The Sandspur

Issue date: 4/23/10 Section: Opinions

"Our problems are man-made; therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings"
-John F. Kennedy

Climate Change. Biodiversity loss. Pollution. Starvation. Malnutrition. Corruption. Censorship. Gender and racial inequality. Genocide. Poverty. Nuclear proliferation. Fundamentalism. Homelessness. Lack of medical accessibility. Refugees. Natural disasters. Deforestation. Access to clean water. Terrorism. Religious intolerance. Misinformation. Slavery. Lack of political freedom. Animal rights.
These are but a fraction of the problems that we are facing in the world, and in order for humanity to survive we must work together.

On one hand, we are living in the most advanced time in human history with the eradication of many pandemic diseases, the diminishment of torture (for the most part), and the ever increasing standard of living.

But while many of us at Rollins get a world-class education and get to party on the weekends, millions of people are going hungry or are dying from preventable diseases.

While it is hard to help those people who live across the globe, we must strive to better the conditions of those less fortunate than us because, as Spiderman would say, "With great power comes great responsibility."

While many would argue that being selfish is good for the market and the "invisible hand" will take care of the distribution of resources, human evolution points out that our successes arise when we come together as one.

Be it a group of hunters coming together to take down a wooly mammoth or bringing the brain power of millions of people together through open source software, we are vastly superior when we cooperate rather than compete. I plead to you reading this article to make your life mean more to yourself and to others than simply trying to acquire money.

Being a millionaire on Wall Street is enticing, but I promise you that it will not bring you happiness. Only when you become part of something larger than yourself will you find purpose in your life.

Besides being active in your local community or the world community, try to become educated about world events. This does not mean turning the news on while you brush your teeth.

There are a multitude of sources that provide you in-depth knowledge of what is happening in the world around you: The Economist, the Brookings Institute, The New York Times, and Scientific American to name a few. There are many in the news or on the radio who will try to shape your opinion through fear, aggression, sex and happiness. It is important to remember that the purpose of these organizations is to maximize profit, not to educate the public.

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