A lot of people keep telling me to finish school, get a good
job, and make lots of money, and they seem incapable of understanding why I'm
not motivated to do exactly that, as if these things were driven by the
fundamental mechanisms of the universe.
I keep telling people to seek cooperation, show kindness indiscriminately,
and to constantly try to better the world for themselves and others, and I'm
incapable of understanding why they're not motivated to do exactly that,
because these things are driven by the fundamental mechanisms of the universe.
A number of people have said that I'm going to change the
world, and although I appreciate the sentiment, whenever they say that, I know
they're wrong. The problem is not that I
doubt myself, but a simple matter of how their phrasing reveals the imminent
failure, because instead of talking about what I'm doing, they should be
joining in, saying, "Let's change the world." I can't change the world, but we can. One man can't change everyone; that's for
everyone to do.
In truth, I'm terrified of a world where we'd rather sell
each other out, poisoning the other's water or letting the other drown in
poverty because we can't be asked to make any simple sacrifice of wealth, when
in reality we're sacrificing the wealth of art, technology, and knowledge that
these people could produce if we let them.
It seems a simple idea, but really why should I believe that we're
capable of understanding something so simple when we still haven't figured out how
to stop shaking fists or pointing fingers at people based on how they look, what
faith they follow, or who they love?
And I know I'm not the only one who feels the way I do, and
neither are these ideas all that new, but it terrifies me even more that this
knowledge is available and it's not being used.
Maybe we're too accustomed to nodding in agreement before going about
our lives while we wait for someone else to change everything, letting the
conversation fade away without accomplishing anything real. Hell, maybe we even try to be better people. Yet we let things keep going as they are even
though "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do
nothing." Even though we may not
commit evils ourselves, if we let them persist, we cannot win.
And so, every day I struggle to figure out how to convince
others to see what seems to me simply fundamental information about the world,
like trying to explain colors to the blind.
I try to figure out how to effect change, where so many others have done
the same to little avail. And I'm forced
to wonder, am I really the person we should let try to change the world? My desk is covered with an army of Lego
figures, there's a good probability I won't put on pants for the next couple
days, and I recently threw myself down some stairs during a Nerf battle. I'm probably not the man for the job. I'm only trying to do what I can because I
believe it's how things should be, and, moreover, I don't see enough others doing
what needs to be done.
Perhaps, most importantly, don't let the conversation
die. No matter how good of a person you
are, it won't matter if you're the only one.
Spread the word. This needs to be
a dialogue, not a lecture. I obviously
don't have all the answers, and I don't expect anyone else to. If you like what I have to say, share it, respond to it, or do anything to further it.
And, please, don't tell me I'm going to change the
world. Help me change it. I obviously need the help.
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