"We are the creators." Those are the words of Jim Gilliam speaking this month at the Personal Democracy Forum 2011. His speech "The Internet is My Religion" shows the huge impact social media is making when it comes to changing the world.
Jim Gilliam is one of seven strangers who is alive because the parents of a 22-year-old. In their moment of grief said yes to organ donation. Gilliam spoke about the road that he had been on that lead to the need of a double lung transplant after surviving cancer.
Jim Gilliam was homeschooled in California. His dad brought home a modem when he was 12 . That move changed his world and Jim was hooked on the Internet. He was judged by his brain and not held back because of his age. It was a perfect match.
He and his mother born were diagnosed with cancer within months of each other. Jim survived, his mother didn't.
The cancer returned. After months of treatment a stranger's blood marrow would restore him.
Gilliam became a filmmaker along with Robert Greenwald in 2003 after he recovered. The two men released Uncovered: The War on Iraq. He continued to make films with Greenwald until walking up a flight of stairs became impossible. The cancer wasn't back but the treatments that had cured him had damaged his lungs. Gilliam needed a double lung transplant.
Gilliam did what he did best, he researched. The best medical centre for his needs on the west coast was UCLA. He was rejected. That didn't seat well with Gilliam. He blogged about it. That blog was read and shared, other blogs were written by people and emails were sent right and left to UCLA. Jim was on the transplant list. It seems the doctors at UCLA don't like being called chicken when it comes to doing operations.
In the end it came down to the parents of a stranger. Their son had died and they choose to give life to seven others.
Gilliam's story is inspiring. It's also the story of so many today. Journalist Veronica De La Cruz used social media to highlight the story of her brother Eric. Denied a heart transplant because of red tape and non-transferable state insurance Eric's only chance was because of the outrage people felt after reading his story. Sadly for Eric it was too late.
Social media networking is changing the world. Voices that had been hidden are being heard across the globe. When social injustice takes place it takes one Tweet and than another follows. Each message becomes a louder voice. Every one has the ability to make a stand righting wrongs. We are no longer strangers, we are a global family embracing one another when times are bad and raising each other up.
Social media can also be used in a negative way. Criminals who prey on children use it to further their reach. Dictators know that with flicking off the power for the Internet they can silence their public's voice. Bullies use social media in new ways to torture their victims. And yet for each of the negatives a louder voice has begun to ring out.
People are standing up and pointing out the sex predators in record numbers. They are turning to groups like Crime Stoppers International to say enough is enough. Celebs are using their audience to get the messages out that it is wrong to sell children, it is wrong to bully another, it is wrong to suppress a people. Individuals who are not well known are able to do the same. We are indeed the creators of social change. We have been given the power. It's time to use it.
Source : http://www.digitaljournal.com
No comments:
Post a Comment