A letter to my nephew: I hope the world is a better place
To my nephew's generation,
I hope that when you’re my age the world will be a better place.
Today I woke up and I was told that more than seventy innocent people had been killed in Nice, France. But sadly, incidences like this are something that I’ve got used to waking up to. Just yesterday, Ugandan forces made its way into South Sudan to evacuate citizens that were trapped in fighting zones. Additionally, ten people were killed in ethnic protests in Northern Ethiopia and a Kenyan police officer killed seven of his colleagues. Everywhere I look, people are dying around the world. People are dying in ways that can be prevented. As of 11:39AM AEST, 14,880 people today have died of hunger. This year, 453,368 people have died from diseased water. Approximately 185,086 mothers have died giving birth and 4,092,278 children under the age of five have died this year alone.
Yet, I do not want this letter to be about death. I truly believe that human beings are compassionate people. Whether it's the people you live with, work with, pass on the street corner or communicate with online. The world is advancing in some very positive ways. Same sex marriage rights have improved significantly in recent years. In the early 2000's alone, Netherlands (2001), Belgium (2003) and France (2005) made the positive and fair-minded change to allow same sex marriage. As a result, this encouraged other nation states to follow in their footsteps, with the USA and Ireland changing national laws in 2015 to allow same sex marriage. This at least proves that we’re seeing some positive change in the right direction.
Now, please listen to me.
Encourage everyone you meet and encourage anyone you Tweet - to be fair-minded and compassionate human beings.
Encourage female, male and innovative world leaders to not only lead, but to be honest, to be truthful and to promote positive change for the future.
Encourage people to stop discriminating others based on religion, race or opinion.
Encourage people to stand up against violence, against poverty, and to make class structures irrelevant.
Encourage people to learn different languages, travel and always put themselves in the shoes of another to see reason.
Encourage people to continue learning, to help others learn, and to promote change in an educated manor.
Lastly, encourage people to be different and to be creative.
Now let me be clear. I hope that this has not startled you. I hope that when you read this in years to come, you won’t be frightened of the world that lies ahead. I want you to be encouraged, to be courageous, to voice your opinion and to promote positive change. I want you to be strong, to help others, and to live in a world in which you are proud to be yourself.
To my nephew’s generation,
I promise to make the world a better place for you to grow up in.
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