One Can Make a Difference

Original stories by
His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Paul McCartney,
Willie Nelson , Dennis Kucinich, Russell Simmons ,
Brigitte Bardot , Martina Navratilova , Stella McCartney,
Ravi Shankar, Oliver Stone , Helen Thomas...

and Dozens of Other Extraordinary Individuals

One Can
Make a
Difference

HOW SIMPLE ACTIONS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

Ingrid E. Newkirk
with Jane Ratcliffe

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!

—John Anster in a loose interpretation of Goethe's
Faust

Copyright © 2008 by Ingrid E. Newkirk
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any
form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are
made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

Published by
Adams Media, an F+W Publications Company
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN-10: 1-59869-629-7
ISBN-13: 978-1-59869-629-5
eISBN: 978-1-44051-532-3

Printed in the United States of America.

J I H G F E D C B A

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Acknowledgments

For their help in reaching busy people, thanks go to Marjorie Fields-Harris, Simone Reyes, Alexi Tavel, Ina Behrend, Suzie Gilbert, Mandi Warrren, Claudine Erlandson, Holly Dearden, Stephane Jasper, Annaig Lamoureux, Paul Margolin, Mia McDonald, Mandi Warren, Katie Annen, Betty Oyugi, P. Gay Harrah, Lavinia Browne, Brenda Young, Chhime R. Chhoekyapaa and Karla Waples; for her most valuable practical assistance, Starza Kolman with help from Sara Chenoweth, Laura Brown, and Philip Schein; for their patience, Tony LaRussa, Mickey Rourke, Peter Barss, Robert Thurman, Marc Bekoff, Olav Heyerdahl, Robin Janiszeufski-Hesson, Jennifer Lauck, Jonathan F. P. Rose, and Steph Davis; for much more than suggesting this book in the first place, Mary Ann Naples; for helping make the work come together at Adams Media, Beth Gissinger and Katrina Schroeder; and, of course, to the essayists, Barbara Adams, Sean Astin, Kevin Bacon, Brigitte Bardot, Dr. Neal Barnard, Carol Buckley, Lady Bunny, Sue Coe, Susan Cohn, The Dalai Lama, Pierre Dulaine, Dr. Armida Fernandez, Kathy Freston, Sharon Gannon, John Gardner, Andy Grannatelli,Temple Grandin, Peter Hammarstedt, Ru Hartwell, Larry Harvey, Dr. Henry Heimlich, Dana Hork, Rebecca Hosking, Robin Kevan, Representative Dennis Kucinich, Heidi Kuhn, Raymond Kurzweil, Bonnie-Jill Laflin, Wangari Maathai, Lily Mazahery, Sir Paul McCartney, Stella McCartney, Mark McGowan, Keith McHenry, John McLaughlin, Arthur Mintz, Moby, Aimee Mullins, Martina Navratilova, Willie Nelson, Petra Nemcova, Wade Rathke, Doris Richards, Rachel Rosenthal, Dave Seegar, Ravi Shankar, Reverend Al Sharpton, Russell Simmons, Anita Smith, Oliver Stone, Helen Thomas, Cheryl Ward-Kaiser, Robert Young, and Benjamin Zephaniah, all of whom have contributed to a better world.

