If you think you’re too insignificant to make a difference in this world, think again. So often, one person’s gesture or idea will motivate her neighbors or countrymen or even the world to take action.
I’m sure Lisa Jensen and Bill Trimarco of Pagosa Springs weren’t thinking about the First Amendment when they put up a peace wreath for Christmas. The couple stirred the wrath of their sanctimonious homeowners association board and nationwide publicity over their stand for peace and freedom of speech. While HOA president Bob Kearns was proclaiming the wreath “anti-Christ,” fellow Pagosans staged a communitywide rally for peace. They must have wondered how a peace symbol at Christmas violates the Christian dream of peace on earth, goodwill toward men.
A grieving mom whose son died in Iraq, Cindy Sheehan, galvanized the national anti-war movement when she pitched her tent outside President Bush’s Texas ranch, demanding he talk to her about the Iraq war. Like her tactics or not, she challenged the president’s repeated claim that those who disagreed with him were unpatriotic. Her action symbolized widespread unease over the war and moved thousands of others to join her.
Jody Williams was horrified by the human devastation wrought by land mines. Having seen enough of children maimed and killed by these awful devices, she launched a multinational effort to ban them. In 1997, she won the Nobel Peace Prize along with the organization she founded, the International Campaign to Ban Land- mines. As a consequence of her efforts, most of the world’s nations have signed the anti-land mine treaty, though not the United States.
Years ago, a professor in Bangladesh wondered how he could help millions of destitute Bangladeshis achieve a better life. In response, Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, founded the Grameen Bank on wholly different principles from traditional banks.
He created a banking system based on mutual support, trust and accountability, rather than collateral. The loans are tiny, usually no more than $50 to $100, but they give borrowers access to capital never before available and the ability to start a business that moves their families out of abject poverty. Grameen Bank now has nearly 7 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom are women. The bank has 2,259 branches that serve almost 73,000 Bangladesh villages. Yusuf’s idea launched a worldwide movement of micro-lending that has changed millions of lives around the globe.
Two remarkable Coloradans, Richard and Shelli Steckel, decided they’d had enough of the havoc and misery created by racial hatred. They started the Milestones Project (www.milestonesproject.com), with the goal of showing us how we are alike rather than different. They took out a second mortgage on their house, borrowed to the limit on their credit cards, and traveled the world to photograph children of all races, religions and cultures at such shared milestones as the first tooth, first day of school, first friend, and first haircut. Millions of people worldwide have seen their beautiful photos in museums, airports (including DIA) and schools, awed by the reality that we have much more in common with those who are “different” than we might think.
None of these people started with great power or wealth, nor did they seek either. They started with an idea or desire that moved them deeply and focused on making that real. Some were making only a simple statement, with no thought of going beyond that. Others want to change the way the world works. What’s important is that they all believe in something, act on that belief, and stand up for it even when it’s attacked or scorned.
They show us that each of us can, indeed, make a difference when we take the time to act on what we care about.
Gail Schoettler (gailschoettler@email.msn.com) is a former U.S. ambassador, Colorado lieutenant governor and treasurer, Democratic nominee for governor and Douglas County school board member.
