The sunset over Lake Marion The Xavierite
While sometimes I get tired of trying to be a good person and make the world a better place, I know that in the end, all the work I do has an impact on the people around me. Even in my lowest moments, I will always remain dedicated to the prospect of tomorrow.
The point of life does not always make itself obvious. Waking up and going to work can get dull, and especially around this time for college students, it feels like life is a slog that will never yield for those who live it. But there is more to life than chores and routine.
We’re living through a time of extreme political divisiveness and radical change in the policy and structure of government. The economy is falling apart, and the rules of social engagement feel more distorted than ever.
It’s been a long time since I read a hopeful headline, or felt love towards the country that I live in. Some days just getting out of bed seems impossible, and as much as I push against the troubles of the world, nothing seems to budge.
Still, I have to care. As the saying goes, if not now, then when? And if not you, then who? Think about what this world would look like if nobody.
If Thomas Paine didn’t care, the great American experiment would have ended before it could begin. If Nat Turner didn’t care, then slavery might still be an institution in this nation. And if Winston Churchill did not care to fight fascism, then the world may have been lost to terror.
Of course, these three figures did not succeed in their efforts overnight. It took years, decades even, for their dreams to be realized. They suffered hundreds of losses, but still the dream breathed, for something must be destroyed for a fire to grow.
Apathy is the victory of the opposition. For every second that you don’t care, there’s someone out there taking advantage of the time you throw away. The world is not a happy place, but joy in the face of adversity is the key to making progress.
Many people abstain from voting or even watching the news because they think themselves small against the machine of democracy, but the system only works with our participation. Likewise, when one is an informed and proactive citizen, they get more out of the system.
Again, apathy only enables evil. Even if we cannot immediately make a difference at the federal level, local elections happen often and can be more impactful to one’s daily life than nation-wide legislation.
Whatever you do, you must do something. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” Even if the world is crumbling, the effort of one person can mean the difference between civil war and salvation.
Though, in the end, success is not guaranteed, and even if it is achieved, you may never get to see it. Nat Turner didn’t get to live in a free, unsegregated America, but it was still his hand that shaped the world I have the privilege to exist in.
Every dream is a gamble, and the odds are stacked against us all, but still it is out there for us to have. Besides, the alternative is a slow death, the greatest agony, and though I tire of writing, reading, speaking, and all the other tasks of my work, I grow much more impatient and furious at the sight of stagnancy.
Things may never be perfect, but they can surely be terrible if we allow it all to fall apart. The prospect of tomorrow is never guaranteed, but the gamble of a better tomorrow will always be worth it.