Think globally, act locally.

It is a miracle that anyone knows anything about what is going on in the world. The news feeds are heavily concentrated on who shot whom which city, bemoaning the state of the world's economy, what Britneyparismadonnamichelleobama is wearing today, and what father had a years-long incestuous relationship with his daughter. There is a reason for this narrow news: it sells. In an America where Congress and the Administration are tying a noose around the neck of Capitalism, the news is secretly (or not) thriving on it. The left lauds a serious, objective news source, while the right closes their eyes and ears and stomps their feet in frustration that the source is too left-leaning.

The problem is, very few are asking about the enormous voids that are a gaping black hole of no-information. There are real catastrophes in the world today that are invisible to those too self-involved or uneducated to look. Cholera in Zimbabwe, genocide in Sudan, promising treatments for HIV, Syphilis outbreaks in bible towns, malnutrition, suicide, obscene infant mortality rates, disastrous and expensive obesity. Why are these people invisible? Where can you find them?

I believe the first step to finding these abandoned souls is through education. Unfortunately, you have to know how to dig and know how to look for information, otherwise they will remain unacknowledged and disappear right beneath our eyes. Once you find what is really going on around the world, not just the sensationalized stories, it is hard to handle. You can only care about so much before you get burned out. My solution: think globally, act locally.

It's important to keep your finger on the pulse of the world to be able to truly put things in perspective, but you'll never save the planet. Sorry, it's just not going to happen. It can push us to act in our own communities though; be a visible participant in necessary issues and gather the rest of the community to help. Start at home to meet your own needs, because you're no good to anyone else if you don't start there.