Senior computer engineering major
You are a good person. You care about people. When your friends need you for a hug or a laugh, you do your best to be there. You are working hard to learn about this crazy world and your place in it.
But constantly, you see things on the news (or the newsfeed, more likely) and don’t know what to do. Today, it’s protests in Ukraine and Venezuela, the ongoing suffering in Syria, hope for change in Iran, worries about deterioration in Afghanistan, new anti-gay laws in Uganda. Last year, it was mostly Egypt coverage as the replacement dictator fell. And every year, there is anxiety about Israel and Palestine.
Typhoons, earthquakes, droughts, injustice, war, poverty, disease, protests, political upheaval, environmental change: There are too many stories to even follow, much less do anything about. You try to help your community and do good around you. You pick several issues to speak out on, maybe ones that have affected you personally; mental health, body image, sexual justice, homelessness, taxes. You have some ideas about how if people communicated better, showed more love and worked harder to get along, then everything would be better.
But mostly, you try to ignore it.
I am not here to pass any judgment. Life is complicated, and personal concerns like that test this week often loom larger than disasters for millions of others. Besides, what could we do, even if we wanted to help? Our donation isn’t going to stop the devastation from the disaster, our Facebook share isn’t going to solve political corruption and even if we threw our entire lives toward fighting an issue, we have no guarantee we would even make a dent.
Take this Ukraine protest business. Could any of us really change the outcome? I love pop-psych, self-help sayings, but even if you believe in yourself, could you make a difference in Kiev?
You might be tempted to rattle off a “yes” or “no” answer, and have, by this point in your reading, two reasons why yes, you could, or no, you couldn’t. But the question is meant to sit with you longer than 10 seconds. What difference could you make? Should you try to make it? Is it worth staying up-to-date on world events, given they are constantly changing, always complicated and often harsh?
Close your eyes and breathe for a moment on this question. Let it sit with you today. Don’t answer yet.
Think of the people in your life who do and do not follow world events. Think about the people who care about the two weeks of violent protests and violent government response in Caracas, Venezuela. What do they do to show their support and solidarity? Give money? Share on Facebook? What kinds of fields are they interested in, and what careers do they end up pursuing?
In my experience, caring about and paying attention to these issues go hand in hand with making a difference in people’s lives. Most of my friends who I see caring globally often share their passion with friends and family, and they associate with other empathetic, passionate people.
I like to hope that we can, by deliberate action, make the world better. It’s easy to do in little ways for the people around us. It’s hard to make it better in bigger ways. It takes time and deep consideration of morals and values, as well as hard practice and development of communication, leadership and technical skills.
I also like to end my columns with some action steps, ways you can learn more about or put into practice the ideas I discuss. Today I suggest that giving money is a real way to help and spending time finding the best ways to give is worthwhile. Sharing news, participating in discussion and signing petitions might or might not have an impact on the events that you hope it will. Sometimes it seems to. It definitely has an impact on the way you see yourself; if you care about these things and take a public stance, you will view yourself as good and not apathetic. If you bury your concern under a mountain of excuses, you will feel judged, even if no one is judging you.
Doing good for the people around you, living a good life, being happy — these things matter. Events in Kiev and Caracas and every other city matter too.
You are a good person. You just have to find out what to do about it.
This piece is part of the opinion section’s Friday package on Ukrainian protests. Read the rest of the pieces here.
