Elliot Golan / Roundup
Dear Concerned Citizen of the World,
The world is broken. That does not make you a clairvoyant — merely a realist.
It seems like this planet cannot go a day without some form of injustice, whether it be the continued proliferation of social inequalities, acts of political unrest, corporate negligence or the crumbling of the world economy.
However, the biggest problem we face is indifference.
There are only so many times people can wax poetic about how ‘something needs to be done’ or ‘this needs to be stopped’ before their merit erodes.
The unfortunate reality is that events like the bloody protests in Bangkok, fiscal catastrophes in the Eurozone and large companies like BP oil dodging civic responsibility in order to salvage both profits and perception, are accepted — even treated as the norm.
The desensitizing of humanity has reached a critical point.
So let me be the next in the seemingly endless line of people that tells you to make a difference. There is much more to this life than making money and building a family.
Businesses around the world use the term “carbon footprint” a lot. It is a phrase that denotes their commitment to ensure that the actions of today do not put the world in a worse environmental situation later.
What about our philosophical footprint? Our practical one?
Like most problems, this can only be solved through wholesale psychological change. It is incumbent upon people to teach one another and especially their children that the world still has a chance. And moreover, that they are the cure.
Instead, we escape under the shelter that cynicism provides. Warm and protective, it allows the average citizen to abstain from social and ethical responsibility.
Trust me, I know. I’ve got the blanket pulled up to my neck.
However, the cold always prevails.
Ask yourselves to emerge into consciousness. To rise from the ashes of apathy and, as Gandhi asked, “be the change you want to see in the world.” Allow that sentiment to ascend off of the novelty coffee cups and refrigerator magnets it is often seen on and let it invade your heart.
The past is only what has been. The future, however, is what will be. And is ultimately in our feeble and unsure hands.
Respectfully,
Elliot Golan
