The above quote is from one of my favorite coaches of all time, former UCLA basketball coach, ''The Wizard of Westwood," John Wooden. I talk a lot about him throughout the year because he's kind of a hero of mine, even though, usually, I claim not to have any.
This quote, one of his more well known ones, got me thinking about the state of the world we live in, and how one day soon, it will be up to all of you to fix it. No pressure. :( But, if you even glance at the TV when the news is on, you know I speak truth.
We're in bad shape, and I am seriously doubting the world's so-called political leaders have a clue how to go about reversing the damage.
But, that's what I think is so great about kids. Your potential is limitless, your perspectives are fresh, and your souls aren't yet weary (I truly hope). All that simply means--if the world is going to change, it will be because you guys changed it.
Let's start with what you think is wrong. Maybe you think it's racism, maybe you think it's a propensity for violence, maybe you think it's ignorance, maybe you think it's sexism or poverty, or the fact that we've had the same 2-party political system for the past 200 years. Talk a little about what you think is truly wrong with the world. Think macro or microcosm (society at large, or Oakcrest society), and really tear into what needs to be changed and what, we, the adults in the room, did wrong. How could you, would you, should you, do it better or simply differently?
What you're doing is more than a blog posts, pumpkins. It's more than an assignment, more than a Genesis entry--this is your world and eventually your lives. Both of those things matter. Show me how much.
<3
The world is filled with tons of struggles and problems. Whenever you watch the news, you will always hear about something bad happening around the world. People believe that there is nothing they can do about these problems, so they do nothing. Although, they are wrong. One of the major problems in our world is hate and negativity towards others. When you are mean to others, you put them down and do nothing good for anyone. I know it seems very difficult, but if everyone respected and was nice to others, the problem would simply disappear. I know it's not quite as easy as I made it seems, but each person can make a difference. If you are nice to someone, they will often be nice to others too. The positivity spreads super fast. We just need to learn to respect others even if they are different. Imagine living in a world without hate... it would be pretty great. Personally, I try to be nice and get along with everyone. Solving this problem would also lead to many of the other problems to be fixed. For example, racism, terrorism, violence, and many other things would all be diminished. I think solving this problem must begin with our youth because our minds are more open for change and moldable. Everyone can make a difference, so we should start right away.
ReplyDeleteMAN I GET SO FREAKING FRUSTRATED whenever I think about this question. The world is full of complications but the three main things in my personal opinion are the worst would be hate, money and land. I guess that's why I hate APUSH, it's because all of what we learn about is literally people killing each other for money and land. WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU KILL SOMEONE BECAUSE YOU HATE THEM? Or because you want money from them? Or because you want their land? Hate is the strongest of the three because it can drive us to do unpleasant things. I believe that all humans are full of hate which is ok because we're not angels. But, I also believe that the difference between us is that some humans have the ability to control their hate and keep it to themselves and others just let it out. I don't like hate AT ALL, I don't like watching people hating on each other, I don't like watching people destroying others because of hate, this makes me go crazy. You don't have the right to show your hate to other people because who are u? If you hate someone KEEP IT TO YOURSELF, don't talk to them, act like they don't exist but never hate on them because hate can drive people to doing severe things that they might not realize how bad they are until it's too late.
ReplyDeleteANYONE could spend hours upon hours making lists of why this country actually sucks. There is a plenty full amount of problems and that will always be the case because that is just how life is.. now that we established that, some of the problems in this world are macro that we need to jump on are shown below :)
ReplyDelete-not feeling safe in school
-cops
-awful judicial system
-the PResIDenT
-GENDEr equality
-equality..
-THE WORST ONE. OUR GENERATION IS NOT EVEN WOKE ABOUT THESE ISSUES. We are going to be taking charge in just a few years and having to make significant decisons and this generation is not eduacated about the problems people face just because it may not affect them. WHICH is awful... To make this country a better place we need kids to be educated about the current issues so we can speak up and voice our opinion. so many people think " well what difference would I make? I cant do anything to fix that" But we can. If school systems, social media broadcast more of these topics then these kids could change the world. thank you for listening to my ted talk.
