Trash, garbage, waste, junk or whatever you want to call it can be found everywhere. It does not matter what term you would like to use, it does not change the fact that it is a problem.. . Littering is a worldwide issue permeating all areas of society. In a vicious cycle, with no clear ending. Littering on beaches leads to the waste ending up in the oceans, killing hundreds of millions of animals each year. Turtles, dolphins and seals just to name a few. Littering in a big city leads to the waste ending up in the sewers, which is just another way of saying that it ends up in the ocean. It also leads to birds eating and choking to death. It has an economic effect as well. The more trash and garbage there is in a city leads to a bad reputation among tourists as well as national and international visitors. Together with litter cleanup, this accounts for a cost of over 11.5 billion dollars each year in the US alone.
Littering is not “just” an unaesthetic discomfort, nor is it “just” an economic one. It is NEVER “just” an issue. It is not “just” a dinner conversation or something to tiringly exhale over. It is something we need to take action into fixing. We can all do something! It does not matter if it is small, it is better than nothing. Imagine if all of us thought that since I am alone my action will not lead to anything or make a difference.
What if Danton, Robespierre or Marat felt that being outnumbered by the French Government, would make it impossible to win. Would that mean that France would still be a monarchy today? Would that mean that the French Revolution would never have been a chapter in the history books?
What if Rosa Parks had thought that her ONE voice would not have mattered. What would that have done to African American rights or women's rights in today's society? How long would we have carried on suppressing people's rights? People whose voices matter just as much as the persons next to you.
What if Marsha P. Johnson would have walked out of Stonewall with her hands up in the air and accepted the fact she was fighting in the minority. What if she would have put her feelings and beliefs to the side and given up the fight purely on the fact of a number?
What if Greta Thunberg's strikes would have been overlooked simply based on the fact that she was just ONE person in the beginning. How would the climate debate look like today? Would it have been taken seriously or would we just have carried on like normal?
It is a scary thing to think about but other than being scary it is a thing to be inspired by. It is proof that no matter if you are male or female, young or old, whatever the colour of your skin or sexual orientation; YOUR VOICE MATTERS. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. ONE IS ENOUGH.
We have been taught ever since we were kids from Aesop's fable “The Lion and the Mouse”.
That even alone a mouse can make a difference. It all starts with you. All you need is ONE.
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