Former College President John Sloan Dickey said, "The world's troubles are your troubles and there is nothing wrong in the world that better human beings cannot fix." Recently, fellow columnist Charles Clark '11 ("Tilting at the World's Troubles," Jan. 27) found fault with Dickey's inspiring statement, pointing out the egotism of his words and arguing that the world's troubles cannot be universally defined and a consensus on solutions cannot be achieved. Clark's column falls one step short of claiming that the world's troubles cannot be solved, since they apparently cannot be collectively defined. While this logical deduction may have been unforeseen, his argument begins a dangerous path towards inactionthe last thing we need. Though it may be difficult to understand the context of problems and contribute to meaningful solutions, it is not impossible to define and solve the world's troubles.
In theory, identifying global troubles may seem subject to one's beliefs, as Clark argues. But in reality, this notion is severely flawed. There are many problems in the world that are black and white humanitarian crises are undeniably horrific, regardless of one's cultural beliefs or biases. For example, no compassionate citizen will deny that extreme poverty, disease, lack of access to clean water, hunger and genocide are all problems. Saying that these issues may look like problems in our eyes but are embraced in other cultures is stretching the truth.
Even if most individuals can agree on a set of fundamental global problems, Clark finds it difficult to weigh the different issues and distinguish between solutions. The first concern, the difficulty of prioritizing global problems, is a moot point. It may be unclear which problems are most pressing, but this should not matter in taking action to improve the world. Dickey's point is that students should strive to solve whichever problems they desire, regardless of where they fall on the global troubles hierarchy (if one even exists).
The second concern, that we will never achieve a consensus on solutions, can also be dismissed. Considering the complex nature of global problems, there will most likely be a diverse set of promising solutions for each issue. There is no need for a global consensus on solutions the focus should be on creating and applying appropriate solutions where problems exist.
Some may argue that it is difficult to determine whether a solution is appropriate, or to predict all the consequences. While there is always the risk of unforeseen consequences when implementing an original solution, it is better to implement a solution with some unintended consequences than not implement a solution at all. This is especially true for the world's most pressing issues. Fear of failure is no reason to abandon ship.
The prime example of a man who has proven that global troubles can be defined and solved is College President Jim Yong Kim, who has contributed to several global health-related efforts. Kim's example demonstrates the importance of understanding context when dealing with international troubles. Kim often stresses the importance of anthropology in solving global troubles developing Partners in Health required a firm understanding of the culture and history of the people of Haiti and their problems. If students make an effort to understand the greater context behind global problems before attempting to implement solutions, there is a greater chance that solutions will succeed without resistance from locals, a worry that Clark points out.
In contrast to Clark's views, I believe that each of us has the unique privilege and duty of defining the world's troubles and working to solve these global problems. After recognizing troubling global issues, the problem that we may disagree on how to solve these troubles is in fact no problem at all. It is better that we disagree on solutions but indeed implement them than leave the world's troubles unattended to.
In a community where more and more students are focusing on careers in finance, consulting and law, it is important that President Kim continues to repeat Dickey's inspirational command to place the world's troubles on our own shoulders. Staying true to our motto "Vox Clamantis in Deserto," we must use our voices of reason crying in the wilderness to respond to the voices of agony crying in all corners of the globe this is the least of our duties as compassionate human beings.
