The Bloggers With The Most To Say
We have the numbers to make a difference... but WILL you?
A question to all you 20 somethings out there: What do you say to stepping it up a notch? I mean, might we talk about things that COULD actually change the world? Let's not kid our selves, getting a census on the dating scene can be helpful for some, but then there comes a time where getting people to post wether they prefer tea or coffee becomes a mute point and global warming and immigration is still on the table. I'm not asking for us to get political and hot headed, or even really heady, I'm just asking if there are more people out there who might like to have a dialog about HOW we possible COULD make a difference in this world. Let's mull over meaning, chew some sinews of ideas, and gnash our teeth on the ever-present remnants of tomorrow's future.
What do you say? Are you game?
Question number one: (and feel free to pose new questions if you don't feel like answering mine!) How might we begin to think differently in order to create positive transformation in OUR generation?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by cooper on -
Stay informed, think globally, but if you want to help start by helping locally. Most change starts locally, and most effective charity is either local or run by those very familiar with any given area be it Boston, Bolivia or Bagdad.
I am composting it's my first year...last year it was light bulbs. Little things.
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Permalink Reply by Simon on -
I'm game!
"How might we begin to think differently in order to create positive transformation in OUR generation? "
I think I most agree so far with Jeffrey and cooper there. The big problem is losing the "us and them" attitude (outside of things like sport and constructive competition that is). Until people can get over their differences to work together as humanity to better ourselves and unlock the potential in every person born then we're just going to be going around in circles.
Humanism is a good start. Its locked in pretty much every major religion as well as just about every free thinking organisation and the better nature of everyone. If we can promote this idea through our blogs - which having read a fair few of them a lot of bloggers do already then we're already making a small difference.
Other than if anyone wants to go into politics or has some sway in their line of work, its hard for the individual voice to be heard but maybe thinking about questioning behaviour and attitudes both online and in real life might not be a bad idea, just small things, standing up against injustices and prejudices in real life when they happen near you. If like-minded 20Sb want to we could probably back petitions and what not. Not sure how we can change our own thinking to transform our generation as its generally our parents/mentors whose attitudes would need to have been changed as its their values we live by in our cultures though we can influence the development of the webs. Perhaps if we have kids we can each promise to bring them up with open minds :)
More Einstein quotes probably won't be too bad either...
Like "All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual. " and "Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions."
Good free online book to read if you have an hour spare (link is to google books): Einstein: The world as I see it
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Permalink Reply by cooper on
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I think, though philosophizing is a fun exercise and necessary for critical thinking, what we have to do is to rewrite narratives we don't like.
Instead of just calling out those who have exploited the earth, and the people on the earth, and so on, we need to rewrite the narratives, the policy, thus changing the goals.
Just saying I don't like this so I'm going to sign a petition or pontificate on failed policy is never enough. That seems to be what the generation behind us did, and it is not a bad place to start, but the goal should always be "what can I change now". Even if it is a small change it will set the outline for where we will go from here.
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Permalink Reply by Sean Weathers on -
ahhh there is some insight...perfect quote. education education education. everything must begin with a better education as many simply do not have the capacity to change anything because they are unaware of the issues or are caught biased by the limited perspective of their environment. jeffrey wrote something farther up on the board along the lines "we are all the same." this will only ever be true if "us and them" are both equally educated and have the same opportunities to choose. as of right now, no, the general public from the US and say...Iraq are extremely different, yet the educated individuals (math, science, philosophy, world politics & literature) from these countries are quite similar. it is our duty (as i see it) as mostly free people to spread knowledge around the nation and the world. this idea is mainly the reason i will be joining peace corps this winter:) this is also why i am extremely politically minded as school funding seems to keep getting cut in our nation. it is through politics where we can make a lot of the change we need. if one is not educated he/she is left ignorant.
