One person can make a difference

“One person can make a difference and everyone should try” said John F Kennedy

History is replete with many examples where one person has made a difference. One Mahatma Gandhi transformed the freedom struggle into a people’s movement and his dynamic leadership coupled with his principle of Satyagraha eventually won India its long awaited freedom. One Mother Teresa dedicated her entire life to the service of the poor and the destitute and radiated warmth and compassion to everyone around her. Individuals like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, Mozart and Beethoven have influenced generations with their impressive works of art and music. When the Jews were threatened with extermination by the wicked Haman, one Esther stood in the gap and changed the history. 

Of late, I find a young girl Greta Thunberg, just 16 years old, making a huge difference by persuading world leaders to act decisively in the area of climate change. By summoning the courage to speak the truth to power, Greta Thunberg becomes the icon of a generation and the most compelling voice on the most important issue facing the planet today.   

With the simple message "School strike for climate" handwritten on poster board, she began skipping school on Fridays and protesting outside the Swedish Parliament. In September 2019, speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, Greta spoke emphatically: “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth”

It’s true, leaders respond to pressure, the pressure is created by movements, movements are built by thousands of people changing their minds. And sometimes, the best way to change a mind is to see the world through the eyes of a child.

We are at the dawn of the new year 2020 and the new decade. The world is facing a host of challenges from poverty alleviation to injustice, populism to majoritarianism, leadership deficit to poor governance. We need people who can make a difference in our society, in our nation, in the world. It’s time that each one of us makes a difference. 

As Margaret Mead says “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”