#col317

Some of us talk about changing the world; about making it a better place. They say that’s what something our generation is known for. We’re operating in an age of information where the problems of this world are readily apparent. A few taps on a backlit screen and we’re instantly connected to the challenges of those both thousands of miles away and in our own backyards. There is knowledge at our fingertips and in our hands power has been granted to affect positive change. Some of us use it.

Some of us look at the world and realize that it needs to be changed. We don’t know much about what’s going on. We listen passively to stories of travesties, shake our heads in pity and go back to drinking lattes while bemoaning the state of things. We don’t know much about the issues but we feel better about ourselves for feeling bad about them. Others of us feel little about such matters and go on with our lives.

Still others of us see problems as opportunities to be taken advantage of. We actively promote our own gain with little regard for the wellbeing of those who are harmed in the process. We look at the rules that are in place and determine that if what we were doing was wrong, we would have been prevented from doing it. Some of us recognize our power and simply enjoy its use.

This is the state of things. There are heroes, bystanders - of both the ignorant and apathetic variety - and villains. Each of us defined by the choices we choose to make. The manner in which we choose to live. The identities that we accept as our own.

Who will you choose to become?

I know the answer for myself. I know the manner in which I desire to live. And I recognize that I’m not capable of doing so on my own. There’s a burden that requires denying myself, carrying it, and following; and this task is more difficult than I imagined.