So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth. ~ Baha’u’llah
What’s new? What’s trending? Well, the cat is out of the bag and finally we’re all out to get it. Except in this case the cat does not refer to a secret kept from everyone, rather, a fact that everyone knew but chose to ignore — Climate Change.
Let’s not focus on the fact that it took about 9,06,000 hectares of the Amazon forest to be burned down or 390 billion tonnes of melting glaciers a year or a video of that poor little turtle with a straw up its nose to catch the attention of people who would, otherwise, choose to scroll past to another TikTok video of a girl dancing to Latin music. Difficult to ignore this but for the sake of the theme of this article, let me restrain myself.
Let’s focus instead on the present scenario. What happened ‘after’ people started sharing news articles, pictures and videos of our Mother Earth dying her way into oblivion? Some wise person in some corner of the world said, “Wait a minute. If the Earth dies, wouldn’t we die too? If sea levels rise, wouldn’t we all be submerged in no time? How would we breathe?” And yes, wise fellow Earthling, how would we breathe indeed? So, people, being people, listened to this wise person and started thinking along those lines, spreading this striking thought to whoever would listen.
Those who had not cared about the environment earlier have started working along with those who did. Organisations which had given up on any of their mechanisms working, re-established themselves to finally see some positive change.
And the result of this? Movements like ‘People for Climate Action’, ‘Greenpeace’, ‘Fridays for Future’ have shone in these past few months, with their exemplary methods of protest, demonstration and action. Plastic has been banned in over 60 countries, cleaning drives, awareness programmes and youth festivals have been on the rise all over the world and the people, well, have been more united than ever.
And how? How, dear reader, how have people come to the realisation that ‘Action is key’ in this current state of affairs? Simple answer- Because people, like the wise person himself, are affected. So, William E. Gladstone was right in saying, “Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race.” But this very curse is what is leading people to get out there and work. Imagine if every cause was seen in this light. Imagine if people realised that poverty is a serious issue, imagine if people protested against gender disparity, imagine if people put forth their ideas for a happier world; the same way they’ve united for affirmative climate action. In simple terms, we need to ‘feel’ the suffering of the world as our own in order to work and ‘heal’ it to make it a better place. And this, I believe, is not a distant dream. The drive against Climate Change is proof.
All in all, 2019 will be a year to remember and remember it fondly we will. This year has seen world unity, like never before and even though, hush hush, we can all do much better, it has been a great start. So, maybe it’s time we start believing in the power of the masses. Every social issue brought forth if driven in the right direction has the potential of causing a global scene and if we’re honest, in this trend/sensation-driven world, that’s what we need to get people to listen and really change the world!
Well, what once was a dream is now a reality — the world stands together for the good of the community and we have miles to go. And finally, for those who still remain unconvinced of the power of unity, the words of John Lennon might just do the trick, “You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you will join us. And the world will live as one!”
(Contributed by Athira Saji)