The phrase "Ripple Effect" means "a situation in which one event causes a series of other events to happen" - www.merriam-webster.com. It was originally coined by Jacob Kounin and is used quite a lot in business.
I believe that this concept can be applied to our world as a whole. In short, my theory is that people as individual have a direct impact on the environment. I think that if we start taking care of people individually, this will set off a ripple effect that will eventually lead to the betterment of our whole world; not just environmentally but also economically and socially.
Below is an essay I wrote for a college class that goes into more detail about my Ripple Effect Theory.
Due
to a general sense of not caring from people, the environmental well-being is
declining. It has become abundantly clear that individuals and how they are
feeling on the inside is directly related to the way they care for their
surroundings. People in today’s modern culture have become both numb and
apathetic toward all goings on in the world around them as well as
self-obsessed with trying to fit an unachievable idealized image. However, if
people were to begin to care about themselves for who they are as individuals,
they would begin to care about other things outside themselves as well. This in
turn goes hand in hand with how as a group, the people of the earth would begin
to care for the environment.
With
the media constantly exposing people to violence, gore and the suffering of
others as well as drilling into the mind of the populous that they need to fit
into a certain image, humans living in western society have become both numb
and self-centered. Technology has now become a bridge for people to experience
the world. “Lament for the iGeneration” by Gregory Levey is an eye opening
article that outlines exactly how much today’s generation has become dependent
on technology. This technological dependence has resulted in situations such as
Neumont University in Utah almost having to force students to interact with the
real world and other people. (Levey, 2009) It is startling but very real that
people today, due to technology, are developing a sense of separation from the
outside world. Combining this with the fact that various forms of media are
bombarding people with the idea that they need to look, act and dress in a
certain way to be perceived as attractive or socially desirable is putting
individuals in a place between self-obsession and self-loathing. When people
who are so technologically based are constantly exposed to the image of what
the media says they ‘should’ be, they compare themselves to this image and find
themselves lacking. This is when they begin to feel a certain degree of
self-hate. As stated in “Body Image & the Media: An Overview” by Paula
Burgerjon (2009), “The standards of beauty and body images promoted by the
media are considered among the most important external factors in the
development of body image.” With sites like Facebook, people create their
profile in the hope that others will begin to view them as fitting in with that
idealized image; this is where the self-obsession comes in. This toxic
combination of self-obsession, self-loathing and apathy towards world events,
is one of the biggest reasons the earth is in such an unhealthy state. If
people do not love and accept themselves, they aren’t likely to care about
anything outside of themselves either.
However,
if people were to begin to care about themselves, they would in turn begin to
care about other people as well. When an individual feels good, they begin to
get a glow about them and they start to develop a sense of self-respect. With
this happy feeling and general positivity, people will spread that feeling to
others whether it is intended or not. Just as the old saying goes, “misery
loves company” so too does joy love company as well. It is important that
communities come together to take care of one another. The article, “Point:
Welfare Reduces Poverty and Promotes Equality” by Adele Cassola (2009),
outlines this idea quite eloquently.
In the years
prior to restructuring, the Canadian welfare state traditionally found a
successful balance between the responsibilities of the individual and those of
society. It encouraged productivity, accountability, and prosperity while
giving each person the independence, opportunity, and security necessary to
pursue these virtues. (Cassola, 2009)
Although it is more
directed at government programs, the concept is still the same. People need to
be taken care of. When people are looked after and given opportunities, it is
the basis of a better society and a better world. For when this sense of global
community is absent, that is when it is possible to see the decline of the
whole planet in every aspect. Therefore, it is vital that humanity give itself
a better opportunity to thrive and come together in harmony; with a common
purpose.
As a result of individuals looking after themselves and
others, people will begin to realize how important it is that they live in a
healthy environment. This can begin small with a person cleaning up his or her
personal living space, then spreading to neighbours helping one another with
their immediate community. This trend can continue as far as whole
eco-movements geared towards the cleaning and preservation of the ecosystem and
perhaps even further. As mentioned in the article, “Green Consumerism: An
Overview” by Adele Cassola and Sarah Elaine Eaton, there are people who care
about the environment, called green consumers who are “driven by a desire to
minimize their ecological footprint.” (Cassola & Eaton, 2009) These are
people who genuinely care about themselves, others, and they want to see the
environment in a healthy state of being. This is because if the earth is
healthy, so are humans. The earth is the only place mankind has to live and if
the planet gets too sick, it is humanity that will suffer. This planet has a
unique way of bouncing back from even the worst of catastrophes, as displayed
in the past. However, people have only been on this earth for a short period of
time compared to how long the earth has been around. Taking care of the
environment is the best way to ensure the continuity of the human race.
An
outside environment is a direct reflection of how an individual feels on the
inside. If this image were to be expanded to encompass the human race as a
whole, it is clear to see that the earth community is in turmoil on the inside.
This is being manifested on the outside with things like human suffering, war,
violence, pollution and so on. Because people are not well on the inside,
communities are also in a negative state. From the media assaulting people’s
minds and numbing them from what is happening in the world, to brainwashing
them into believing they must live up to an impossible idealized image; the
environment is suffering from human carelessness. If the human race could begin
at an individual level and build up positivity, lightness, and the sense of an
earth community, the world would begin to see a change. It would get to the
point where people would be more than obligated to take care of the earth, they
would be driven. This is because when a person can care about him or herself,
he or she begins to care about others and they, as a community will then care for
where they live. It is like a ripple effect that expands from each individual
person, to the people around them, to the community, then to other communities
and so on, with the ripples bouncing off each other and growing larger to
encompass the whole world.
References
Burgerjon,
P. (2009). Body image & the media: An overview. Canadian Points of View: Body Image & the Media, 1.
Cassola,
A. (2009). Point: Welfare reduces poverty and promotes equality. Canadian Points of View: Welfare, 2-2,
1.
Cassola,
A. and Eaton, S. E. (2009) Green consumerism: An overview. Canadian Points of View: Green Consumerism, 1-1, 1.
Levey, G. (2009,
October). Lament for the igeneration. Toronto Life, 43(10), 33-38.
