Speech-Sydney Taylor

“A penny saved is a penny earned.” Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of our United States of America, understood the importance that even one penny can have in a person’s life. While you may think a penny is worthless, one girl has found use for the currency most think they can do nothing with. To earn her Silver Award for Girl Scouts, young Chandra Starr reflected on the month that she and her mother had spent homeless, eating at a soup kitchen in order to survive. She recalled the food was never particularly healthy and it resulted in weight gain and signs of pre-diabetes. However, since securing a house, she and her mother have altered their diet dramatically with meals revolving around fruits, veggies, and green foods. So Starr decided that she wanted to provide a privilege she graciously acquired by making it possible for the homeless to eat healthier. She called it The Million Penny Project. Her goal was to collect $10,000 in pennies to donate to Growing Food Forward. While she initially collected on her own, Starr then put plastic containers in local businesses to collect and spread the word of her project, eventually catching the attention of the local news.  

Most people have sat by passively and watched as problems like this persist, but all it takes is one Starr in a galaxy to shine some light on a dilemma previously shoved to the backs of our minds. 

Essentially, people are often reluctant to put any effort toward changing big issues in the world because they feel hopeless and are convinced that a small contribution won't help. 

However, this mentality only allows these real issues like nutrition, poverty, and climate change to worsen. 

Today, we will discover the importance of our participation by looking at the psychological causes behind our inaction, the consequences it has for our future, and the ways we are able to take modest steps to make an immense difference. 

It could be daunting to take on a global problem. Crushing feelings of despair and helplessness that overtake them is why people struggled to get involved at all. This is followed by guilt associated with not being able to do enough. When we are presented with a seemingly overwhelming problem, we believe there’s no way we can make a contribution. Rosemary Randall, a psychotherapist and climate change researcher and writer, suggests in her article "The id and the eco" that "thinking about climate change is upsetting and brings to the surface an internal conflict on how to respond." Essentially, we become paralyzed by our assumed incompetence. 

Often times when encountered with a terrifying obstacle people rely on ego defense mechanisms which are ways that our psyche protects us from things that cause us anxiety. Rationalization is a defense offering different explanations to condone behavior. Susanne Stoll-Kleeman, professor of applied geography and sustainability science at Ernst Moritz Arendt University of Greifswald in Germany, argues "people tend to rationalize their inaction, creating arguments that blame others, underemphasize the importance of personal action, and overemphasize the cost of shifting from a comfortable lifestyle." In other words, "It's just too much work to change the way I live." "I don't have time to do those things, I have a job and a family." "I have personal problems to worry about." People construct convincing vindications when it comes to problems plaguing our society, and as a result, nothing changes.

However, if we continue to turn the other cheek and ignore the climate crisis and growing poverty around the world, the repercussions could be irreversible. They won't simply go away, rather they will worsen to the point of no return. When most people think about the disasters in the world around them, they don't consider the advances that have been made toward solving them. There are easy ways they can help. When people hear about the climate crisis they get anxious. When a UNICEF commercial comes on the TV, portraying images of poverty and people starving in other countries, most people would rather change the channel. According to unicefusa.org "Despite progress, 18,000 children still die every day from causes we can prevent." And that's just it. We focus on the number rather than the progress. If we don't continue to make head-way we fall behind altogether.

We need to acknowledge our fears because that is the only way we will realize they are manageable. We need to stop accepting the excuses we use to justify our inaction. We need to realize that problems don't get solved by one person, they are fixed by many people working and coordinating together in pursuit of one goal. But if no one starts a movement nothing will ever get done. Josh Tickell grew up in an area of Louisiana between Baton Rouge and New Orleans known as "Cancer Alley" due to the numerous industrial plants in the area that cause inhabitants constant health problems, including cancer. His idea was to, hopefully introduce biodiesel as a reliable replacement for harmful oils that destroy the environment and peoples' health. He bought an old Winnebago, dubbed it "The Veggie Van", and built "The Green Grease Machine" processor used to power the van with biodiesel. Then he went on a 25,000 mile two-year tour of the United States powering the van with used grease from fast food restaurants and educating companies and people along the way about the viability of alternative fuel. He demonstrates that the only way to make a difference is to put aside fears and doubts and do anything you can in order to change the world. Because once you start something, a domino effect can make your cause grow into a phenomenon that can make a difference. We must use our voices and rise up against our self-doubt.

After successfully reaching her goal by her deadline, Chandra Starr decided to raise her goal and even inspired others to start their own Million Penny Project. Anyone has the capability to accomplish a small objective in the quest for a monumental objective even if it is just making a contribution to The Million Penny Project, donating to UNICEF, or swapping your car out for a veggie mobile. One step is at least a step in the right direction. So forget your fears, demolish your doubts, and hold on to your hope because as English writer Sydney Smith said “It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little.”

 

"Our Mission." UNICEF USA. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.

"Rosemary Randall – The Id and the Eco." Aeon Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.