Without a doubt in my mind, there are many things wrong with the world we live in. The amount of trash we litter, our commander in chief, our education system. But what I truly believe is the WORST, most terrible thing that is wrong in the world is the idea of racism. Flat out. The fact that there are people in this world who teach their children that is okay to be against another child of color is sickening. There are parents, grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, great aunts, great uncles, even TEACHERS, teaching racism to children at such young ages. For many years, blacks, hispanics, jews, and many other people have gone through horrible things because of their race. We learn about slavery, the holocaust, we talk about immigration laws, we talk about terrorism. And of all the things we are taught and of all the things we talk about some racist ass would still find it okay to fix their mouths to tell us to forget about it or let it go. Let it go? Forget about it? Forget about the 400 some years of slavery that african americans had endured? Forget about an entire genocide that ended the lives of roughly six million jews? Is that what people are teaching their students and kids? To just forget and let go? Racism has been around for so long and we know it’s so wrong and yet it is still being taught. Racism is the epitome of hate. I blame the adults for racism because it’s taught behavior. I would rid the world of racism. I would teach the holocaust and slavery because they’re still historical events and kids deserve to know about their country’s past. But I would make sure that kids know that love is necessary. Self love is necessary. I would make sure that they know that no matter where you come from, no matter what color you are, no matter what kind of family you are born into, you are no better than the next child in the room. You don’t get to treat the next child any different because he is black and you are not or vice versa. Kids don’t see anything wrong with their classmates until someone points it out. I would wake the children up and be sure to tell them to STAY WOKE. Ignorance is bliss. Hate is strong.
ReplyDeleteI had in mind what I thought was wrong in today’s world because there’s a lot but I decided to look it up anyway. I clicked on the first website I saw that said “Top Ten Problems In the World Today.” There were more than 10 problems listed so I scanned down the website and began to see that the problems were written by the public. It felt like a never ending list of comments from people and it started to look like all of the hatred and opinions that happen in today’s world were pointed out and put on that list. I think in today’s world discrimination is a big conflict that’s complex to overcome because of the strong opinions of people all over the world. Telling someone their opinion is wrong or to tell them to change it isn’t going to work because they will stick to their word and who would change their opinion just because someone thinks it’s wrong? Not me. Because there are so many standpoints, they clash and create even bigger arguments. By discrimination I am referring to the judgment humans get because of their race, sex, color, religion, disabilities, personal views, etc. There’s an endless amount because the opinions of today are so outspoken and thoughtless. It’s always been a problem and will be. It isn’t something that could easily be changed. For me, a high school student, to take on an obstacle so huge that continues to worsen every generation would be difficult.
ReplyDeleteOkay so for starters, people suck. Sure, there are plenty of good people in the world, but the bad things can hold more weight sometimes. There are people out there who believe it’s okay to discriminate against others and take away their rights. There are people who abuse and hurt others, animals, and even ideas. There are people who don’t give two craps about the climate and our environment. Overall, there are a ton of things wrong with the world. It is as simple as turning on the news! I could write an entire novel and it still wouldn’t include everything. But anyways, a few things that I truly think are wrong with the world include the literal garbage we dump everywhere and anywhere there is room, the ignorant people who don’t care for change even though change can be a good thing sometimes, and lastly, those who hurt others physically and mentally. This isn’t about attacking the things we think are bad, but simply addressing them and accepting that we need to change. The hatred imbued (haha) within our society is something everyone needs to address and fix. Though, past generations did not really help out in diminishing this issue, the generation of kids and young adults now seem to be pretty open and accepting. Most of us see what is wrong, although we can’t really do anything about it at the moment. Hopefully, later on we can start to lessen this hatred of various things and improve. This is also the age of technology and as technology advances, so do our opinions and ideas.
ReplyDeleteThere are many things wrong in this world, but I think what should be addressed as a problem here is our complacency with these issues happening around us. We observe it everyday but don't do anything. I feel like if more people chimed in and did something, our troubles wouldn't be so severe. There are too many people watching it and thinking that since it happens so often, it must be normal and not do anything about it. If we become less complacent and more proactive, we could be preventing more. Hopefully our generation learns to do this, because our issues will become more and more problematic if we just sit on them.
