Claire+J’s+Final+AmEx+2013+Speech

=Our Collective Potential=

The universe is ever-expanding, and may quite possibly be infinite. There are millions and millions of galaxies in the universe. Our solar system occupies only a miniscule fraction of the Milky Way galaxy. Our planet Earth is trillions of times smaller than the Milky Way. On this tiny little rock, there are nearly 7 billion people, each with their unique problems, perspectives, and personalities. Each one of us is just one in seven billion people, on a speck of a planet in a speck of a galaxy in the vastness that is the cosmos.

Seven billion of us roam around the face of our pale blue dot, constantly bumping into each other and our surroundings. Those numbers weren’t just meant to demonstrate our inconsequentiality—I’m trying to convey a sense of this incredible immensity, not only in physical size and relation but in sheer possibility. The world in its entirety awaits our curiosity—for us to explore, discover, appreciate, respect. We have never known as much as we do now, we have never had the technology that we do now, and our potential has never been as high as it is now. There are endless instances in which to learn and innovate and take advantage of the opportunities we have as a people, and as a species. The pursuit of knowledge, creativity, scientific advancement, the traversing of the known and unknown world intellectually and physically — all of this is before us. In theory, we have incredible potential to excel.

We are, as mentioned previously, relatively insignificant. After all, we are just one in seven billion. As individuals, we can’t do much on a large scale. Maybe I’m just being cynical, but I don’t believe one person can change the world. We come into the world alone and leave alone, but in between we have to cohabitate with billions of others. We learn to form relationships, and in forming bonds we empower ourselves. United in a cause, as the abolitionists, feminists, and civil rights advocates were, we can begin to make progress as a people. As numerous as our possibilities are our potential problems, and the only way to face these challenges is in a group. It’s not sentimental, it’s a fact.

Sadly, disappointingly, we waste the majority of our potential. We don’t organize to better humanity, or at least, not enough. The world would be a wonderful place if it only fostered learning, admired discovery, and placed more value on our progress as a whole than our own individual selfish and often petty troubles. (I use ‘we’ as a collective term for humanity, not for the specific people in this room.) Instead of moving past our own selfishness, we squander away whatever opportunities we have for advancement. Self-centered by nature, we tend to parade around arrogantly, holding our personal views and opinions above all others. We make sweeping judgments on the whole based on the actions of the few, and we don’t stop nearly often enough to seek insight into the other side of the argument. By closing our minds to outside input, we are effectively stunting our growth as people. We’re so self-absorbed in our own spheres of interest that we grossly neglect the plight of our fellow men, ignoring the downtrodden and writing off those from troubled upbringings as useless. Instead of helping each other up to level ground so we can make the journey towards progress together, we perpetuate a system where people are constantly left behind. Opinions once held dear are deteriorating in a society of apathy. Across the board, we make excuses for our cruelty and indifference. Religion, initially supposed to be a guiding force of good will and love, if I’m not mistaken, has been perverted by a select few that use it as a shield to protect their hateful and entitled misbehavior. Still others treat each other with disrespect while claiming that they’re just being realistic, that life’s tough and people should get used to it. I’d like to think I’m a fairly realistic person, and yet, I find myself believing that we don’t have to actively work against each other. Our insignificance can only become slightly more significant when we work together. How can we be expected to achieve, to accomplish, to make great strides in history, when we are at war with ourselves?

A disheartening development as of late is a society in which people have simply stopped caring. We are increasingly apathetic towards each other, towards education, towards our environment. Our children, supposedly our future, are fed life lessons from an early age that most fully grown Americans don’t even abide by. Worse still, many willfully remain ignorant, choosing stagnation over curiosity. A deteriorating environment is falling to shambles, while we look passively on. Our education system is letting children slip through the cracks. We can’t progress without remedying the fundamental rips in our society that are impeding our growth.

I want to see a future America, a future world, where we will not waste the incredible potential that we have. We will not squabble over selfish issues on our little speck of the universe. We will not squander the incredible possibilities for growth. We will not fight amongst ourselves while our surroundings fall to ruin. We will not get in the way of improvement, and we will work together to make our insignificance feel a little more significant.

In the world that I wish to grow old in, more importance will be placed on curiosity and on learning. We will value intellectual growth, we will treasure scientific achievement, and we will never stop our search for discovery. The whole universe is open to us, and it’s time we stop our bickering to seize the opportunities presented.

=Cite Your Sources=