Change must begin at the individual level

Jul 04, 2009 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
Michael Jackson was truly an icon in the global music industry. Beyond his personal troubles he was the embodiment of phenomenal talents.
Nonetheless, he was the sum total of all of his experiences. All the things he did and did not do define him as a very special actor on the world stage of international relations.
His genre of music described certain realities both at the individual and community levels.
He saw the “figure and the ground”, the context and the content of these realities.
As an artist he was a cultural mediator, keeping the international community in conscious relation to the various dynamics of the world in which we live.
It is also the role of the artist to create distance between us and these realities, providing the space to reflect and act upon that reflection. One such reality is world hunger and his solution to it. “We are the world” was the song that called attention to what was happening in the very poor regions of the world.
As it now stands, the so-called Third World could implode upon itself because there are too many people and too little food. Millions of children go to bed hungry every night in many poor countries because there is a serious scarcity of food or the price is prohibitive for parents to feed their children.
According to a United Nations estimate of world population, by 2020 about 8 billion people will vie for space on the planet.
About 80 percent of that number would live in today’s underdeveloped world. Again, food would be a major source of contention.
Honestly, there can be no development if people are preoccupied with hunger because it would be difficult for them to focus on independent goals and future choices.
Therefore, this song was a call to all to reflect upon our duty as our brother’s keeper, to identify with those who were in need and take decisive action to make the world a better place, by stopping world hunger.
However, climate change is contributing to increased food prices and food scarcity and the need for better food security.
This leads to a comment on his song about the environment – the “Earth Song” In this piece of art, the picture is clear; man is destroying the earth with his forms and advances of technologies.
Yet, man must depend upon this same earth for his survival. The artist called for environmental stewardship and justice.
These are important because the very technologies have made the world a shared global village and an event in the remotest part of the remotest part of the earth can have serious implications for the rest of it.
Finally, his song, “Man in the Mirror” points the way on how to change local communities and consequently, the wider society. Although mirrors do not always tell the truth, the message of the song is clear. Change must begin at the individual level.
The world can be victorious in its struggle against world hunger and climate change but we have got to commit to a process of change that starts with us.
Royston King

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