Giving the vision teeth

I was digging through some old writing today and saw this...I wrote a brief paper a few years ago that speaks to the core of what I feel and see in the world today:

"I see that when we see a truth and understand that something is wrong, we cannot simply sit by passively and let it happen, we have to actively pursue the truth and what we know to be right. It is not enough to simply advocate good, one must do good in turn for this to actually have any effect."

It is so encouraging to look back and see that I was thinking this years ago, and just didn't know how to fully put it into practice. Now, as I reflect on some of my bigger goals in life-to be a part of a movement that enriches a community, I see that I was made for this...uniquely and purposefully and these desires aren't something new.

Some catharsis:

Today I was reading something for class that was talking about the importance of a community; it discussed how community shapes peoples' values and lifestyles. This is so true. This past year, as i've worked on a plethora of foreign policy issues, I have become convinced that the only way for countries to progress is for communities to shape the culture and the culture to shape the politics. There is no way around this...try as we might, our efforts to "change the world" otherwise haven't worked. We have to start at the community level, with people's hearts and minds. If we do international development work and only give people resources and buildings, but fail to equip them in a way that sustains their lifestyles, teaching them that the words "right and wrong" matter...then what good have we done them? If we provide a country with security but fail to show them a vision that promotes moral good, what have we done?...only prolonged a directionless existence. Things like resources, buildings, and security are all important, even vital, but they simply don't work without a community basis that will use them to progress a people. I would argue strongly that good foreign policy has to integrate "hearts and minds" community solutions.

Look, for example, at the country of Iraq. The US has tried, and in many ways failed, to give the Iraqis a better life and a better government. Why has the US failed? I would argue that it is because the US has focused far too much on the top-level without giving the Iraqis the kind of grassroots movement they need for real change. We have focused on giving the Iraqis resources, buildings, and security...pouring billions of US taxpayer dollars into their economy, and hoping the Iraqis will learn their lesson and change their ways. But, we haven't focused on giving them a good reason to change their ways. We've tried to give them a democratic government, where people's opinions count for something and where the masses have a stake in their governance, but at the same time we've done very little to educate the voters and tell them why their opinions matter and even show them how to make good decisions. Similarly, what motivation do Iraqi drug dealers have to stop dealing drugs, trafficking, and promoting corruption if we don't show them that there is a better, in fact more fulfilling, way? And there is a better way...there is a better way...this kind of vision has to be promoted if we want our foreign policy to truly be successful. Many blame the USG for "throwing money" at problems, and I think we often do throw money at problems. We give people a bandaid, rather than showing them the cure, or teaching them how to share the cure with others. To reuse an already overused analogy, we "give a man a fish, and feed him for a day" rather than "teach[ing] a man to fish and [enabling him to] fish for a lifetime."

Okay, so maybe you agree with me. The question now is what are you going to do about it? What are you already doing about it (maybe a lot, I don't know)? Are you sitting back and expecting the government to fix people's problems? If so, then i think it's time to change. You and I have to step up and become a part of the solution. The solution starts right here, right now, in our own communities. Until we're willing to change them, we really have no business trying to tell people overseas how to do things. And, if you don't think change is worth it-that change is possible-then what are you living for?