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ReplyDeleteI’ve heard the sentence “We’ve tried everything to achieve change” from numerous adults regarding how messed up the world is today. The previous generation looked the other way when it came to dealing with real world problems. For example hunger and poverty, is a REAL world problem yet the suffering of celebrities is plastered all over the news. But I truly think that people do not realize that errors do not become failures until you let them. We think change is simply impossible and out of reach, which results in us lying back watching everything around us fall apart. I think that everyone in the world has been selfish at some point to either stick up for the themselves or just because that’s who they are. But the generations before ours were so caught in their doings and worried about their individuals selfs than to actually do something. You truly do not understand the value of something so special until it is gone. Now that earth today is desperately hanging on by a thread environmentally and socially, the ones who showed no concern before are the first ones in desperate panic. I want to voice my opinion no matter the situation and actually make a difference even if it is just by using my voice. Before I use to not say what was on my mind but I knew the difference between right and wrong, now I finally am confident enough to voice my opinion. Where I’m going with this is for people to step out of the shadows and voice their opinions when they are against something, like politics, racism, state your opinion instead of sitting in silence.
ReplyDeleteThe one of the things that angers me about the world is the fact that, it’s not as safe as it was before. When my dad was little, he was able to walk to places with his friends and his parents didn’t worry about him. But now, I can barely walk 5 blocks from my house without one of my parents worrying about me. And the only reason why I get to walk to places now is because I have a phone, so they can text me if they want to. But, when my dad was a kid, there was no such thing as a cell phone so he didn’t have to worry about that. Also, in today’s world, discrimination is a HUGE problem. Adults contribute more to this because some aren’t as accepting of people. Just because you are a different gender, age or race than someone, doesn’t mean that you have the right to treat them differently. But it’s not just how a person looks that affects this, it’s their personal views too. This happens a lot over social media because it gives people an opportunity to hurt someone without doing it face to face. I think that kids today should rely less on our phones to express our opinions and do it face to face. Furthermore, I also think that people should learn how to say their opinions in a nice way, rather than hurting people.
ReplyDeleteThere are many things wrong with the world today. I believe that the two biggest are hate and ignorance. Some may say that all violence stems from hate which much of the violent things in the world do but ignorance can be blamed for violence just as much as much as hate can. And ignorance can be blamed for much more. Hate is a huge problem in the world today, every time you turn on the news, hate is the leading story whether it´s another bombing or stabbing maybe even something as small as a fight can stem from hate. So without hate many of these things wouldn't exist, making the world a safer place. But Ignorance does a lot more then hate ever could. If violence stems from hate, some hate stems from ignorance. For example that fist fight mentioned above could have happened over one guy stealing someones money and that "someone" retaliated when in truth the "thief" was some random guy that got blamed for something he knew nothing about. In my belief, ignorance has also caused something much greater then hate ever could at this point, ignorance has caused a tear in our country. As John Dickinson once said in his song The Liberty Song(1768) "Uniting we stand dividing we fall". And right now do to the ignorance of the people, we are divided in the worst way for the first time since 1861(Civil War) and that was not a good 4 years for this country. Finally the division wouldn't be so bad if it were just one fracture but it's not it is multiple rips and tears in our society from presidential views to gun control and even equality which we as a country have had 200 plus years to perfect. Now I am not a politically sound person, I am not up to date or active in any kind of protests, I don't care who leads the country as long as they do their job right, all I know is that right now we as a nation are stuck in a hole and we will not be going anywhere soon until we all come together as a country to mend these tears like only a nation working together as one can do.
ReplyDeleteOur world just loves labels, and that is where our problem lies. We don’t know how to come together and realize we are one country. We put these ideas in people’s head that one skin color is better than another, liking the opposite sex is the only way to live, or that one gender is superior is to the other. If we weren’t so stuck on that and actually focused on how we could work together and make this country and world a better place. The generations before just put all these labels in people’s head and it just messed everything up. People who labeled back men as scary danger men are the ones to blame. People who labeled men having to wear suits and hold themselves a certain way, and people who labeled women having to wear dresses and wear makeup and themselves a certain way. People who labeled rich people as smart and poor people as stupid scum. We need to erase these labels. We need to teach our children it doesn’t matter how much money somebody has, it doesn’t matter what they look like, or it’s ok to like somebody of the same sex. If you’re having a girl don’t just give her dresses and bows throw in some cargo pants, or sneakers. We just have to start all over again.
