While I am overwhelmed with guilt enjoying my Thanksgiving vacation and days off work, I have been thinking a lot about the people risking their lives to save others to continue to push my actions (Young, 2013). The 5000+ water warriors and other allys who are risking their safety to keep water clean and communities and cultures alive (Sylvester, 2016). During my vacation, my family and I spend time on Whidbey Island. While there, I had the privilege of hiking through the South Whidbey State Park where I saw a tree that was over 500 years old. I was struck in awe, and the only reason it is still standing is because people wrapped themselves around the tree to save it form logging. It took only a dozen people to save this tree, and because the logging company couldn't cut down this tree, they decided to leave the entire forest up.
This promoted my wife to tell the story of an Indian man who single-handedly replanted and created a lush new forest ecosystem of 1,360 acres, thus saving the island he lived on (Lum, 2014). In Norther India's Assam region, Jadav "Molai" Payeng buried seeds to stop the world's largest island river Majuli from flooding and sinking the island, threatening the lives of over 170,000 people. In recent years, "flooding has become a problem intensified... due to the effects of climate change and earthquakes, leaving the river's shape and flow altered after seismic activity" (Lum, 2014). It took him over 30 years, but his single actions created a big change, which gives me hope that my small actions matter and I can use the "small wins" mentality of reducing huge problems to "mere problems" (Weick, 1984). By doing this, it not only increases the likelihood of achieving some amount of success when addressing seemingly insurmountable issues, it also helps me process mentally and understand that it is possible for me to create change in the communities and world around me.
Moving forward, as a student affairs professional, educator, and person, I want to promote these values in my everyday life, and encourage moral development in those around me. I can do this by using disequilibrium, or cognitive conflict, which "occurs when individuals are faced with situations arousing internal contradictions in their moral reasoning structures or when they find their reasoning is different from that of significant others" (Evans et al., 2010, p. 103). Kohlberg's Theory (1981) outlines this type of conflict and states that exposure to conflict in both opinions and reasoning leads to moral development that embraces equity and fundamental human rights and values (Evans et. al, 2010; Walker, 1988). I can keep doing this by repeating the actions I've already taken. I can keep encouraging people not to waste and dispose food and products responsibly. I can keep encouraging people to call politicians and those in power to create change. I can keep helping those who are negatively affected, whether they are living in sacrifice zones or experiencing food deserts or pollution, by supporting food drives and donating clothes and speaking up (Yerman, 2015). For those who do not believe that climate change or other environmental issues are not real or damaging, I need to help create a cognitive dissonance that encourages people to think from a new perspective and learn to embrace change that promotes equity.
Still, I know I can do more. Everyday, I learn new things and I find new ways to create change and evoke action in higher education with an focus in environmental justice. As long as I keep challenging myself, I know I can create change over time, just like Molai.
This promoted my wife to tell the story of an Indian man who single-handedly replanted and created a lush new forest ecosystem of 1,360 acres, thus saving the island he lived on (Lum, 2014). In Norther India's Assam region, Jadav "Molai" Payeng buried seeds to stop the world's largest island river Majuli from flooding and sinking the island, threatening the lives of over 170,000 people. In recent years, "flooding has become a problem intensified... due to the effects of climate change and earthquakes, leaving the river's shape and flow altered after seismic activity" (Lum, 2014). It took him over 30 years, but his single actions created a big change, which gives me hope that my small actions matter and I can use the "small wins" mentality of reducing huge problems to "mere problems" (Weick, 1984). By doing this, it not only increases the likelihood of achieving some amount of success when addressing seemingly insurmountable issues, it also helps me process mentally and understand that it is possible for me to create change in the communities and world around me.
Moving forward, as a student affairs professional, educator, and person, I want to promote these values in my everyday life, and encourage moral development in those around me. I can do this by using disequilibrium, or cognitive conflict, which "occurs when individuals are faced with situations arousing internal contradictions in their moral reasoning structures or when they find their reasoning is different from that of significant others" (Evans et al., 2010, p. 103). Kohlberg's Theory (1981) outlines this type of conflict and states that exposure to conflict in both opinions and reasoning leads to moral development that embraces equity and fundamental human rights and values (Evans et. al, 2010; Walker, 1988). I can keep doing this by repeating the actions I've already taken. I can keep encouraging people not to waste and dispose food and products responsibly. I can keep encouraging people to call politicians and those in power to create change. I can keep helping those who are negatively affected, whether they are living in sacrifice zones or experiencing food deserts or pollution, by supporting food drives and donating clothes and speaking up (Yerman, 2015). For those who do not believe that climate change or other environmental issues are not real or damaging, I need to help create a cognitive dissonance that encourages people to think from a new perspective and learn to embrace change that promotes equity.
Still, I know I can do more. Everyday, I learn new things and I find new ways to create change and evoke action in higher education with an focus in environmental justice. As long as I keep challenging myself, I know I can create change over time, just like Molai.
References:
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., & Guido, F. (2010). Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd edition). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Weick, K.E. (1984). Small wins: Redefining the scale of social problems. American Psychologist, 39(1), 40-49.
Young, I.M. (2013). Responsibility for justice. New York: Oxford University Press.
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