Critical Question #2 // What sustains communities?

Community is a word that means lots of things. To some it might be a sense of togetherness, others the idea of a group who share common interests and goals.

To me, sustainability means we can live efficiently, without waste for a long time. Like the word itself explains, it is the power to sustain (for as long as possible).

This essay may be brief, but I’ll get to the point. Communities can only function as long as their members are passionate and straightforward. Without passion, all we have is a group of people with ideas they can’t get started on.  This passion also takes initiative. Without the passion or initiative to give ideas a boost, nothing begins. Ideas stay ideas. They don’t become reality.

This brings me to the second step. Realism. Straightforwardness. Though Divergent thinking may be the key to finding good ideas, we need to remember there are limits. Whether these constraints are economical or physical, knowing our limits and maybe staying inside the box means we can work effectively. Get things done. Heck, we can get more done!

But hold on, hold on. Divergent thinking but staying in the box?? What’s going on there? The best way to plan and take action effectively and efficiently is to use your divergent thinking skills to find an idea. The perfect idea. Then we use our realism to decide whether this idea is within our constraints. Maybe it isn’t! Head back to that initial thinking and find an alternative which is just as out there and creative! So now we’ve got our idea, and we know we can do it! Last we can use our passion (let’s not forget about it!) and take action!!

How to Get Your Community Going // Summary:

• Use divergent thinking to find an idea
• Use your sense of realism to plan or figure out whether your goals are achievable
• *If you know you can’t achieve your goals, head back to that divergent thinking to find a creative, achievable alternative* “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.” – Samuel Beckett
• Now, use that passion and take ACTION!!

(Sorry for the lack of evidence, I was away for most of sustainability week)

Critical Question #1 // Is Melbourne Fair?

~\\ ADDITIONAL NOTE//~

The feature image above is a piece of artwork. The original image was then appropriated by Jacqui Lambie MP into an anti-burqa ad to air to her Facebook following

I believe that Melbourne is an unfair city filled with social and cultural injustice. However, though the city we live in has a long way to go, making change won’t be difficult if everyone plays their part.

Last Tuesday, during our Youth Law session it was obvious there was confusion about how to act around the police. You’d want to be polite but assertive. Assert your rights but know their powers. And know where to draw the line. I personally, found it confusing and I know others did too. We explored the idea that police are present to protect us yet some individuals have racial, cultural or age prejudice. How can our people feel safe if the ones protecting us could even be the ones setting us up to fall?

It has also been evident that the Media plays a large role in the fairness of Melbourne and Australia. Obviously the media is also influenced by influential people, people of power and money. This means the things we see on TV or hear on the radio are all filtered. For example, we could actually blame negative media influences for the violent hate crimes against Islamic people in Melbourne. ISIS is a tiny minority in the Islamic world and the media tends to portray overseas drama as something that is avidly present in Melbourne. The media’s wide airing of Jacqui Lambie’s (MP) theory of IS using Ebola to reign terror on Australia also means that this is even more likely to happen than it would if Lambie had never spoken to begin with.

This brings to light the emerging fact that many of our country’s politicians, the people who represent us in our country, have no respect for our own people. The mistrust and the mutiny, they all add to our country’s lack of understanding. The ‘typical Australian’ is now upper-middle-class, white, Christian to some extent and certainly not real. These stereotypes are leading our country astray. Australia is forever changing and with Melbourne as one of the most politically democratic and progressive cities, we should be leading by example. We need to be able to meet our electoral candidates before the elections. Are they bias? Racist? Not understanding of others? Condescending? Unwilling? Unmotivated? These are the flaws that aren’t hard to notice, sure nobody’s perfect but our people don’t deserve to be represented by people who don’t represent ALL the people.

Although Melbourne is a generally safe and liveable place, Melbourne is not fair. Melbourne’s society might seem fine but never forget, we’re still on the privileged side of things. We are lucky to be getting an education and to be constantly aware of what’s going on in the world around us. The fact that there are other teens and even adults in our city who never had the chance to get a good education is unfair. The fact there are thousands of adults and children living out in the streets is unfair. Fairness is defined as the condition of being free from bias or injustice. So is Melbourne really fair?

References

http://youthlaw.asn.au/

http://streetsmartvic.com.au/

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/jacqui-lambie-questions-defence-officials-about-prospect-of-ebolainfected-suicide-agents-attacking-australia-20141022-119ve0.html

http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/dl-opinion/the-trouble-with-jacqui-lambies-antiburqa-campaign-20140921-10k2iq.html

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/09/25/backlash-against-australian-muslims-worsens

in-class discussions, Youth Law session, discussions with peers and family