Contents

Introduction
/
INGRID NEWKIRK

Head in the Stars, Feet on the Ground
/
BARBARA ADAMS

On Being a Good Son
/
SEAN ASTIN

Saving the World by Degrees
/
KEVIN BACON

Sex Kitten and Matriarch of Mice
/
BRIGITTE BARDOT

A Healthy Outlook
/
DR. NEAL BARNARD

When Life Gives You Elephants, Make Orange Juice
/
CAROL BUCKLEY

I Just Want to Be Me
/
LADY BUNNY

Illuminating the Truth
/
SUE COE

A Focused Lens on Life
/
SUSAN COHN

Don't Worry, Be Happy
/
HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA

Helping Children Find Their Feet
/
PIERRE DULAINE

Banking for Babies
/
DR. ARMIDA FERNANDEZ

Becoming the Architect of Your Own Good Fortune
/
KATHY FRESTON

Practicing Harmony and Connectedness
/
SHARON GANNON

A Vision of Physical Loveliness
/
JOHN GARDNER

Just Pick Yourself Up . . . and Start All Over Again
/
ANDY GRANATELLI

Thinking in Pictures
/
DR. TEMPLE GRANDIN

Defending Whales and Seals
/
PETER HAMMARSTEDT

Global Flight Control
/
RU HARTWELL

A Burning Desire to Connect
/
LARRY HARVEY

Sitting, Thinking, Creating, Saving
/
DR. HENRY HEIMLICH

Change Is Healthy, Change Is Good!
/
DANA HORK

Helping Bag the Plastic Plague
/
REBECCA HOSKING

No Point in Grumbling!
/
ROBIN KEVAN

Planning the U.S. Department of Peace
/
REPRESENTATIVE DENNIS KUCINICH

From Mines to Vines
/
HEIDI KUHN

The Future Is Fantastic!
/
RAYMOND KURZWEIL

From Pom-Poms to Playbook
/
BONNIE-JILL LAFLIN

When Life Calls, Be Packed and Ready!
/
WANGARI MAATHAI

Throwing Out a Lifeline
/
LILY MAZAHERY

All You Need Is Passion, Passion Is All You Need
/
SIR PAUL McCARTNEY

Creating with a Conscience
/
STELLA McCARTNEY

Making Purposeful Laughter
/
MARK McGOWAN

You May Say I'm a Dreamer
/
KEITH McHENRY

Musically Speaking
/
JOHN McLAUGHLIN

The Soul with the Soles
/
ARTHUR MINTZ

We Are All Made of Stars
/
MOBY

Running on Cheetah Legs
/
AIMEE MULLINS

Champion of Fair Play
/
MARTINA NAVRATILOVA

Greasing the Wheels to American Self-Reliance
/
WILLIE NELSON

Put a Little Love in Your Heart
/
PETRA NEMCOVA

Powerful Communities from Little ACORNs Grow
/
WADE RATHKE

Fighting for a Dog Park
/
DORIS RICHARDS

When the Chips Are Down, Do It Yourself
/
RACHEL ROSENTHAL

Everyone Needs to Eat
/
DAVE SEEGAR

Plucking Music from Your Heart
/
RAVI SHANKAR

Born to Be a Rabble-Rouser
/
REVEREND AL SHARPTON

The Importance of Delivering Respect
/
RUSSELL SIMMONS

The Potholed Road from Shy to Shining
/
ANITA SMITH

Guided by Ghosts
/
OLIVER STONE

Keeping Presidents Honest
/
HELEN THOMAS

The Strongest of Victims
/
CHERYL WARD-KAISER

Building Tribal Dreams
/
ROBERT YOUNG

Verses with Purpose
/
BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH

Resources

INGRID NEWKIRK

Introduction

You cannot teach a man anything;
you can only help him find it within himself.

—Galileo (1564–1642, Italian astronomer and mathematician)

J
ohn O'Farrell, the English political writer and humorist, once noted how often people begin, “If I won the lottery, I would . . . .” Meaning that they would give more money to charity, feed the poor, go out and climb a mountain. He reminds us that, actually, we have won the lottery. That we scratched off our ticket on the day we were born and discovered that we were, say, a middle-class able-bodied person living in a Western country. (Rather than scratching it off, like most of the ticket holders, and finding we have been born a desperately poor child in a Third World slum or, God forbid, a despised cockroach.) He suggests that we count our blessings, our wealth, our health, our abilities. Count them a whole lot, and then set out to share them.

The wonderful thing is that the world is open to us, especially if we want to do positive things. We are surrounded by individuals, past and present, some stars, most not, who have followed their dreams, started programs, written books, invented useful gadgets, educated others, and simply turned what moves them into the magic of their lives. This book gathers the thoughts and insights of fifty such people whose sole wish is to help inspire similar changes in you.

Had Albert Schweitzer been alive, he would have been the first person on my list of essayists. I recently narrated an introduction to the remake of a 1957 documentary about this man who never wished to waste a moment of his life. Well into his eighties, he was tending to the sick in equatorial Africa, living in one room, working late into the evening, then playing his beloved organ music before going to sleep, satisfied with another day of service.

By and large, Dr. Schweitzer had a happy childhood (although he was teased by other boys at school for being overly serious), but it always troubled him that he had more than so many in the world. Cruelty upset him, and once, when he was asked to take up a slingshot and aim at birds who were happily singing their songs in the trees on the hillside, he sprang up and ran to shoo them away instead. From that moment on, he realized he could stop suffering. That is what motivated him to learn how to build a hospital in the jungle and to spend the time it took to get a medical degree so that he could serve in it.The phrase he coined, after much deliberation, was “Reverence for Life.” He extended that reverence to all animals: cats, goats, and the pelicans he had treated for illness that were always the first to greet incoming human patients who traveled to his hospital by canoe.

Watching out for others, fighting for their right to be treated with dignity and respect no matter where they are from, what their language, how many legs or arms they have, or whether you know them personally, is a great way for us to share our riches. Helping others translates into helping ourselves. And the better we feel, the more delight and energy we have to channel into helping others.What a wonderful cycle of change and joy our lives can be!

As the president of the largest animal rights organization in the world, PETA, I have spent the last twenty-five years traveling constantly and attending everything from community workshops to corporate board meetings, speaking on college campuses and to legislators, meeting people from all walks of life, including the rich and poor, foreign dignitaries, Hollywood stars, and private citizens. My most cherished encounters are with people who have social concerns, caring people who want to contribute to a better world.

Surprisingly, whether I'm in Mumbai or Missouri, Manchester, England, or Manchester, New Hampshire, people ask me the same question, over and over again: “How can I, living here, doing what I do, possibly make any difference?” They'll say, “Oh, it's easy for you to make an impact. But I'm no one of importance. No one would listen to me.” If I have learned anything, it is that they are wrong. Dead wrong. The world is waiting to hear from them, just as it is waiting to hear from you.