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Permalink Reply by Shinay on -
Great thoughts and congrats on joining the Peace Corps! (That's something I've always wanted to do). So, how might one stay educated if all the funding runs out, and teacher's salaries get cut? I too believe that education is key, but how might we begin spread the knowledge...?
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Permalink Reply by Sean Weathers on
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well personally i will probably be using politics to push for more funding in schools, especially for the communities that need it the most. politics dictate almost everything we do in our lives and this seems to be the best way to impact the most people. if a student wants to attend a university school but does not have the money, they should not have to settle for a tech school (im not saying tech schools are bad schools but they are trade schools...one goes there to learn a specific skill and many people going to these schools do not know what they want to do), nor should they have to go into debt and pay it off for the next 10 years of their lives. it is in our secondary schools where many people dramatically improve their critical thinking skills, and we have begun to not only cut money from our k-12 programs but students are turning down college because of a lack of funds...there are a lot of areas of our education programs that need to be revamped:)
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Permalink Reply by Peppers on -
A lot of people have the mentality that they're only one person, so they won't make a difference. I have always pondered this question: What if every single fortunate person in the entire world took time out of their life to take one unfortunate person under their wing and helped them? What would the world be like then? Love spreads-- and it DOES have to start somewhere, so why not with you and I?
All of us are sitting on our laptops on the internet, so I think it is safe to say that we are all very fortunate. Most of us probably do not see violence and hatred around us, so we go about our happy, comfy lives and forget that there's people out there who don't have anything to eat or drink, don't have access to anything like healthcare and education, and have absolutely NO hope for tomorrow because they know things will be exactly the same and there is nothing they can do about it. America doesn't know poverty. Americans in "poverty" have cable TV, cell phones, and cars that get from A to B. The homeless have shelters to go to where people are willing to help them find work and get them on their feet, if they wanted it. Most of us get distraught if we don't have enough money in our checking accounts to pay the cable and internet bill, or maybe our cell phone will get shut off because we can't pay that. Just remember, those aren't problems. A problem is when you can't even feed your baby because you're starving and don't have enough nutrients to produce breast milk, and therefore your baby dies.
There is one silent issue in America, though. Innocent, helpless animals get tortured and people eat them. If you want to see what happens to your meat before it gets to your plate, go to goveg.com and watch the videos. Usually when I tell people that, they tell me they would rather not know... Hmm... Think about it.
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Permalink Reply by Shinay on
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Good points. I'm interested to hear what you do personally in your life to make a difference... and how easy might it be to inspire others around you to do the same?
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Permalink Reply by Shinay on
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What do you think, could we start an "awareness trend?"
P.S. I'm a 50/50 girl myself. I'll take coffee first, but only before 9pm.
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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth W - Falling From Prams on -
Promote a sense of unity and what makes us the same instead of a focus on what makes us different and further proliferating the ideas of patriarchy and selective segregation.
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Permalink Reply by leilani on -
Maybe this will be an unpopular statement, but quite frankly, I think we need to work on DOING differently rather than thinking differently. Sitting here talking about the things that need to change really isn't that helpful. I think in our generation people have an impression that blogging about things, etc. is a way of effecting change, and while you may indeed be "making a statement" perhaps time would be better spent making it to relevant parties. Or better yet, making a statement with your actions.
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Permalink Reply by Jeffrey on -
Leilani, you're right. We need to work as a community to help our community. Not our local, state or even nationwide community, but a global community. Personally, I don't have the ability to single handedly solve world hunger or end illness or help everyone in need. But I do have the time to volunteer at our local community farm and hand out fresh produce to the poor. We need actions, but words from those who commit actions can have the ability to spur others to act. Sadly, your post seems to preclude the possibility that, in addition to writing, that the writers do nothing else, which isn't fair.
The question posed by Shinay was "How might we begin to think differently in order to create positive transformation in OUR generation?" Im sure there will be forums that will focus on the action. Until then, allow us to freely exchange our ideas, no matter how philosophical they are in nature, on the topic that was posed.
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