“We must become the change we want to see.” by Mahatma Gandhi
by Celinda Snow
If you are like me and wonder what it is that we can do to change our future the first step is to make a list of those things that you would like to change. Placing the responsibility upon President O’Bama, Wall Street, corporate greed, and big oil conveniently lets you sit back in your arm chair and watch the football game and pretend that you didn’t have anything to do with how the world got to be the way it is, but you are just as much a slave to the high standards that we Americans have placed upon ourselves.
Our economy is glutted with plastic, electronics, clothes, toys and more. How many commercials do you see on TV trying to sell you a big gas guzzling truck or luxury car? Have we decreased our demand for oil? Maybe, but with the population growing exponentially, the demand for oil also increases.
Big oil never wanted us to have fuel efficient cars or a rail system. Did you know that electric cars were destroyed by the car company that invented them? Specifically the General Motors EV1 of the mid 1990s. We are so hooked on oil that we cannot live without it.
What can we do to change the quality of our lives and the future for our children?
1. Recycle. Compost your food waste. If your city doesn’t have a recycle trash pick up you can physically carry them to places where you can dispose of newspaper, plastic, aluminum, and cans. If your city doesn’t have recycle bins available then you need to get one started.
2. Education. Education is a pivotal factor in solving the world’s issues. We must expose ourselves and our children to knowledge. The more we know about the world, the more we can make educated decisions on what is best for our economy. Stop using the TV as a baby sitter and get involved with educational projects with your children.
3. Health Care. We have to start the ball rolling. Whether you agree with O’Bama Care or not, killing the idea only fuels the insurance companies. Why just this month I went to a Dr. to seek advice over health issues and I was set up to have x rays. In my opinion those x rays were not necessary. The insurance pays part of this and how many doctors get a kick back for their referral? And of course I get to pay the rest. Now, how is that better than a Health Care program? I don’t know about you, but I think of insurance like mafia. You pay the insurance company a percentage so that they will keep the bad guys away. Like the mafia, when was the last time insurance companies gave anything back to the community?
4. Taxes. I’m not a tax whiz, but even I know that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. And if Corporate America can’t get people to work for less, then they go to other countries and set up sweat shops. Big corporation CEOs are just plain greedy. The taxes need to be adjusted to what is fair.
5. More Jobs for Americans. We Americans have created this by our ever increasing demands for things and our use of credit. Credit to buy homes, boats, jewelry, and cars. My parents went through the great depression and I was taught with strict rules on saving. I actively participate in the “Waste Not, Want Not” society. If you don’t have money, you don’t buy things. I also believe the main reason that I have a job is because of the skills I have learned. Update your existing knowledge or work on new job skills.
6. Clean Water. Global corporations are exploiting other countries for their oil while our government turns its head. These corporations and government officials need to be penalized and made to fix the damage just like they were forced to do in the Louisiana oil spill. Countries like Ecuador and Guatemala to name a few have had their rain forest and indigenous tribes forced off of their lands so that Big Oil can drain their resources. And what did they give back?
7. Clean Air. Focusing our scientist, auto manufactures and other pollutors on better ways to create energy without destroying our planet should be a primary goal.
8. Food. According to the website bread.org, every day almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes. That’s one child every five seconds. So before scraping the food your child didn’t eat into the garbage, ask yourself what you would do if you were hungry? Is your child aware of the existence of hungry children around the world? Or do they see the world through video game eyes where people don’t die because it isn’t real. In America we are blessed with an abundance of food, yet the poor in our country are forced to buy low quality food because it is cheap. A healthy existence is based on good nutrition for the mind and body.
9. Have less children. Have children because you love them, not because you can afford them as seen on TV with 19 and counting or because you are poor and you can collect money from the government. Do the math. If the 19 children limited themselves to 4 children each it would be 304 children in two generations. Is this thinking responsible and fair to the future of our world?
10. Shelter. Replace light bulbs with long lasting energy savers. Turn light and electronic devices off when not in use. Reinforce your home against the cold or heat by adding insulation and window sealers. Replace outdated furnaces and water heaters with fuel efficient ones. This will lower your air conditioning and electric bill and you can apply for tax credits on some of these investments.
11. Family. Create family plans so that everyone plays a part in making this a better world.
12. Love. Replace hate, greed, power, jealousy, and lust with Love. Every time you are angry or upset take a moment of pause to fill your heart with compassion and then exhale.
I once asked a girl at a WalMart check out why she was so happy, and she said, “I’m breathing! As opposed to the opposite.”
copyright 2011
