One week left of my summer class and then I get an actual summer break for almost two months. I am excited to have some time to finish summer projects. (And yes, I hope to return to a weekly blogging schedule.)
I was listening to On Point which had a show talking about how news can talk more about solutions rather than just describing problems. There is a lot going on to be depressed about. There is a lot to be angry about. There are also reasons to believe problems are too big to solve.
I feel it often—depressed, beaten, nothing I as an individual can do. But then I hear about all the other people feeling this way, and then ask myself “If everyone who felt helpless about a problem did one thing to try to solve it, what would that do?”
Yes, America has money making machines that will seek to monetize anything without actually solving a problem. People jump onto bandwagons and try to look like they are doing something good as opposed to actually doing something good. Humans did not evolve in the modern world. The human brain and body are not made for the modern world.
But you could argue humanity did not evolve learning to read. Writing has been around for a small period of human history. Yet we still learned how to use writing in our lives and how to teach how to read and write effectively. What makes humans so unique is our ability to adapt, and form social groups that share resources to overcome obstacles.
Gods don’t care what we believe, they care what we do. Something is always better than nothing, even if the something you can do is not going to solve a problem. The first attempt at something will always suck, and solving complex problems won’t happen on the first try.
There is always reason to hope. There is always reason to learn more. There is always something that can be done—donate to an organization doing good work, volunteering, or finding small tasks o do that will help.
Happy Fourth of July!