always bad people. We must raise the level of discussion. We must demand more.
- ... of Ourselves. Ultimately, the only way we will succeed in demanding more of our leaders and corporations and others is to first demand more of ourselves. We must pay attention; we must think critically; we must act. Our individual actions can and do change the world. Somewhere we went from embracing the power of the individual to believing in individual powerlessness. Don't blame anyone else for the world's (or your own) problems! I'm not satisfied with what's going on in Iraq. It's not enough for me to curse bad CIA intelligence or Mr. Bush himself. It's my government and my problem and my responsibility to act. I will demand more of myself.
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