It doesn’t take someone who watches the news twenty four hours a day and seven days a week to see that the world is changing for the worse.
The weather is fluctuating in dangerous waves, changing from eighty degrees on one day to the thirty degrees the next day. Antarctica, which is full of icebergs and extremely cold weather to keep them frozen, is melting. Homelessness has increased, as well as starvation. Natural disasters are tearing this world apart, from tsunamis to hurricanes. People are constantly dying, be it the war in Iraq or the war here at home. Health insurance costs are skyrocketing, but many people don’t have any health insurance at all. The government is losing money by using it irresponsibly, on the war and other frivolous things other than spending it where it’s needed. Schools are getting worse and worse by the second. Our veterans are now experiencing what our elderly has probably been experiencing for decades in run-down hospitals and hospices with attendants that aren’t attentive at all and sub-par conditions. Racism and prejudices from the old days are returning with full force. It’s enough for one person to step outside of their home and scream, “What’s going on with this f***ing world?!”
So, how do we change it all? How do we change the world? How do we save the world? I believe that we don’t have to be rich to save the world and we don’t have to be superheroes to save the world. To save the world, I believe that all it takes is so little. Here’s what I believe we can do to possibly save the world from the comfort of our own home:
-Think outside of “Green”: One of everybody’s main concerns seems to be on going green. Though it is not a bad option and one of the most serious concerns in the world, it is not the only concern in the world. There are so many things that a person can do in their neighborhood besides going green. In fact, I believe that going green is one of the easiest ways to save the world because we know what we can do. If you think that you can go green and do more than that, go for it.
-Kindness goes a long way: In the Bible, Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” In Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Clarence Clemons said, “Be excellent to each other.” Neither of these sayings are wrong. After the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech and the ongoing war in Iraq, this rule is one of the most important to me. What is the point of going green or saving money or saving the world in general if there is nobody left to savor the joys of our victories. So, I think that we should listen to Jesus, and love one another as he had loved us. We should also listen to Clarence and be excellent to each other. Stop the racism, stop the hate and we can totally party on, dude!
-Take a strike on designers: Let’s face it, designers don’t respect people that can’t afford their products without jeopardizing their rent for several months. I don’t think that people should just stop with designer clothing, either. What sense does it make that you wear clothing line that the designer doesn’t even wear? A lot of people in the African American community invest in items like over-sized jewelry, expensive clothing and diamonds for their teeth. Isn’t diamonds in a person’s teeth unsanitary and dangerous, anyway? Teenagers believe that they can achieve what celebrities have, but they don’t understand how hard it was for that certain celebrity to get where he or she is now, and how irresponsible a lot of these celebrities are. How much sense does it make when people wear teeth jewelry and are taking the bus? So, I believe that people should go on a strike from things that cost obscenely high amounts of money. If you buy a pair of $25 jeans instead of $266 jeans, you’ll save $241 and still look good. $241 is a lot of money to save, so save your money and look good at an affordable price.
-Help those in need: There are millions of charities out here in the world that people can donate to. My favorite charities are those that have to do with diabetes, children, homelessness and AIDS research. Some charities in the US don’t even require money to donate. Anybody can donate food to food pantries, cell phones to victims of domestic violence, or you can just donate your time. That’s right, you can volunteer if you don’t have that much money or other items to give. Other than that, there are always places where you can donate old clothes, shoes and other belongings. The fact that you’re helping others shows that you’re a good person, and that you’re taking the first steps in saving the world.
-S.O.S: Save our schools: A wise person once said that help starts at home. Well if your home is taken care of, then I believe that help starts at school. There is a large number of high school dropouts in the world and chances are that the majority of those high school dropouts either are homeless or have been homeless. However, another wise person once said that there is always two sides to every story, and that means that there has to be a reason for a person to drop out of school. Maybe the classes were too full for the student to get individual attention in a class where they were lagging behind. Maybe the school’s conditions were below standard. Maybe the teachers were too preoccupied with their salary, or lack thereof. Whatever the reason was, there is always a reason why one leaves school. Let’s also remember that schools are not battlegrounds. In Milwaukee, there has been a rash of school fights that have been recorded by cell phone cameras and by the media. Children also bring guns and drugs to school. School is a place to learn, not a social event, and I strongly believe that a lot of these students need to remember that. We may not have the money that Oprah has, but we can certainly do something to save our schools.
-S.O.C: Save our children: On the hit television show, “Heroes,” there was a catchphrase that said, “Save the cheerleader, save the world.” Well, I believe that we can save the world by saving a many children as possible from gangs, gang violence, teen pregnancies and other problems that our destroying our hope for the future. Parents need to set good examples for their children because nobody can really do it for them. Parents need to be strict and lay down the law with their children instead of spoiling them rotten. Many children do what they see around their homes and there are a lot of children between the ages of seven to seventeen who need better examples than what they’re seeing at home. Ultimately, I believe that it’s the parents’ job to send respectable people out into the world, but there might have to be someone else in the child’s life to teach them if their parents won’t do the job for them. The point is that there is something wrong with this current generation of children and they need some discipline, as well as someone to discipline them.
and last but not least…
-Know that it’s all for the future: It would be great if we knew that by doing all of this, our world would be better tomorrow. But, we can’t save the world that quickly. Change takes time and though there are a lot of people who will think that it would be a waste of time if there is no sudden end result, but think about the future. Think of all of the future generations that will be able to swim in the clean water, breathe in the clean air and appreciate the normal weather. Think of all of the people that will be able to eat without worrying about starving and the people that will be able to have appropriate health care at an affordable price. Think of how many men, women and children that would be alive if there are no more wars. Think about all of that, and you will know that it will all be worth it.
So, you’re not rich and you’re not Masi Oka. But, you don’t have to be to save the world. These are just some of the steps that you can take, I can take or other people can take to make your mark and save our planet Earth. If we all do something, then we can all be an everyday hero.
