CHANGE
Our government is set up in such a way that change is difficult. Maybe our founding fathers had the insight to visualize a Hitler, Stalin or Hussein but regardless, change does not happen easily.
I look at the children in this country that live in poverty and do without and I feel so helpless to do the right thing and yet the people with power like the Angelina Jolies and Brad Pitts of the world take their compassion to other nations.
As Americans we complain. It is our right. I am sure the same complaints can be heard around the country. We complain about our health care system and the high cost of our health insurance. Schools are another hot topic. Today’s school children are in crisis. Kids are dealing with things my generation could never have imagined. They come to school hungry or maybe even suffering through the loss of a parent whether it is from divorce, death or even jail. There are gangs in our schools, teachers that no long care, an ever increasing dropout rate, and the thought of a disgruntled student bringing a gun to school is no longer just a concern but a real possibility. And, don't get me started on the economy, the jobless rate and the fact that government spending is out of control.
What has happened to us as a nation? These are issues that concern us all and yet we do nothing. Nothing, that is, but complain.
At times all of this is overwhelming. I hate injustice and I hate seeing the meek taken advantage of. This pertains especially to those that have no voice like the poor, the elderly, and children. Can you imagine what would happen if we stood up and said, “No, enough is enough”? Collectively our numbers are staggering and our power unimaginable.
Change does happen. It took one pissed-off mom to start M.A.D.D., Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. It was one woman who lost her child to unthinkable circumstances that started AmberAlerts. This is legislation that has been adopted nationwide and that has been instrumental in helping save countless lost and abducted children. An elementary age boy in Florida brought about change while doing a school project involving the poor and homeless. He found that restaurants, because of health department regulations, were prohibited from giving any of their unused food to shelters. At the end of the night, each restaurant was throwing away all of their unused, uneaten food. This one child changed the Florida laws and made it possible for restaurants to distribute this food to the needy.
These stories feed my consciousness and make me believe in the power of one, the power that each of us can make a difference. But where do you start? It just all seems overwhelming. So, right now, like all the other millions of Americans that so desperately want a better America, I will continue to sit here with my remote and effect the only change that seems within reach; the channel.
2 comments:
How pessimistic and sad, where we can only change the channel on our televisions, and yet so many American do just that. There are so many problems that need to be addressed and the best way to fix them is through local government. We look towards Congress for all of the answers when it should be in the direction of our city council members and our state legislatures. They are the people who can make state laws change, like health regulations preventing food from being given to the poor. These changes can happen relatively quickly. Whereas Congress will have to take months even maybe a year or two to change things throughout the nation, things should start out simple and the majority of people don’t realize that the power to change comes from them. You are in control of our future; you and everybody collectively can change things for the better, fast. There just needs to be a little bit of effort, but we all provide excuses, like we don’t have time. We have work, a family, school, when in reality we just will not budge from where we are. We are perfectly happy putting our future into the hands of rich politicians. You and I need to form groups, write letters, lobby politicians, provide support, and just do something other than a daily routine that does not help anyone!
I read a very interesting article from one of my classmates’ blog, in her article Kathy makes an argument that change does happen and that the power and will of one person can make it possible for changes to happen, and I totally agree with her. You can find her article at: http://thoughtfulintent.blogspot.com/. Like Kathy says in her argument the United States government is set up in such a way that is very difficult for changes to happen. Regardless of that, when the people of United States strive for change, or when changes are needed, changes do happen. In her article Kathy tells us a very moving story about a young boy in Florida that while doing a school project about homeless people he discovered that restaurants, because of health department regulations were not allowed to give any of their unused food to shelters, and at the end of the night the restaurants had to get rid of all that unused food, by throwing it to the garbage. When we think about that waste of food and about how many people go to bed starving in this country, seems very ridiculous. Sometimes the fear of being sued for giving food to the poor and needy keeps people from doing the right thing. But the young boy from Kathy story, made it possible for change to happen. His school project, efforts and motivations helped to change the Florida laws and made it possible for restaurants to distribute the unused food to people that needs it.
The story of that boy gives me hope that the power and efforts of one little person can make a big difference in this country’s laws. The power and will of one person can make big changes happen. Our efforts and good have a power that no one can take from us, this is a country “for the people and by the people”; our opinions do count and we can make positive changes happen.
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