DragonSlayer
The setting is China. Tiananmen Square, 1989. A college protest rally. Tanks everywhere. Suddenly in the path of one of the tanks appears a man, a college student. He stands on the dividing line in the middle of the road. The crowd grows silent, waiting to hear his plea, waiting for him to make some sign. He does not scream, does not shout a rally cry for his cause, instead simply stood there with his fist raised in defiance of oppression. He does not seem to notice the massive tanks growing closer and closer. When the lead tank finally ran over him without the slightest hesitation, a great battle was won against oppression worldwide, at the cost of one man’s noble life.
The next scene is America. Present day. The land of opportunity. There are no tanks running through our streets. Our government does not hunt us down like frightened deer. No, we are free. People of the world would give up everything they hold dear for one taste of our freedom. We have more rights and privileges than our ancestors would have ever imagined. Every tool, every technology, every luxury of life that human ingenuity can provide is ours. Yet, what do we do with this abundant wealth? Do we share it with the world around us? Do we pass on our good fortune to others? No. Why would we do something like that? Instead, we hoard our wealth, locking it away behind closed doors, as if afraid that it will disappear the moment we lay eyes on it.
Why don’t we do something about injustice? If we have the means to fight it, then why aren’t we at war with evil in this world? There is a simple answer. For all our armies, submarines, planes, nuclear bombs, for our entire arsenal of weapons, America is afraid. In spite of everything we have, each and every one of us is afraid. The mentality of the masses rationalizes our behavior with petty excuses. We have this NEED to feel superior. If everyone in the world had shoes, what would make Nike’s cool? We keep the rest of the world at our mercy, controlling them by withholding knowledge and resources. Every thoughtless or evil deed that we do contributes to keeping the world, its people, and Earth itself under our control.
I can see what is going through your mind at this very moment. It’s not me, I don’t harm anyone. Besides, there’s nothing I can do that will change anything. This is the mindset of almost every single person in America. We all know what is wrong with the world, and many people say they support change, but no one actually does anything. Causes don’t need believers; they need leaders. If you will not fight for your cause, whom do you expect to fight for you? The practice of blindly conforming to other’s laziness hurts just as much as willing and open destruction. You cannot walk on the fence or someone might push you off. Refusing to fight for anything, refusing to get involved on the grounds that you don’t matter defies our nature as human beings. By being born on this planet, you became involved. There is no middle of the road, no neutrality. Pick one side of the fence and walk on it.
The way to change the world is simple. Pick a cause and rally to it. There are so many out there. Join a club, volunteer, write letters, rally, protest, donate, even help little old ladies across the street. We are all capable of doing so much more than we think. Every ounce of human kindness and compassion adds up to the whole. Little things can do more than you expect. It is said that no one man can stop a tank. Returning to the story in Tiananmen Square, we see that this is not the case. The boy was run over by the tank, but he stopped it dead in its path more surely than if he built wall of brick and stone. His desire to end oppression became a worldwide cause. His sacrifice freed the entire world from domination. Not today, not tomorrow, but someday all will be free. Oppression is being fought even now as your eyes read this sentence.
I have one final challenge for you. It’s only three words long, and yet one of the hardest things you will do in your life. Justify your existence. Only that. Give a reason why the air you breathe and the space your molecules occupy would not be better reserved for some other purpose. It is hard to justify a selfish life. However, one of the easiest ways to say your life counts is to point out the ways that you reach outside yourself to change the world. Miracles come from surprising sources. . Joan of Arc led French armies against the English and drove them out of the country, freeing her people. If she were alive today she would not have lived to be old enough to be drafted. Alexander the Great conquered the known world before he reached middle age. If that is not an impossible dream reached, there is no such concept. Every one of us has a world to conquer. Your cause may be as simple as getting new team uniforms, or as complex as reducing pollution, but you can make a difference in the world. Make it a better place.
Get involved. Learn something. Stand for something greater than yourself. Dare not to be ignorant. As members of the human race, we have the obligation to improve our existence. Make the betterment of our lives your personal responsibility, and make each tomorrow a little better than today!
