What You Ignore: A Short Story

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What You Ignore “As I look upon you on this groggy New York morning, I have one question. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, does it make a noise? The answer, unambiguously, is of course it does, but what about a whole forest? What if an entire forest falls down, will anyone hear it, will anyone pay attention?” asked Stephen, the conservationist. “Of course we will it’s an entire forest!” proclaimed the crowd of students. “You’re right, we most certainly would. However, animals all over the world are going extinct. And they are still making noise, like a symphony, as each melody dies out, however we choose to ignore them. Over the past hundred years, a little under a hundred species have been wiped out, even an entire family …show more content…

. . ‘Better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.’ And that is what I’m trying to do here, when I started this speech,I lit a candle amidst the darkness, hoping some of you will find it. and hopefully some of you have, because if we each light a candle, someone else may find it, and light their own. Then someone else could find one and light another, and by each of us lighting a candle, we can illuminate the world. Everyone here can change this world, whether it is by using reusable water bottles or riding your bike more, each and every one of your decisions matters. If all of you stand idly by, we will lose the one thing that makes this planet unique, life. And there is so much worth fighting for. Whether it be the beauty in the awe inspiring simplicity of breathtaking landscapes, or life, a delicate flower, barely able to hang on to the ground, as each root is ripped out of the ground slow enough for us not to notice, yet fast enough to pose a serious problem. Or perhaps for you it is the happiness in a laugh among friends or loved ones, or maybe the buildings we build, and the friendships we

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