"How can I make the world a better place?" This question has crossed the mind of every human being at some moment in the course of their lifetime. For some of us it is a persistent question, for others a fleeting thought, a thought quelled due to disinterest or a disbelief that it is something they can affect. Regardless of your place within the debate, making the world a better place is a very possible thing for every human in history. All one has to do is be willing to take one very simple first step: Remember that the world is not about YOU.
Now, I am not idiotic nor altruistic enough to say that you are not supposed to take care of yourself, I am not even saying that you are not supposed to enhance and grow your own life to make it a great one. What I am saying is that, in order for life to become more fulfilling, an individual's existence has to become more focused on NEED than WANT. The reason for this is easy to see: once an individual has their needs met they are more open to the realization that there are others out there for whom even things as simple as food, shelter and love are a struggle on a daily basis.
That truth is one of the greatest travesties in the world, how can there be so many out there suffering while other individuals choose to live a life of excess and wanton waste simply because they can? Can you imagine a world in which every single person cared more about others that they did themselves? How much safer would you feel? How much more likely would you be to talk to and get to know people you never knew? How much more likely would you be to take risks, to try new things?
Greed is, without a doubt in my mind, the sickest of all perversions. With any other perversion there is either a willing participant on both ends, or strong laws in place to punish the perverse who harm others. Greed has none of this. Sure, we like to pretend we do, we love to fake a strong stance, but when was the last time you heard of a greedy executive, government official, or lawmaker receiving a punishment that befit the crime?
To date, no executives of the mortgage fraud that put our country into one of the worst recessions felt have faced prosecution. It isn't that the cases are being lost, it's actually worse than that, there has been no concentrated effort to prosecute those responsible. What happened to Bernie Madoff, the former non-executive chairman for NASDAQ responsible for the elaborate Ponzi scheme that cost his investors between $18 and $65 BILLION in losses (most heavily felt by the middle class individuals who bought in)? Well, let's see, 11 felony convictions and a "punished" Madoff is living out his geriatric years in a medium security prison where he is being treated like a self-professed "Mafia don".
Most corporate executives, even the ones who lie, cheat and steal, seem to have a golden parachute deployed should they be caught or fired.
I say this not only because of the $47 MILLION packages that are the norm for disgraced execs but also because our judicial system actually has in place a safety net for those in power. Believe it or not, there is an understanding that states that the higher up on the nation's financial, economic or business ladder you have climbed, the less likely it is that you will ever be prosecuted. Why is this? Well the justification goes that if these people are prosecuted, the whole system will collapse.
Hmmm... How is it that one individual can cause the collapse of any system? Are we really to believe that incarcerating any one person would somehow collapse our country into an economic crisis? How is this possible? I cannot think of anyone (shoot, not even any group) who don't have at least five competent people able to take their place given the opportunity.
This again begs the question, why is this allowed? Well, it comes down simply to two things: 1) those who created the system put into place a system that not only protects them, but also created one that they can abuse. This gives them autonomous control, thus allowing them to basically make whatever decision they feel benefits them without the fear of repercussion or opposition. Which leads me to 2) It is allowed, frankly, because too many people could care less or, perhaps more appropriately, too many people think that they cannot make a difference.
People know that the systems in place are not only flawed, but they are purposefully broken, and so they feel helpless. "What can I do? How could I make a difference?" Well, the answer is probably the most indicative gauge of present society. There has been little change, and the gap continues to grow wider because, in order to institute change, educating and empowering the masses takes effort and time. The change starts with you.
Without you educating yourself on what is truly happening and demanding that people are actually held responsible, nothing is going to change.
Think about it, would you be willing to relinquish power if you held a firm grip on it? Why then would we believe that those currently in power would, voluntarily want to help others, ESPECIALLY when this change directly affects their pocketbook?
Greed though is not just about the rich, and this education does not just flow one way. Our country's financial stability has also been abused by members of society who hold a decidedly different place in the monetary scale. There are many, many people out there on some form of welfare, assistance or subsidy who will never look to get off of it because they are, like most, unwilling to give up free money. You see, they have found a way to receive just enough from the system that they don't raise their voices. Why would anyone complain about a system in which you are rewarded for doing nothing?
Regardless though of whether this system is purposefully put into place by the rich (a quiet mass is a controllable mass) or voted in by the masses, it needs to change. As Sweden found out, the longer you allow people to remain on a system that promotes free money, the less likely they are to do anything to change their station within this system. Growing tired and weary of watching so many people live off of the system with limited repercussions, Sweden's government instituted a deadline for the welfare programs. What happened was not shocking, within a year unemployment went rocketing down.
Give a human incentive and they will find a way. "In six months, if you do not have a job, we will be taking away your benefits". If unemployed and told that sentence, what would you do? My guess is your next five months would be full of travel, interviews and applications so that you and your family don't end up living in a shelter (if you can find a bed).
If an individual knows that there are actual consequences for inaction, something is going to change, this reads true for rich and poor alike.
Changing the world, in any form, can be done every day, little by little. Every human being has the ability to look internally and assess whether they are making a positive difference in the world around them. Are you living a life that puts others ahead of yourself, one in which your all of your needs are met, but only a select few of your wants? Are there people around you that you can help? If so, how can you help, and are you willing to take that step?
Society means that we are all in this together, we have one world and all of us only have only a short time to walk it. The best way I can see to walk is with your head up, looking around for people you can help and inequalities that you can help fix, rather than with your head down, your own life the sole thought in your mind.
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