Can We Change The World?
Can We Change The World?
Do you remember what the world was like 10 years ago? Back in the year 2012, would you ever have guessed how things would have changed to the way it is now?
What about the next 10 years? Can you predict what the world will be like in 2032?
The world will change. Change is inevitable.
But will the world change into the kind of world we want?
Can we individually and collectively have any impact on how the world changes?
If you’ve watched my newest video which I released on YouTube a month ago, you know that I believe that we need change, and if you haven’t watched it then go watch it now to find out some of the things that I believe needs to change.
Ten years ago I was very confident that we could change the world for the better. That even the actions of just one person could have a significant impact on the world.
Maybe it was just the idealism or naiveness of being 20 years old.
Maybe I was crazy.
Maybe I listened too much to Steve Jobs and the words in the “Think Different” Apple commercial,
“Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
When I was younger, I didn’t expect that I would immediately be able to change anything. I did think though that I could be a positive force in my little part of the world, and maybe when I became a successful professional filmmaker then I would be able to inspire greater change in the world.
As the years have gone by though I’ve become less and less confident that I can make a difference in the world.
Because in order to change the world, people need to change.
And it is hard for people to change.
Now I’m starting to understand the words of the author Aldous Huxley,
“I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself.”
And Gandhi,
“Yesterday I was clever so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise so I am changing myself.”
Maybe one day though, there will be enough people who have changed themselves, and then together we can change the world.
Because in the words of another author Margaret Mead,
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”
Love the idea. The only lasting change you can make is in yourself. It was just yesterday that I. And then 40 years go by. I began writing in Substack to maybe show some folks lessons I’ve learned in raising 8 kids , married over 30 years. Etc. I write Well of Inspiration. I have a novel I would like to learn to begin to share also. Just started this column last month. Thanks
Before the pandemic, it almost seemed like we were doing better. I felt like people were finally starting to understand the basics of equality for all but then somehow, in a matter of days we slipped into a parallel universe. Like Superman's Bizarro World, everything took on a darker, warped aspect. A logical, sensible future became unfathomable. Individuals seemed to change right before our eyes. Kind, community minded people became distorted and took on the personas of self absorbed creatures with no regard for their fellow man. These days I hang on to a slim hope that Science and compassion will pull us out this lopsided Yin and Yang but I don't know if we can ever be better until we figure out how this all happened. Not the virus but how we so easily turned on each other.