It was the fascination of my 2 year old niece that brought me to this video. It features the memorial of Jim Henson, the main puppeteer on Sesame Street and the Muppets. The memorial featured the muppets appearing one by one on stage while singing the song(one of Jim Henson's favorite, some netizens said). When I watched it the first time, I was moved not only by how the puppets appeared one by one on stage, but I was also moved by the message of the song. I was almost brought to tears when they sang the part, "And if three whole people, why not four? And if four whole people, why not more, and more, and more?" As I was thinking on how to articulate my thoughts over social problems, social change, and development in my DEVC 208 class, that part of the song kept playing over and over and over in my head. Then I realize something. This is how social change should be like. This is how social change should FEEL like.
Awareness is one of the things that make up change and development in our society--to people, in general. But this would not have been possible if no one would be brave and strong enough to speak out, act out, and make a difference. Just like in the video, that performance would not have been iconic if no one took a break from their grieving to give that epic performance. Or if we delve deeper into the meaning of the song, nothing will happen if no one dared to initiate an idea...or if no one, not even one person believed on that idea. As what another part of this song goes, "It stands to reason that you yourself will/ start to see what everybody sees in you...and maybe even you/ can believe in you, too!"
I realize that the idea of pursuing something and putting your whole heart and soul to that idea you believe in is also applicable to change and development. This may sound cliche to all of us. I even consider this motto as being "gas-gas" and overused, but at the back of my head, I still put a lot of faith into it. Maybe the things I learned from the class will make this belief even more definite. I just hope that sooner or later, I may be able to pull off a Sesame Street kind of change/ movement. That I maybe able to take part on some sort of change over how people think over something.
And finally, I would like to end with this quote from John F. Kennedy. "The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were." Dreaming is where most ideas come from. I guess it is just right to say that we don't stop doing that!
