Change That We Must Believe In

Based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, after acquiring physiological and safety needs, humans desire social  needs. After achieving these basics needs, we then go on to acquire our needs of self-esteem and self-actualization. The average community today overemphasizes physiological and safety needs and avoids confronting the social and personal aspects of life in a community.  In my ideal community, all 5 levels of needs will be achieved. It will be a place where family relationships will be the foundation--where people will feel a sense of belonging and protection; where the comfort of a stable, social environment will produce individuals with high self-esteem, confidence, and knowledge.  The reason people in my community will prosper is because they will be dependent on each other to motivate and to support.  Individuals will occasionally sacrifice their own interests to help with the advancement of others because they know that by helping others, they are improving the state of the whole community.  Recycling, reducing waste, car-pooling, etc. will all be activities that families will participate in because they are mindful of the choices that their present actions will make on the future generation.  Out of familial love, the young will respect their elders, and elders will do their best to brighten the future for their children. 


American society in its current state is obsessed with the present--how can we change things right now? How will it make my life better? My community focuses in on the larger scope--how will we manage carbon emissions, how can we educate our children to be eco-friendly? We will focus on decreasing emissions, therefore lowering utility costs. Also, by having families drive together and eat meals together (locally) a more intimate family bond will form (lowering costs for food and fuel).  


The difficult aspect is to make people change their mindset.  To be part of a community that actually cares about the future of their planet, and their children, many sacrifices must be made. Although these sacrifices will improve the over all condition of communities, in truth, they are still sacrifices, and people must be willing to make them. Just look at the state of our economy.  People remain upset because immediate changes have not been made.  Approval ratings for the Obama Administration have declined; people are giving up on change because it is not immediate. Leaders like Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. struggled convincing people to participate in civil disobedience. Having people accept a new idea or a new mindset will always be difficult.  However, if a small tribe of people who passionately believe in the future of their idea stick to it, change is always possible.