There are two main reasons that have led me to write this article. The first is the novels of Daniel Quinn, Ishmael and The Story of B, which I highly recommend all of you who find any merit in this article to go read immediately. The second is a group, or movement, on campus that as far as I can tell is called “What’s the answer?”

As I was walking to class the other day, I saw many of their fliers attached to cars. Being all too nosy, I stole one so I could learn what the question was. As I began to read, I was intrigued. This group sees that there’s something wrong with the world! They’re looking for an answer, too, and, “GASP!” They have the answer…

Jesus.

Now, before I tell you why I do not accept this as any portion of being the right answer, know that I was raised Catholic, from baptism to confirmation. I also have no problem with people believing whatever they choose so long as it doesn’t interfere with my life, but if I tell you aliens are coming down from the planet Zurion to teach us how to stop war, crime, poverty and to live in peace, you don’t have to believe me, either.

If God or Jesus or the Blessed Virgin Mary is coming down to fix these problems, when are they going to start? As far as I can tell, problems have only gotten worse since the savior died for our sins. Where was God through World War I and II? When millions of Native Americans were wiped out? The Holocaust? The genocide in Darfur? Where was he on September 11? Whose side of the drug wars is he on? Where is he now, while we face swine flu, terrorism, poverty, war, torture, crime, pollution, global warming and so much more? These are only a few examples of my confusion. Now is as good a time as any for him to sweep down and take control.

Or maybe humanity could take less control. We see all these diverse problems across human nature, and no one realizes they all have one thing in common. We don’t stop to think that these problems are caused by an even bigger problem – a flaw in the way humans live. Mankind has been conquering Mother Earth and has created a system so big that few can see the whole picture, yet alone try to control it. Governments have shown they can’t control it. They created the United Nations, yet they haven’t controlled it.

The world that humanity has built for itself does not work. No other living creature on this Earth faces the problems that we do. Their main concern is the plague of mankind. We’ve killed off countless species, and the many members of the endangered species’ list are on their way out. Some try to claim that this is just survival of the fittest. We’re not just surviving. We did not need to kill off mammoths and bison and dodo birds in order to survive. They were murdered. It is just more proof that something we’re doing is wrong, not only for us, but for the planet. So what’s the answer?

I’m the answer. You’re the answer. Every single one of us is the answer. Stop focusing so much on the problems, on old answers. Connect the dots for yourself and create new answers. Don’t accept what people have told you, because if Jesus, or Allah, or Buddah or God had the answer, we wouldn’t still be asking the same questions. As Billy Joel says, “We didn’t start the fire. It was always burnin’ since the world’s been turnin’. We didn’t start the fire. No we didn’t light it, but we tried to fight it.” Don’t look up – look around. Be the change you want to see in the world. It is not programs or governments or nonprofit organizations that change things. People with a vision bring change.

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