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For the last couple of days, everyone has been sounding off on the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Sheriff Clarence Dupnik blames the tenor of politics. Rush Limbaugh (of course) blames the Democrats—if not for the shooting, at least for daring to say that the tenor of political commentary such as his is unacceptable. And although many bloggers just want to vent their outrage, others are using the occasion to forward their own political agenda—of whatever color.
But they’re all missing the point.
It’s a big world out there, and the problems are even bigger. Once in a while, a regular person finds him or herself thrust into a position to change the world—like intern Daniel Hernandez. But most of the time, people like you and me have no control over the big stuff. And the more time we spend bemoaning the state of the world, the harder it is to see that our responsibility in making the world a better place lies in the normal course of boring, everyday life, amid soccer tournaments and office politics. The Big Picture isn’t a single, gigantic image; it’s a compilation of countless single pixels, a mosaic made of billions of individual persons, whose actions send ripples into surrounding pixels. The world doesn’t change from the top down; it changes from the bottom up.
When we rail against headline-grabbing problems at the “big picture” level, we fail to recognize that these incidents don’t come out of nowhere. The way we treat the clueless clerk at the checkout stand; the words we use when addressing other drivers—this is how we impact the world. These are the lessons our children learn, and build upon as they grow. If we never admit our own fault in a conflict, the next generation will believe that they never have to apologize. If we never make a calm, respectful attempt to reach understanding with people who upset us (at church, at school, at the office), our children will grow to believe that it’s normal to harbor grudges that fester in silence and resentment.
These attitudes grow, like a big snowball of negativity rolling downhill, all the small-scale pettiness, nastiness and cruelty that humanity is capable of, naturally giving rise to more cruelty and nastiness.
I’m not arguing that we shouldn’t be outraged, that suicide bombers and shooters and sexual predators are blameless, or shouldn’t be held accountable. But in the end, the only way to change it is to change the messages that people hear.
Whatever your beef is with the world, work to change it within your own sphere of influence. The fact that 90% of children diagnosed prenatally with Down’s are aborted makes me nearly choke with rage. But howling about it isn’t going to change it. When the Scary Bad messages are deafening, and people have nothing with which to counterbalance it, how can I expect them to do anything other than exactly what they do? The only way I can change it is by giving Julianna to the world—publicly, as I do here; by advocating for tearing down the walls in the schools and in the community, and (to a much lesser extent) by weighing in politically.
Changing the world starts with you and me. If you don’t like what you see, change the message in your own pixel. If you abdicate your responsibility because the business of life is overwhelming, how can you stand on any kind of moral pedestal and pass judgment on everything that’s wrong with the world?
Kathleen M. Basi 
Yes! “Be the change you want to see in the world”
This is a great post. While I am a huge proponent of free speech, I do think in these days of mass information everyone needs to think of the ramifications of their words. People are deluged with all sorts of messages in ways unheard of even twenty years ago. While I don’t believe we can blame one’s words for the actions of another, it’s only responsible to think of the possible interpretations of your message. In the meantime, you’re spot on. Be the change where you can make the most impact!
There are so many messages, and only a handful are correct. And those who speak the message that is incorrect will angrily defend it and accuse opposers of being close-minded.
Sigh…
I, too, look at my blog as a way of putting out a good message – it’s pretty much the only way I have since I only go out for necessities, to Church, and to the therapy pool. I’ve quit listening to the TV news and scaled back on internet news in favor of praying – too much hot air and bad focus out there.
I’ve been reading Father Lovasik’s book, “The Hidden Power of Kindness” and praying for others, too. Maybe if we put a lot more silence in our lives and looked at the crucifix more often we would be that beacon of light Christ charged us to be – at least to those around us. I have so much work to do in that area.
As far as the Tucson shooter goes, it appears he is schizophrenic and the people closest to him failed him as did law enforcement. The only answer I know of is prayer and penance. No point in getting angry.
Regarding your post, today we had Benediction after Mass and I couldn’t help thinking how much we need all Christians to bow down and adore Christ. Life would be so different if we all would. There would be so much less hate in the world.