This world has seen despicable acts perpetrated by humans since the beginning of time. Whether the atrocities are caused by war, greed, hunger for power, or just neglect, humans have been destroying the planet and each other for centuries. In World War II, the world saw an act of genocide by Hitler and his military groups and the nuclear bomb being dropped all in the midst of one conflict. We have seen age old wars in the Middle East and biochemical weapons used on innocent people and children, but there is something far more ghastly than those crimes and that is doing nothing about them.

We have a powerful weapon at our disposal and that is our voice. Whether through a written medium, television, or protest, people have ways to be heard. Nothing in this world changes until we make a conscious effort to stop it. Today there is an urge to ignore anything bad going on the world. We have the ability to turn off the chatter that lets us know what is going on in the world. People have already forgotten about the civil war in Syria that was all over the news months ago. Just because you close your eyes does not mean the problem does not exist. Things do not have to stay this way, though.

Being realistic, it would be ignorant to say one voice changes the world. That one voice, however, tends to ignite a spark for change. Instead of waiting for someone else to help make a change, you can be the start of the change. It takes one person to spark an idea or philosophy that people can get behind to change the world. Nothing will change if we continue to ignore the injustices in our world and in our own country.

The first time I truly thought about this was on a trip to New Orleans. After eating at restaurant we all went out for the night. I noticed that one of the individuals in our group brought her leftover food while we were walking. I was confused until I saw her give it to one of the homeless people on the street. I realized that the few days we had been there I had never once thought about doing that for someone.

I know that I myself have to be better at making a conscious effort to make change. Whether it is giving a homeless person my dinner one night or writing a senator about a bill that needs to change, we have to at least try. No one has a right to complain about a problem when they sit on their couch watching TV instead of trying to help find a solution to the problem. I hope that one day we can all help make this world a better place. If we aren’t a part of the solution then we are part of the problem.