World We Dare to Imagine

I just noticed this morning that my post did NOT post correctly several days ago, so I apologize for the delay in getting this posted! 

For society to become better, change needs to start from within. It is crucial that we look to create connections that are based on mutual understanding and trust, rather than exploitation for personal gain. When enough of us develop this kind of altruistic mindset, we can use our differences and unique experiences to foster unity. From our internal changes towards one another, external changes will simply follow. While this is not something that can be fixed overnight, it is important that we tackle these issues head on, whether that be through policy change or early education. State-level decisions (public policy) about how and where to invest resources have differential implications based on gender, race and ethnicity.

My ideal first step in making social change would be to increase education at young ages about these things that plague our society - namely environmental issues and inequalities of gender, race, and class. I believe that once someone truly understands someone else’s situation and is able to be empathetic and put themselves in their shoes, many problems are resolved and a sense of peace and unity is reached. If we can begin to educate more children better about these issues at a younger age, I think we can see hope for a brighter future.

For environmental issues, educating children in elementary school about the environment and how it is affected by different factors can help instill a sense of care early on for our future leaders.

For economic and social inequality, educating children in middle school about how it can affect people physically and physiologically is important to grasp at that age. Work income is influenced by macroeconomic, individual-level and even policy factors like minimum wage statutes. Moreover, an individual's position relative to the poverty line is largely determined by employment, education and wages, with each being significantly impacted by public policy. It's also known that pronounced inequality occurs between women of different ethnic groups; however, this inequity has only recently been taken into account in a comprehensive manner when assessing women's economic stature. Ingraining these facts in our future leaders could also be a good step into creating empathetic leaders.