My last blog post was based on Global Leadership and the famine in Somalia. In response, I received two big questions; why is it important to pay attention to global hunger issues when there is hunger right here in our backyard? What can one person really do when they live so far away?
Well, a thousand answers went off in my head.
First of all, there are definitely issues in our own society, and like global issues, there are leaders all around the country who are working to fix them. This is awesome and we need them, but there is a reason why we need global leaders as well. With the Somalia case, there is a bigger issue behind the hunger: there is war. People are being terrorized, families and whole villages killed, crops aren’t growning, children are becoming soldiers, communities are being displaced. They are struggling to help themselves, and they need outside assistance.
If you are curious about war in East Africa, there is a really interesting documentary about South Sudan that just released on November 19th. Watch the trailer here.
Also, if everyone thought, “I am just one person, what do I matter?” there would be no change. Ever. When people begin to think, “I matter, and I will change something,” then they find others who think the same thing and team up. Soon there is a group, and with effort and devotion, things begin to change.
Here is one of my favorite quotes about change:
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” — Apple Inc.
You don’t have to live in the place that needs change to make change there. Students all over the Mason campus are doing so and showing leadership through advocacy, fund raising, and supply gathering. Without people like this, what resources would those at the forefront have? What would be their support?
November 28th, 2012 at 3:34 pm
Mimi,
This post reminded me of an article I read for my major/career decisions class. It was about this college student who had no idea what he wanted to do with his life, but he knew that he wanted to reach out to people. He ended up travelling overseas to work with underprivelged kids in developing nations. He then returned to the US and went around to major colleges and universities lecturing on the importance of global education. His point was that it didn’t matter what you wanted to do as long as you could share it with anyone. He encouraged everyone he met to increase their knowledge to not just what was going on near them, but with issues that were happening across the world. Like you explain, no matter how far away you are from something, you can have an effect on it, you can change it.
November 28th, 2012 at 9:47 pm
Thanks Paige! Nice point, I completely agree!