All of us are going to college to get a higher education that will hopefully land us that high-paying job we've always dreamed of. That's all some of us really want. However, most of us want something more out of life. We want to somehow make a difference in the world. We want to change the world for the better.
Every day we look around and wish that we could do something to change what we see staring back at us from the television screen or even in real life.
We look up to people like Martin Luther King Jr. and see him as being someone who was bigger than life. Sometimes it is easy to become intimidated as a result.
We see ourselves as not being strong enough or not nearly as influential as he was. We wonder, how could we measure up to such greatness? How can we make a difference? Besides, how much can one ordinary man do, anyway?
As I am learning in my Creative Writing in the Community class, there is no need to be intimidated. It's not who we are that's important, it's what we say and do that is, which is especially true when we take into account that a lot of the people who made a difference in this world are not household names. Yet in their own way they did make a difference and were people just like us. They were people from some Midwestern town in the middle of nowhere who decided that they had something to say and didn't let the outside world and negative thoughts keep them from saying it.
This is not in any way trivializing the things that people like Martin Luther King Jr. did. I would never do that. All he did for the Civil Rights Movement was spectacular, indeed. All I am saying is the same thing that I am sure a hundred thousand people have already said before, and that is we don't have to be superheroes to take a stand for truth, justice and the American way. We don't need to wear some kind of colorful disguise that makes us feel like fools in tights; all we have to have is a heart and a voice to take a stance for whatever it may be that's important to us.
As we all know, there are a lot of injustices in the world. We can't turn on the television without seeing how someone was murdered, raped or kidnapped. Then, of course, there are the homeless who don't even have a blanket to keep themselves warm with in the dead of winter.
It's unimaginable to believe that people right here in our very own prosperous country are going to bed hungry because they don't have enough money to put food on their tables. In fact, there is a lot of pain and suffering to be found in this country, and that means there are plenty of causes to go around. If nobody was willing to stick their necks out and say "That's not right," then nothing would ever be done about them.
In the end, the best advice anyone can give is to not be intimidated by people like Martin Luther King Jr. Instead, follow their example and use your voice. After all, no one can hear you unless you speak up.
Write to Joshua atjsfaris@bsu.edu
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
