An Editorial for (a) Change!
The following is different from my typical blog entries. It is an editorial I shared at my Toastmasters Group on Thursday, March 4, 2010. My intent, based on a description from a Toastmasters Manual, was to: 1) Effectively present an opinion of viewpoint in a short time (challenging!) and 2) Simulate giving a presentation as part of a television broadcast. My time parameters were three minutes, plus or minus 30 seconds.
This was likely the most difficult speech I have presented in the group. I spent more time than I’d like determining the speech content and I was challenged to fit that content into the time allotted. Whew! I’m glad it’s done and I look forward to learning from it!
I received positive comments from my evaluator and some constructive feedback from a senior member (“elder”) of my beloved Toastmasters group. I love the power of feedback to help me improve. In this vein, I’d enjoy hearing your “positive” or “constructive” feedback. Who knows? Maybe I’ll actually speak on TV some day. :^Dave
The Transcript
If it bleeds, it leads.
This adage describes the content of the lead story of many TV news programs and news publications. Here’s few examples from the headlines of recent editions of the San Diego Union Tribune:
- An 8.8-magnitude Earthquake hits Chile
- Racism-motivated Unrest Plagues UCSD
- A Teenager is Killed in Rancho Bernardo
These are prime examples of “news” — current events highlighted to attract readers and their money. Yes, media outlets are in the business of making money. In the process, they deftly ignore – they are “impervious” [word of the day] to issues that challenge the status quo.
I’m in the business of challenging the status quo to encourage shifts of consciousness and behavior that improve our collective future. I seek out “news” that stimulates discussion and provides direction toward the future I envision. And I find it. Yesterday, I received an email from an alternative publication with an article entitled: “How Slow Consumption Can Save the World”.
This article began with this set of facts: “These days, nearly everything is produced in China and made to be discarded. According to a 2008 report by the Economic Policy Institute, the United States imported $323 billion in Chinese goods in 2007, including $26 billion in apparel and accessories, $108 billion in computers and electronic products, and $15 billion in furniture and fixtures.”
Video Interlude 
This sentence was followed by this statement: “The manufacture, distribution, and disposal of an ever-growing mountain of short-lived consumer goods have taken an enormous environmental toll.”
This article went on to outline strategies that promote the re-use of consumer goods as a means to create a sustainable future. These included legislation that would encourage industry to produce more durable goods and for consumers to favor them.
This is not an issue of the moment. It won’t make the front page of the Union Tribune. It won’t be the lead story on the 10 o’clock news. However, it can generate dialogue about changes each of us can make in our daily lives to honor future generations on this planet.
I invite you to look closely at the “news” you consume. What is the underlying purpose of the outlets that provide it? Are they interested in promoting a positive future? Or are they addicted to emphasizing the most urgent, heart-breaking or heart-warming issues they can find?
You have the power to create the future you dream of. I invite you to focus that power by focusing your attention on the issues that can best support our collective future.
Stop the Bleeding and lead with your heart. It may put you on paths that change the world.
Thank you.
Open your eyes. Open your hearts. Love yourself. Love life. Love the world. Let your passions lead you to places where your light is desperately needed. When you find those places, let your light shine!
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