ReplyDeleteWe all know the world has a massive list of problems that we all need to solve, and to think otherwise is flat out ignorant. There is still the issue of stereotypes and discrimination against people of other races, genders, religions, sexual orientations, wealth classes and many, many more subjects. However, one issue I do not see discussed enough is the issue of our country’s two party political system. I honestly think only having two major parties limits people’s options for candidates in any kind of election. There also seems to be this ongoing ideology that a person must be strictly republican or democratic, or within those two major parties, conservative or liberal. Having 2-4 groups to identify with restricts a person’s ideology and their opinions. However, maybe having a few different groups of political identity would be alright if stereotypes against other political groups didn’t exist. Someone who claims to be a liberal is typically assumed to be a radical, uneducated young adult, or conservatives are assumed to be old, homophobic white men who don’t accept any kind of change. If people dropped the stereotypes around political groups, I feel like we would all be more open to listening to others opinions and not be so quick to judge based off of a word they associate with, and therefore, would be more productive in fixing other issues our world faces.
ReplyDeleteWhile the world will never be perfect and there will always be small problems, we have way more than a few small problems with our world right now. There are many things wrong today, and I believe one of the worst (and possibly the stem of all other problems) is hate. There is so much hate in the world, like the hate of certain religions, genders, and just other ways that people live there lives. If people were just respectful to others than a whole lot of situations would be avoided, it's sad that after so much time and so many horrible results of hate that it still remains a problem. This problem is on a macro and micro level, from people saying mean things in the hallway to whole countries ignoring the problem and sometimes making it worse. But this needs to be resolved and it can if people start to respect each other and realize how great a world would be without hate and the violence following it. Another major problem to add on to this is that some people don’t believe that there are even any problems at all. They think that because these problems have continually happened and haven't changed, that they are the “normal”. We shouldn’t be becoming used to these problems, we should be solving them, and every person can help make these changes to better the world.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many things wrong in the world, that at times it's hard to find something that is even close to being right. I can't possibly list everything think is wrong because I would forget some or run out of space. But a few things I believe are wrong everywhere in the world is racism, hate (of all kinds), poverty, safety and security, the destruction of our earth and natural resources, and most importantly the fact that people know all of this and will say things that we can do to help but not work towards anything. We practically live in a world full of hypocrisy. Most people understand what is right from wrong and can figure out ways to find the good in things. However, not many actually work towards achieving the good and actually fixing things. Not everything will be solved, and that's okay. I don't think the adults we look up to now have done a terrible job of focusing us on what is wrong and why, I believe it's more of our generation's fault as to why these things have not hanged. Almost everyone these days has a phone that can tell us about the awful things occurring in the world and how it came to be that way. I've never heard of anyone actually caring enough to look, have you? We all use our phones as a way to hide from reality and create your own world online In a way, this has made us go downhill because of how much damage people can do when they are not face to face with one another. We need to grow up and actually pay attention and do the fixing ourselves rather than hoping someone else will do it for us. We've become lazy and dependent on other people to take care of the things unimportant to us, or the things that don't directly affect us. But in the long run, we are the ones who will prepare the future. We have gone through trial and error with many things and it just isn't working. Something needs to change, and it has to start with us as people before we can fix the things that are bigger than us.
ReplyDeleteThere will always be things wrong with this world that we live in, simply because there is no “perfection”. However, that doesn’t mean the world can strive for the things which is associated with perfection, and considering how awful this world is to live in right now, it sounds like a good idea. I will focus on my country, the U.S of A, and what we do wrong, because to be frank, there is a lot wrong here. Something I think is wrong is the amount of mass shootings that we have in this country, especially in the school environment. The fact that it is that easy for someone to get their hands on a gun, and the fact that NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE ABOUT IT, really gets to me. I shouldn’t have to even think or even ADDRESS the issue that I could be shot in a school, but the old white men which mainly compromise our government and the National Rifle Association simply do not care for our desire to, you know, live. It’s self-explanatory what should be done in terms of gun control, background checks, banning of certain attachments and magazines to weapons, bans on assault weapons (i.e assault rifles or LMG’s), all of that should happen. The voices of the public should be heard, and a large amount of them support the decisions I just listed. However, all that you would hear from the government on this issue is the wind, and the quick shuffle of papers as they move on to something else to avoid the issue. That’s one of my problems with this country, and I know well that our government won’t change it. We are.
