The Truth About Stories

The story of John is a sad one on multiple levels. The first reaction is one of sorrow and sympathy and a can-do, wanna-save-the-world type of reaction. No I won't let myself get caught up in the consumerism and lazy ethics of America. But here I sit up on the Olaf hill completely separate and removed from problems of hunger, poverty, environmental and political disasters, etc. I can have most creature comforts with the swipe of a credit card. I throw away paper and cans. I don't turn the lights off and in twenty minutes. I eat my dinner without thinking of starving kids in Africa. And I'll soon forget this vigilante attitude.

But how do we escape this lack of responsibility and ownership? How can we as young Americans carry-through with the ethics we so lovingly cling to--but actually have little baring in our daily lives? King's message is a powerful one that forces introspection because he does so himself. We don't always like what we see in ourselves, in fact, a lot of times I abhor it--but in doing so we finally are taking notice of our flaws. Not the flaws of others, but our own personal shortcomings. Those things we'd rather sweep under the rug and pretend don't exist. Or at least NEVER admit them to others. So now that I see them, can i actually change them??