Yesterday, the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was celebrated across the United States. As a central figure in the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. King’s attitude and efforts impacted people in this nation greatly as well as people throughout the world. Reflecting on this notion of impact, one of my professors asked us to consider how we as individuals might have an impact the world in our futures. I ask you, too, to consider how what you are doing affects others and the impact you are having on our planet.
Ok. I realize that it may sound a little dramatic and exaggerated to speak of our dents on the world when there are approximately 7 billion people on Earth, but each of us does have an effect on others through our actions.
To recycle or not to recycle? To shop at Walmart or not at Walmart? To eat fast food or not to eat it? How to spend ones time: Facebook? Reading? Playing Angy Birds? Working? Conversing? We make many decisions each day and although we often times do not directly see the effects, they do exist. I myself and guilty of some of the scenarios I am going to describe, but I think it is a good reminder for us to be aware of what our actions are doing. Recycling and reusing materials cuts down on waste materials and is beneficial to our planet. Shopping at Walmart is often times more convenient and cheaper than other stores, but it is not good for local business owners and often puts them out of business. Besides, Walmart’s items are rarely as good of quality as those of local shops. Fast food is not good for your health, which may in turn affect those around you. Buying clothes from the Gap contributes to poor working conditions of millions of people in sweat shops in Latin America. This is an undesirable result, yet, without the sweat shops, many would be unemployed.
We may not impact the world in the same way as Martin Luther King Jr. did, but we do make our marks. Make sure they’re the ones you want to be making!
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