ReplyDeleteTo start off, there is not a SINGULAR problem that is actually wrong with the world, which is what makes this response so difficult to write. Of course, hate, racism, violence, and selfishness are all horrible issues that many people deal with on a daily basis; however, I believe that the primary cause of all of the world’s problems traces back to misunderstanding and fear. I say this confidently, as it is possible to analyze many catastrophic events throughout history, almost guaranteed to find some sort of “phobia” behind the curtains. The Holocaust, Armenian Genocide, segregation, occupation of Palestine, and persecution of Christians in the Middle East are only but a few of the HUNDREDS of instances over the span of time that have been fueled by misunderstanding and fear. In modern American society, the news is plagued with occurrences of hate crimes, racist encounters, violence, and ridiculous interviews attacking specific groups of people. There would be nearly half of the horrible incidents that we experience, had we educated ourselves before we make our own assumptions. Don’t judge a book by its cover, a famous proverb, ties in closely with this topic, since we tend to draw our own conclusions about groups of people solely through misunderstanding and malinformation. This usually succeeds a traumatic event, such as the systematic hate of Muslims following the attacks on 9/11. Personally, adults/older generations have had a tremendous impact on how we view society and others in general. Our preferences are taught from birth, and whether we like it or not, everyone has at least a shred of bias in their subconscious. This may also be a larger problem - the irreversible, instinctive prejudice that we carry deep in our hearts. The first step to changing the world would be to change ourselves, since we can not improve anything if our own selves are not first improved. Thank you all for coming to my Ted talk, and have a blessed night.
ReplyDeleteWell bunj, I honestly don’t know if there's any hope left for the world. There is so many things wrong with this world that it’s hard to even acknowledge the good. The biggest problem that I see is plain ignorance. People are just so blatantly ignorant, especially about things they don’t understand. Recently in my health class we've started watching the movie Sybil. The main character Sybil has multiple personalities, so the movie shows how one personality takes over the body and how she functions through it all. The kids in my class constantly make comments and jokes about her, calling her “crazy” and “insane”. Its things like this that make me angry with the world. Like their first instinct is to call her crazy because that's how people with mental illnesses are portrayed in the media. It's the fact that they don't even try to understand why she's like that or how she developed her condition. They are trained to slap a label on her and move on. Its small comments like this that make people who struggle with mental illnesses feel bad about themselves and not want to step forward to speak up so they can get help. When I hear comments like this is makes me second guess myself and my struggles with mental illness, which IS NOT okay in any way. I shouldn't have to go to school and worry about what someone will label me as if they knew. It's the ignorance that people are just able to label someone off a stereotype and not even try to understand. Mental health in something that NEEDS to become a topic of conversation. It's something that needs to become a topic of discussion in schools, but it should be taught by people who know what they're saying. The school board thinks that by passing the responsibility over to the gym teachers to teach us about mental health that it will solve the problem. But in reality they only do it to cover their asses when people complain that it's not talked about enough. And that’s just pure ignorance. There is so much more that is wrong with the world. But for now i'll leave it here and deem that personally I feel like this is our biggest issue.
ReplyDeleteThis question has so many answers. For starters, women’s rights is a huge issue. I am not talking about the U.S, because I can safely say that this country is more evolved when it comes to comparing women’s rights in any other country. I am talking about countries like Egypt (Arab countries), where rape is a “girl’s fault”. Most men with power in Arab countries think that rape is not a man’s mistake, but the woman’s. When men in power are asked about rape, they say that the women should have covered themselves up completely so they didn’t trigger men’s hormones. Every time I hear about this, I get angry. A woman should be free to wear whatever she wants. We can not judge women for that. I believe that God should be the only one who judges a person. Likewise, another person should not tell you what to wear in order to please their mindset and beliefs. The fact that women are blamed for rape in these countries is ridiculous and not acceptable. But what gets me really frustrated is the fact that these countries will not change, as long as the empowered men think that way. It is not just that, girls there are not obligated to go to school ( I am not talking financially, because education there is expensive). Some parents’ mindsets are that they shouldn’t have to pay for a girl’s education when their job is simply to get married and have children; they should learn from their mothers how to be good wives. This is completely wrong and it gets me angry every time I hear about a girl who went through that. My main point here is that mindsets need to change. People need to be more open-minded and educated. If this does not happen the world will not progress and people will suffer tremendously. Also, people in power need to acknowledge the problem instead of ignoring. And putting the blame on others is a Huge problem that needs to stop.
