Comparative Essay: Jose Mujica and Emma Watson

Comparative essay

Humanity is a very common theme nowadays. We know that as a whole planet we are full of problems that are desperately looking for a solution. Fortunately there exist good people which come from all around the world, and from all social classes that want to mark the world and make a real change. Two great examples are the Ex-President of Uruguay Jose Mujica and Emma Watson who is actually an Ambassadress on the UN.
                                                                                                                                                  Jose Mujica Ex-President of Uruguay is still known as the poorest president in the world. This is because he gave 90% of his salary to charity during his presidency, and he gave up most of his privileges to help others and because he considered them unnecessary. He did lots of changes that were criticized because they followed controversial ideas that people did not accept at the moment. Some of them were the decriminalization of abortion, legalization of the purchase, sale and consumption of marijuana and the approval of homosexual marriages. He talked about making a change for the world and the many small ways to do this such as to stop wasting our natural resources and to stop caring only about money and instead find ways to help others and feel better ourselves at the same time.

On September 25th 2014 Mujica gave a speech in the UN in which he talked about his country, humanity, and the most relevant thing: the importance of finding a solution to all the problems that surround us. With this speech he caused great impact because he was the eye of the hurricane for being so different from other presidents. He mentioned to the delegates of the United Nations it is urgent to get together as nations and find solutions for global problems that have affected all of us in some way. He stated "Our civilization has mounted a challenge and as we go, it is not possible to fill all that sense of waste that has been given to life. Now is the time to start preparing to fight for a world without borders".

On the other hand Emma Watson is a very rich yet very caring actress. She is now a U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador. She gave a very outstanding speech on sexism and feminism on September 20^th 2015. She mentioned the importance of gender equality and offered a formal invitation for men to participate in the fight for it. In the speech she recalls that being a feminist does not mean that you are against men, it means you are against gender inequality which affects negatively both women and me. In the same way she talked about how gender inequality and stereotypes affect men in an unfair way so they are supposed to be strong and never talk about feelings nor cry. In her own words: I'm really genuinely disturbed by this idea that men can't cry, they can't express themselves and can't talk about how they feel. I think that's the saddest thing in the world. Being passionate, being emotional — it's not what makes you a girl. It’s what makes you human. She concluded by stablishing that we are able to make a change together and help a little bit to create a real change.

 We might think that the “poorest” president in the world and one of the most famous actresses in the world have nothing in common, but they are actually quite alike in their way of thinking. Both speeches attempt to make a real change by taking action. Of course we have to take on consideration the position that each one has or had and the audience they were directing their speeches to. They both mention the necessity for a change and propose some solutions. In the case of Mujica he refers to the world and to make a change for ecology by changing our energy producing resources and wasting less. On the other side Emma Watson refers to the necessity to end sexism and its stereotypes and find a way to get gender equality by including men in the solution. As she said men think it's a women's word and it's only for women but really it just means you stand for equality. If you stand for equality, you are a feminist.

Both lecturers show in their speeches their gratefulness for what they have and the way in which they care for others and they are anxious to help in a way that could change the lives of millions of people. They give clear examples of what they expect as a result of the change and the way this changes could make everyone’s lives better. In the same way both speakers extend an invitation to be part of the movement of change and make a reality of all the ideas given to improve the world. They motivate the people by showing them how others have been able to make changes and they encourage them with phrases that show that good people united and taking action can get results. As Watson says difference: Don't ever hear in your own head, "Who am I to do something?" You are human. You are a person. You can 100% change the world.

Jose Mujica and Emma Watson prove that there is still good people who really make the effort to change the world and that it is possible to make a change even it might be small. Both show that with courage it is possible and they serve as examples to the people they encourage to help make a change as well.