Our world is currently packed with around eight billion people. This population is increasing every single second, and the competition for resources and space is becoming more and more severe. The effect of this competition has consistently manifested itself throughout history and in the present in the form of war, inequality and discrimination.
In some parts of the world, people battle starvation and thirst each day, while in other parts, there are those who die from heart disease and other conditions relating to overnutrition. In some countries, children are fully refused the chance to practice their basic right to education. On the other hand, some children drop out of school and college regardless of the support they are offered. All of these facts indicate that there is an obvious disparity in the way resources are distributed. If this disparity is not corrected, our younger generation will face seriously exacerbated versions of the same problems that we face today.
The moon is about 384,400 kilometres away from the earth, and the sun is a tremendous 152.1 million kilometres away from the earth. Regardless of how far the sun and moon are from the earth, they are quite visible to us from nearly every part of the world. Strangely enough, although distance does not affect the fact that almost all the inhabitants of our planet can see these two objects clearly, the same factor of distance prevents us from seeing another person who lives in the city next to ours, or even in the street next to ours.
This is because down on earth, there are multiple obstacles preventing us from seeing too far. Additionally, the surface of our planet is curved so that after a certain distance, objects will appear to sink into the horizon. We share a home with people we will never meet or even see throughout the entirety of our lives.
Perhaps this is the reason why we face so many problems which upon examination, prove to stem from causes that can also be the solution to another problem.
We look towards the future, we look at the sky, and we see an unobstructed path for development. We have set great goals for our world that everyone can see and learn the importance of. However, issues such as starvation and discrimination cannot be remedied with just discussion and proper planning. These issues have been present for so long that they have become part of humanity itself. Fixing these problems calls for a fundamental change in the very manner that human beings exist. We must lead our minds to evolve so that people see every choice they make as a chance to step closer to the goals that we have set for this world.
Our young people have been given a chance to lead this country and shape this world. It is thus our responsibility to not simply adopt the principles of our past generations, but rather to bring forth the hope and inclusivity that have become characteristic of our generation. Let us create a home where our goals and dreams are not stars in the sky, but flowers along our streets. That way, we need not look up at the sky for hope, but find it in our very own footsteps.
