When I was a child, I couldn’t wait to grow up. Partly
because grown-ups don’t have curfews, can stay up late at night and drive cars.
But also because grown-ups have a lot more power. I remember seeing beggars
come by our house and my grandfather would pass them some money. I remember
watching the news and seeing wars, fights, and people crying. There were always
people crying. And I remember telling myself, ‘When I’m bigger, I’ll make
everything better’. That dream only solidified as I grew older.
When I was a child, people would tell me to dream big.
People would tell me that being youthful is powerful. At school, teachers would
tell us that we are the next generation that would rule the world. Every time I
pretended to be Superman, people would call me cute. Being nice to others and
helping the needy were actions that came naturally, without a second thought.
‘Destined for great things’, they would say.
Funny how all that changed.
As I grew older, I realise being a grown-up is not fun after
all. For one, grown-ups complain about a lot of things but really, that’s all
they do. They’re given power but they choose to throw it in the thrash. They’re
given solutions and opportunities but they choose to be the problem.
‘Bribery is a way of life now. You want to survive, you
adapt.’
‘Well, this is not Gandhi’s time anymore. If anyone starves
to make a point nowadays, people wouldn’t even blink. Now it’s all about guns
and blowing things up.’
‘Don’t be too naïve. Good people don’t exist anymore. You’re
only going to get yourself hurt.’
‘Most friendships are fake. Be nice for the connections
because in the end that’s what they want from you too.’
‘It’s not our responsibility. Leave the job for those with
power.’
Any of the above sound familiar to you? I know it sounds
familiar to me because these are the comments I get almost every other day from
people around me. Ironically, these are the same people who always wish things
would get better. They suffer, they complain and they wish. They wish for
someone else to come up with the solution. If only I could tell them that by
wishing hard enough, things will really get better. But I can’t. Because it’s
not.
“The only thing necessary
for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” – Edmund Burke
Things don’t have to be so complicated. You don’t need to be
someone special. You don’t need to be rich, have extra-terrestrial powers or
try to be anyone else for that matter. You just have to be willing enough to be
the change instead of the problem. Until enough people realise that, things
will not get better.
If ‘changing the world mentality’ is a mentality only for
the naïve, out-dated, immature and childish, then that's what I'd rather be.
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