I believe that, as individuals, we all have a responsibility for the state of our planet. Everything we do affects not only the people we encounter in our daily lives, but, through a chain of consequences, ultimately everyone and everything around us.
This is truer today than at any other point in human history. Our thoughts can now be communicated almost instantly anywhere in the world, while our actions can be captured in photographs and videos and shared with people across the globe.
Far more depends on each individual than many people realise. The responsibility is enormous. Yet it is clear that certain trends are gaining ground—trends that increasingly place the perceived or actual rights of individuals above everything else, with little or no regard for the well-being and future of the community as a whole.
It is a fact that, throughout the past centuries—and indeed millennia—almost every form of power has, at one time or another, been abused by those who held it or stood close to it. They took advantage of the opportunities entrusted to them, causing suffering and, at times, leaving many people emotionally and physically scarred. Entire social groups and sections of society lived under oppression simply because they had no other choice. From time to time, a revolution swept away harmful practices, only for them to be replaced by actions that were often no better. The victims simply changed.
I know there are those who believe that this is simply how things must be—that we are living through a period of history in which the condition of our planet, and of humanity itself, can only continue to deteriorate. But I choose to believe that this is not inevitable.
If each of us is willing to take personal responsibility, then tomorrow can be better. Even though there will always be hardships that we cannot avoid, and against which we may have no means of protecting ourselves.
I, too, have been given the opportunity to express my views in this way. I believe that economic gain should never take precedence over protecting the health and future of our planet.
This is where we live. All of us. At present, we have nowhere else to go.
I follow the work of, and support to the best of my ability, the Hungarian and international activities of Greenpeace, WWF, and several humanitarian organisations.
I know that the future of our society lies in our children. The people they become will shape the direction in which humanity moves forward—and, in part, the fate of our planet as well.
Would you join me in supporting the work of UNICEF?