Emulation

When I was a teenager, my parents were mad at me for something (again), and in an attempt to be rational, Dad asked me, "Who do you want to emulate?" I believe my response was. "Jesus or the Buddha."
"How about someone living?" he asked.
"Nope."
Our conversation went downhill from there as I recall.

I bring this up because as I'm trying to put together some footage for my song rEVOLUTION, I realize I'm still where I was as a kid. How many living role models are there who non-violently stand against oppression, poverty, and war. I bet the first 3 people you think of are already dead.

I heard on NPR today about a conservation biologist named Devra Kleiman. She did amazing work saving tamarin monkey species from extinction and helping zoo officials realize that pandas are social, not solitary, animals. She made a significant contribution to the world. But sadly, I was hearing this information because she died last week.

Anyway, all this has me thinking about the kinds and sizes of contributions each individual makes in a day or a lifetime. Do I need to emulate someone to help make the world a better place. Do I need someone to show me how to be a better person, to bring peace to my corner of the world? Probably not.

But how about kids? Don't the images and ideas they are exposed to now help to mold the adults they will become. I'm really concerned that on a planet overflowing with humans (maybe 7 billion by now), the person everyone wants to emulate is Warren Buffet. He's a nice enough man for a billionaire and a philanthropist as well, but I don't think that's the part that people want to emulate. They want to emulate the billionaire part.

And somehow, I don't think Mr. Buffet will be a particularly good centerpiece for rEVOLUTION.