"One person can make a difference and every one should try." - John F. Kennedy
Henry David Thoreau, a personal hero of mine, tells us that we should dedicate every thread of our existence to advocating the things we believe in. It is better to break the laws of the government than to commit an injustice to your fellow man. Each of us should throw ourselves in front of "the machine" because eventually the gears will grind smooth and cease to run.
Fighting the man in theory is complicated enough, but actually practicing those ideals in the wake of a busy day to day routine... now that's tough.
Over the last few days I've been seriously contemplating my purpose in the world. That entire thought process is altogether too much to capture in this blog, but there is one specific point of contemplation I'd like to share. It occured to me how often people (more specificly, I) act against what I strongly advocate. At recycling club last week my very best friend excitedly went to the front of the classroom and demanded everyone's attention. Starting this week and every week from now on, she was going to share a practical way we could help protect the environment. Awesome, right? I thought so. This weeks advice was to turn the water off in the shower while you lathered shampoo, applied soap, shaved, etc. Only turn the water on to rinse. Immediately the room errupted into an onslaught of excuses of why this was completely impractical. I was quick to opt out because I didn't want the water to get cold. This may seem like a trivial offense, and I'll admit I didn't lose much sleep when I didn't turn the water on and off during the next morning's shower, but it made me realize how often we make choices that negatively impact the world around us simply as an act of convenience.
Another example: Last year my AP US History teacher posted signs in one of the stairwells at school saying that none of the AP US History could use that set of stairs. Of course, it was the stairs I used every day, between every class period, closest to my locker and several of my classes. As class president, responsible citizen, etc., I felt obligated to fight back. We should arrange a protest... a sit-in... write an angry letter... something. Anything. But I was busy. My friends were busy. Civil unrest wasn't exactly in my planner for that week. It was easier to just use a different set of stairs and wait it out. Suddenly it occured to me that this is what happens every day in our society. People just accept the situations that make them feel oppressed or unhappy because it's just too hard to fight back.
Even Henry David Thoreau had his off days. He went to prison for refusing to pay his taxes (he didn't agree with several points of government spending), but only stayed there two nights because his aunt payed the taxes on his behalf. He criticized a man for working all day to make money to buy food to eat because he was hungry from working all day, but that man had an entire family dependent on him and Henry David Thoreau was a bachelor. Trading in society for Walden and green beans is easy when you don't have a family to support.
I guess my point is that we all need to make a conscious effort to do the right thing, whether it is convenient or not. At the same time, though, I can't practically expect myself to get it all right all the time, as disappointing as that may be. Perhaps recognizing the failure will set me on a path to remediation.