ReplyDeleteObviously nothing is perfect and there will always be faults, but the amount of major issues with our world is ridiculous. People are so focused on the present that they are ignorant to all the things they are messing up for the future. Those who realize all the wrong that is going on do little to change it and it’s too big of a job for only a few people to accomplish on their own. People tend to ignore all the messed up things in the world and just focus on their own lives. Ignoring the issues will just make them worse in the future and everyone should be made aware of the problems. Some major issues in the current world today are the education system, our justice system/government, discrimination, and all the literal trash cluttering the Earth. It is messed up that those who have money or influence can get away with pretty much anything in court. It seems like anyone can just jump in and be a part of our government if they have money or connections, regardless of their political experience. Sexual assault is also a very big current problem in the country. Women are encouraged to speak up about it, but when they do, they receive backlash or are labeled as a liars. One really big issue that will continue to get worse if it’s ignored is all the trash and plastic covering the oceans and lands. If nothing is done to help this problem and stop further littering, than eventually the Earth will be covered in plastic. Everyone needs to recognize all these issues for there to be a positive change in the world. People often say things like "It's not my problem" or "There is nothing I can do, I'm only one person." If people continue to think this way, nothing will ever change. People need to be unified and make these changes together in order for them to work.
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ReplyDeleteI could literally go on and on about what I think is wrong with the world. I want to fix all of it but obviously I can’t, I’m just one person. But I do believe that as a generation we can do little things that will make an impact. Mass incarceration, the wealth gap, drug addiction, sexual assault, climate change, poverty and hunger, I believe are all pressing issues, among others as well. I think adults and the generations before us, specifically those in power, before us screwed us over when they realized they could profit from human suffering and injustice. Many of these issues kind of go hand in hand with systems of oppression like racism, sexism, classism etc. For example, after slavery “ended” white people targeted black people in ways that would still disadvantage them for centuries, and essentially, they created a cycle that is very hard to break out of. Mass incarceration, housing discrimination, job discrimination, are all ways that people of color are disadvantaged to this day, and I’m definitely making voting a priority once I’m eighteen. I think that mass incarceration definitely connects to capitalism and greed as well. Frankly, I’m sick and tired of seeing injustices occur due to prejudiced social justification, and laws and policies that perpetuate deeper social issues.
ReplyDeleteThe world is a mess right now: there are more disagreements than agreements, more evil than joy, more hatred than love. Above all else, ignorance is the underlying reason for the vast amount of racism, violence, and myriad of other problems occurring throughout the world. By not understanding another side of the story, a lack of knowledge simply leads to unnecessary conflict. In order to alleviate this issue, it is best if people better educate themselves about the “opposition” in order to get a better understanding for that perspective, rather than simply believing that the opposition is always unjust and evil; there are, after all, two sides to every story. I have faith in our generation to make better some of the mistakes of the older generations, as their mistakes have been made apparent and should be seen as a learning opportunity.
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ReplyDeleteWhat is wrong with this world is that people don’t put themselves in each others shoes. For example, people who say police brutality isn’t the cop’s fault a lot of the time need to understand what it’s like having a gun put up to you for something as little as a broken headlight. Or people who want to deport illegal immigrants need to realize that for the young kids, they didn’t have a choice on whether or not they could come to America because they were only babies or little kids when they crossed the border. But you also have to put yourself in the shoes of the “bad” people too. People such as Kaitlyn Bennett have been raised on beliefs that guns are good and a civil right. Racists are usually born into a community of racists, unexposed to the actual good world. The “good” and “bad” people in this country just need to walk in each other’s shoes and understand their perspectives. The only thing that’s stopping that is stubborness, if you don’t think people should carry around guns then it’ll be hard to change your mind about ti and vise versa.