Categories: uncategorized
Date: 01 December 2005 11:18:58
I think we have a responsibility to live as though the things we do will make a difference. Undoubtedly some of them will.
Loads of things I do and fail to do have a negative impact, other things I choose to do or not do have a positive impact. I think the best thing we can do on a basic level is to think more practically about treating other people as we would like them to treat us. We can only act on what we know; therefore after loving our neighbour as ourselves we should seek out and welcome knowledge. What we should then do depends on what we know is wrong.
I think these are the principles I would like to encourage in people. My feeling is that you can't do everything about everything; but this is quite often used as a reason not to do anything about anything - or, to be fairer, sometimes people are defeated into believing that nothing they do will make a difference. This I think is how we become knowledgable and apathetic; we know there are wrongs, but because they seem so insurmountable, we suspect that small actions which challenge wrongs won't really make any difference. The fact is, they probably won't make a big difference. However, knowing the good you ought to do and doing it is just better than knowing the good you ought to do and not doing it. It is better for others and it is better for you (it's a step closer to who we are supposed to be, isn't it?). Not everyone's a winner... but we'll all be a little bit further ahead if we choose to act on what we know.
In general, to put some substance to the framework, a good idea is to list some issues which concern you and pick three or so that you're going to find out more about. Do your homework... look for the interest groups, the pressure groups, the people who know what they're talking about regarding the situation, and see what they say. Get some views from people who dispute what they're saying. Then think of things you can do to make your contribution to this situation more positive. Then do them.