My 2015 wish list: a better forever

What’s on my wish list for 2015? I want us to have a happier world. A healthier world. A less hungry world. A less violent world. A less apathetic world. A less quiet world to speak against the loudly unjust. I want us to have a better world. I want us to build a better forever. As trite as that may sound.

December 2014 has finally arrived, bringing our roller coaster of emotions to a transition point.

From the tragic losses of Robin Williams and Maya Angelou to the deployment of 1500 additional troops to Iraq. From ISIS beheadings to the record high number of homeless American children.

From Michael Brown and John Crawford to Tamir Rice and Eric Greene.

From the tears shed in Ferguson, Cleveland and New York to the tears we continue to shed in every city, large and small, in the US.

America has suffered many losses in 2014, mobilizing people all over the country to stand behind movements and protests. Chanting in unison, the movements jolt people awake to the nuanced yet harmful practices institutionalized and delivered by American actors. But are our chants really in unity? These movements, alone, cannot rid us of the injustice we witness. We need another parallel revolution in 2015 to actualize our goals of justice, freedom and equality. We need a revolution of values.

Consider Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1967 Riverside speech about Vietnam:

Let’s look at poverty. More than 46 million Americans live in poverty, making it one of the most pervasive issues politicians, philanthropists and religious organizations are tackling. However, according to The Economist and State of Working America, America’s bottom 10 percent still live better than most of humanity. This, of course, doesn’t diminish the inadequate living conditions of the 46 million poor in the US, but it says a lot about the poor all over the world—they are doing really, really badly.

And some of this is at the direct benefit to America’s wealthy. Consider the American rubber corporation Firestone, which operates in Liberia. In the midst of an international loan problem, Liberia signed a contract with Firestone in 1926 to develop rubber plantations at only six cents an acre. Firestone gave Liberia a “loan” to pay off their debt and to build a harbor, which put them in more debt because of accumulated interest. As the American company evolved and thrived, Liberians continued to sink deeper and deeper into the poverty’s black hole.

Military issues aren’t much better. America spends about 20 percent of the federal budget, about $700 billion, on defense and international security assistance compared to 12 percent on welfare programs. In his Riverside speech, Dr. King said, “a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” With more spending on defense, death becomes simple. Fast. Faceless. We see this with Michael Brown, Eric Greene and Tamir Rice. But there are Fergusons all over the world. Who will speak up for the several 11-year old boys killed by American drones in Pakistan? Who will protest for the Palestinian lives lost because of American-funded Israeli tanks and bombs? Who will mourn the massacre of 16 civilians—9 children—by a United States Army Staff Sergeant in Kandahar, Afghanistan? If we can’t even engage in conversation about deaths by American hands, how can we criticize the unstable process of finding human rights violations in other countries across the world?

Like poverty and militarism, discrimination of perceived race is forefront of our worldly injustices. When one group in power marginalizes the minority out of power, individuals are degraded and dehumanized. European countries, such as France and Greece, have seen a rise in attacks against ethnic minorities, such as Arabs and Albanians, respectively. Countries in the Middle East experience heightened tensions among ethnic and religious groups. The Rohingya in Burma have seen displacement and violence and many have even been killed. A tribal clash between the Murle and the Nuer resulted in hundreds of deaths.

So here’s the thing—there is no life more valuable than the next. This seemingly simple fact has proven to be hard to understand by individuals all over the world.

Humanity doesn’t have borders. Collectively, we need to need to stand firmly against racism and persecution, whether it’s in our own communities or in other communities. Just as loudly as I’ve heard criticisms, on both sides, regarding Ferguson, I wish people would speak up about the little-publicized Fergusons happening everyday across towns and across the world.

My biggest wish for 2015? I want us to lay bricks and decrease the apathy to build a population ready for a better forever. In 2015, I hope we value all lives and issues overseas, and not just the ones that relate to the U.S. or the ones that the U.S. media decide to propagate. If we ever want to truly address the ills present in our own society, injustices all over the world, especially those benefitting the U.S., need to enter our discussions. The biggest challenge in addressing poverty, racism and militarism is acknowledging the parallel global struggles our brothers and sisters are having.

To echo Martin Luther King, Jr’s powerful message:

Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter—but beautiful—struggle for a new world.

Leena El-Sadek is a Trinity senior. This is her final column of the semester.