With so many different issues floating around the news it can be hard to take a stance on all of them, and you might not even want to. Why get overly involved in things we can do nothing about, right? That response makes a reasonable amount of sense. Don’t cry over spilled milk when there’s nothing you can do about it. But that implies that there actually is nothing we can do. And to a certain extent that could be true. It might be that nothing that I do today is going to make a difference in the world. But if I don’t do it, it definitely won’t make a difference. If we all thought that nothing we did mattered, nobody would do anything ever. And then things really wouldn’t change. Actions don’t have to be earth-shattering to make a difference. Just changing your own perspective on something can be enough to subtly shift history. For example, it’s a well known fact that a good percentage of the world doesn’t get enough food. Meanwhile, I don’t finish my lunch and don’t think twice about throwing the other half of my sandwich away. While it is true that saving my food isn’t going to feed someone starving on the other side of the world, if I put more value into the many luxuries I enjoy it will change my entire view on my own life. And if I care more about what I have, that might inspire those around me to do the same. And isn’t that a first step? Being grateful for what we have? Doesn’t that inspire us to want to make sure that other people have the same chances?
Another example is public elections. One voter is an infinitesimally small percentage of all the votes that will be cast. So what difference does it make if I just sit the election out, right? My vote doesn’t carry any weight anyway. And looking at it that way certainly makes sense. If there’s over 318 million people in the United States, my vote can’t make much of a difference. But what would happen if all 318 million people thought that? Then the election would be left up to a handful of people in the electoral college, and who knows how that would turn out. Plus, thinking that nothing you do makes a difference is dangerous. Long term apathy leads to depression and unemployment. The bottom line is that our actions do make a difference. Even if my opinion doesn’t affect anyone but me, at least I’ll still be happy and have a job
