Last Friday, I had the privilege of hearing the honorable William Clinton speak in Victoria, BC. His speech centered on citizenship, rather than politics, and was driven by his and his Foundation’s fundamental values of fairness and opportunity for all. I want to share the main questions that set the framework for his speech as they truly concern all and should be heard by all.
Mr. Clinton focused his time on four basic questions that he feels we should ask ourselves if we care about our world:
1. What is the fundamental nature of the 21st century?
2. How would we like to change it?
3. What are the steps necessary to change it?
4. Who will do it?
While Mr. Clinton went into a lot of details, examples and facts of our most pressing global problems of climate change, AIDS, and childhood obesity, and how our global society is one of unstable interdependence, the key take away at the end of the day was that we each need to do our part and can’t wait for our governments to change things. Citizens of a democratic society have the power to choose and we can do our part starting at home in our own communities, no matter how small our individual contributions may be, they will all add up if we work together. “The important thing is to find something you want to do and do it”, says Clinton. “Find one cause to support at home and one cause in the world.”
"It no longer makes sense for us to debate whether or not the earth is warming at an alarming rate, and it doesn’t make sense for us to sit back and wait for others to act. The fate of the planet that our children and grandchildren will inherit is in our hands, and it is our responsibility to do something about this crisis." — William J. Clinton
At www.clintonfoundation.org, you can read in detail about what Mr. Clinton describes an “unstable interdependence”, what actions his Foundation is taking, and what we as citizens can do to move to positive interdependence, reaching “an integrated global economy of shared responsibilities, shared opportunities and shared values.”
