Like a great organization must change with its environment...this blog must also make a change.
My setting is different...last time you read, I was in Japan...doing all sorts of crazy things. While I'm no longer in Japan, the adventures are equally zany. Will those be included here...maybe sometimes.
NOW I am in the greatest city in the world. If this city, and this school, and these people can't inspire you to be a person...then...well then I guess you should just keep trying, but it is bringing out the best in me.
A quick note on blogging. For those of you that think it's a waste of time and only for people who 1.) Are trying to glorify themselves or 2.) Are ultra emo; the time has come for you to make room for a third group: those who recognize the power of the internet, a connected world, and that the best ideas come from sharing information.
It's 3:16 in the morning and I have to get up for an internship in about 4 hours, so I'll keep this short and to the point.
Mission: I want to provide an alternative to the news the media is giving us.
That mission has a long way to go, but it gives you an idea. Let's say, for example, there was a shooting today in Brooklyn...and someone died. Is that sad? Yes, very much so. Do I want something to be done to remedy the problem? Absolutely. Should it be in our newspapers or evening news program? NO!
"Today a man was shot in Brooklyn. The suspect is John Doe and he faces the following charges...(listed). Wow...that's just so sad. Next up...fire in The Bronx destroys building."
How is telling me this fixing anything?? It is not. It is teaching us to fear our surroundings and to believe that the world is fundamentally a bad place that can't be trusted.
Here is my solution...take those stories OFF the news. They belong in the obituaries. Again...is it sad someone died? Yes!
Let's replace THOSE stories with all of the beautiful, inspiring, positive things that are going on in the world. Yesterday I learned about an organization that is coming up with innovative ways to help the homeless find housing (with an 87% success rate!!!). Today I watched a woman, when she was unable to finish all of the slices of pizza she had in front of her, ask for it to be bagged so that she could give it to a homeless person rather than just throwing it out (like most of us would).
Why are stories of an individual being killed reported, while stories of an individual GIVING life ignored? I refuse to believe it's because "HUMAN'S THIRST FOR BLOOD!" What I believe, then? I believe that humans WANT TO DO GREAT THINGS. However, that carnage is what we have been convinced IS the news. We have been scared to believe the world is just a bad place and the one act of kindness we might do won't make a difference.
I argue that incredible, courageous acts are happening all over the place all of the time! If we start seeing it, we'll be more inspired to do it!
For those of you that know FREE HUGS...that's a great example...and it's not even getting full news coverage. Imagine if it was??? Go ahead and youtube FREE HUGS right now. One guy started giving hugs out...now there are multiple events by multiple people going on multiple times a week. He started a movement without FOX or CBS or Newsday. Imagine if THEY were covering him?!
Now...some of you are probably thinking this is ridiculous. We can't pretend like the world is perfectly utopian, right? You are correct. SO...here's what I would suggest.
The public CAN benefit from hearing negative things. We need to know what's going on in Iraq. We need to know about Darfur, we need to know about West Nile Virus, etc etc. BUT, don't just tell me about it. Anytime a negative is mentioned in the news, I would have a debate about the possible solutions be included. "Here's what's wrong...here's how we can fix it."
Is Global Warming a problem??? Tell me how I can fix it then!! Show me and teach me! Don't just try to scare me. Let's fix problems!
Tell me about all of the exciting things people are doing to improve the world and tell me about the things I can fix!
So what can we do to make this happen? One friend suggested a website. Sounds great. Any other ideas? Brainstorm if you're interested. Email me, call me, comment here. The more ideas, the better the solution!
