Do what you can

There are things happening out in the world daily that most people just simply don’t have control over. There is no way for the average citizen in the United States to stop wars in foreign nations, worldwide hunger and homelessness or to change the major decisions made by government officials.

This last week and a half alone has been overwhelming, with mass terrorist attacks, hundreds of thousands of fleeing refugees finding fewer places to turn, and people everywhere attacking and shouting over social media about what a messed-up world we live in.

But what can any of us do about it?

I am not stating this question ignorantly to imply that there are no solutions to be found. There are answers everywhere. What I am doing is posing a question that flashes through each of our minds and through each of our mouths when we hear about things like the terrorist actions in Paris and Beirut.

We all ask this. But how do we answer that question honestly?

The night Paris was attacked and I heard the news, I was one of many to change my profile picture on Facebook to show the French flag. There are plenty of people who have taken to social media saying this outward expression is just that — an expression. It will do nothing for the people suffering due to what happened. That it is only a status or profile picture or whatever to make everyone think you are doing something or that you care.

I say, shut up. This is what I know I can do now, so I’m going to do it.

It never is just about changing a profile picture, sending a passionate tweet or ranting on Facebook. It’s about wanting to do something and choosing to act, even if it seems to be in the most inconsequential thing possible. It’s about standing for what is right and not backing down, even if your words will only reach your friends or fellow college students on social media or readers of the school newspaper. Change your profile pictures. Update your status. Share a blog post. Write a letter to public leaders. Stand with Paris. Stand with Beirut. Stand with the refugees searching only for homes to warm their children and pillows to lay their heads on. Do what you can and do it with courage, even if nobody on the other side of the world will ever know you are standing by their side through it all.

We all have our voices. We have our words, our actions, our beliefs in what is right and what is absolutely not. It may not change everything, but it can have an impact on how others see the world and their personal influence in it. It can change something, and that includes yourself.

— Mandy is a senior majoring in journalism, with a minor in political science. However, she is currently deliberating whether writing fluff pieces about nature wouldn’t make her happier than the world of politics after graduation, which is only one semester away. Reach her at: mandy.m.morgan@aggiemail.usu.edu or @mandy_morg.