Waiting

The brilliant video above is the latest promotional piece from an incredible advocacy organization called ONE. ONE was started by Bono, the lead singer of the band U2, in an effort to challenge governments and individuals to take action in the fight to end extreme poverty. Jamie and I have been members of ONE for several years, and just this summer, Jamie took a volunteer position with ONE as the Congressional District Leader for the state of West Virginia.

The video above illustrates a challenge we all encounter in our lives—the challenge of waiting. We live in a world where we expect immediate gratification in every arena. As a culture, we are becoming increasingly self-absorbed and we easily grow impatient with slowness in download times, traffic, food service, and you name it.

And yet, when it comes to bigger issues, we often sit by—watching. Meanwhile, there are people who are waiting and hoping for individuals like you to take action and use your voice and your time to make a difference.

Right now, the Ebola virus is devastating West Africa. For some, the problem is far away and out of mind, but we are no longer all that separated as a global community. Within hours, anyone on the planet can be anywhere on the planet. What affects one truly does affect us all.

Every day we wait to take action on issues like Ebola and extreme poverty, more people die. People die while waiting for funding to reach the ground, waiting for doctors and nurses to be deployed, and for shattered medical services to be rebuilt.

So what can you do? To start, sign ONE’s petition asking world leaders to step up and take action on Ebola. Beyond that, start spreading the word—tell people what THEY can do to address the issue. That’s why I wrote this post. I’ve signed the petition, and I want you to do so as well. Looking for more steps to take? Stop waiting and joinONE.

May we each take appropriate action as we are able so others can stop waiting for a response.