Supporting various humanitarian causes is a Harding rite of passage. Every semester we have the opportunity to donate a few dollars, buy a T-shirt or go without shoes for a day to raise awareness for different causes, but do we honestly care? Awareness campaigns go in and out of vogue within a matter of months, so many social issues are left unresolved and no true change occurs.
This type of fickle support for social issues reminds me of the lyrics to “Dreaming of Peace” by singer/songwriters Jenny & Tyler. In this song, Jenny sings, “Show the world that we’re aware/But we’re not going anywhere./I can’t remember which petition I signed/But I sleep pretty well each night/Knowing that I’ve done my share in showing everyone I care.”
I am not advocating that we give up awareness campaigns, because we must be informed of issues in order to solve them. However, what if each of us dedicated an entire semester or school year to one cause? Rather than becoming superficially involved in multiple issues, we should focus on one topic and work to solve it until the job is done.
Most of the world’s most revered social activists became popular not because they casually dabbled in multiple issues. Instead, they devoted their lives to one cause and worked until the issue was solved or they died. Susan B. Anthony, Booker T. Washington, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa changed the world because they were passionate about their individual cause and they allowed their lives to be consumed by it.
Imagine the good that could be accomplished if all 7,155 Harding students dedicated themselves to a specific cause for an extended amount of time. If we each used our interests and skillsets to benefit the local and global communities for months or even years, we could be true agents of change. We would go through the whole process of identifying a need, creating a solution, implementing the change and solving the problem.
Use the rest of this semester to discover the issue that inspires you to action. Perhaps you will participate in a service project with your social club or with a group during the Bisons for Christ Day of Service, and you decide to continue that project later. Maybe you read a news article about child slavery in Ghana and you organize several mission trips to free those slaves. Never settle for the complacent satisfaction of only buying a T-shirt or changing your Facebook profile picture for a week. Do not allow yourself to merely be aware of many issues. Focus on one and witness the massive change you can create.
