By: Tel Asiado
To live harmoniously with our surroundings, be it our immediate neighbours or our fellow citizens of the world, we should not only be aware of the consequences of our actions. We should also be responsible for them.
Our world has become a very small place - in social, political and environmental terms - with incidents and developments in one sector of the world rapidly affecting the entire planet. The amazing Internet has transformed our communications into seconds. A decision taken by our world leaders can cause turbulence in the world and affect the lives of ordinary citizens like us. A generous donation from wealthy countries can help improve the conditions of natural calamity victims or starving children somewhere in Africa or third world countries.
This century is a trying time of unprecedented challenges and changes. Not only for our world leaders but for us ordinary people. We have seen and experienced vast changes in the global economic system. Yet some who live in wealthy countries are only vaguely aware of these changes. How many of us realize, for example, that the economic crisis in some countries has more than doubled the number of people in those countries living in poverty? As a result, we hear of children who are malnourished and will grow up with health problems, with pathetic conditions.
The primary responsibility for these developments lies with our world leaders, in particular, the governments of the world’s wealthy nations. It is these governments that set the rules and laws for global trade through institutions, among other things.
If we vote for these politicians or government leaders who are responsible for the deterioration of the global environment, we are as much responsible. We also share responsibility for the worsening economic situation of millions of people. The fact that we may be ignorant or know little about global economics does not exonerate us of responsibility.
The media, influding the Internet, bring us the news, our primary sources of information. The reality is that the mainstream of this information may present limited views of what is actually happening in the world. And how about the half-truths, sensationalized and biased reporting we have to contend with. We don’t have to believe or accept every news to be true.
Yet it's the same media that also play a vital role in precipitating positive change. For instance, a Daily News with a wide circulation can expose a corruption and crime by running a serialised story or follow up a lead about a significant event. Such stories, once taken seriously and formally investigated, can produce productive results for the community or the world in general. One specific event I have in mind was the international media exposure of the pre-1994 South African government’s injustices that helped bring down the apartheid regime. The rest is history. Even when demonstrators take to the streets they do so in part with the purpose of making their demands gain publicity, thereby putting pressure on government leaders, politicians, as well as corporate decision-makers.
We don’t need to be passive consumers of news either. A variety of information channels exists including magazines published by social-justice oriented organisations. Some books and articles with well-known commentators have exposed realities beneath the gloss of political and/or corporate propaganda. Sections I always take into account are the ‘letters to the editor’ and ‘opinion’ pages of newspapers, magazines and Internet Websites that alert us to issues, relevant or trivial. Some local government leaders schedule a meaningful discussion with their constituency. We can also listen to talks by visiting speakers or visit our Civic Community office for announcements.
Being aware of our environmental activities, at the same time taking responsibility for our actions, could have a far-reaching effect starting from our own backyard to our global system.
