Doug wrote:
>But isn't activism often a catalyst for change?
Yes, we need activists. There are limits to the
things activists can accomplish and this is what i
was trying to say. I tend to make my points about
activists too strongly, so just ignore my rants.
Let me try again:
If a thousands activists fight for years with a thousand
other activists over forest usage, what happens. Those
activists cancel each other out and create problems in
other areas. But, if one person decides to incorporate
sustainable forest practices they will have accomplished
something. Their impact on the earth will be positive.
This says activists alone can't accomplish anything. They
need people living the answers because that is where the
real changes occur. Thus, there is a partnership between
people acting for change and activists trying to fix
problems.
1. Activists are most useful in stopping immediate
problems. They work with the existing cultural
structures and try to fix problems.
2. Lasting cultural change requires people to change
and shift cultural values and institutions.
This requires individual action which is often
a step outside the mainstream culture.
For years i was on a list of activists who were promoting
alternative energy (wind, sun, water, bio, etc.). Very few
of the people wanted to make changes in their lives, they
were more interested in passing laws and getting funding to
promote other forms of energy. I interjected comments like:
how can we expect others to change if we are not willing to
change ourselves? This was not very popular. It made me
wonder if any change was possible when no one wanted to
change.
If no groups in society are models for change then
change will probably not happen.
What really bothers me is the belief we can write a check and
send it to our favorite activist organization and this is
enough. If we watch the money flow it is clear that a small
percent is used for a good cause, and most of the money
builds organization and pays salaries. Often, the indirect
pollution produced by all the mailings and travel done by
activists does more harm than good.
So... we need a balance between activism and direct action.
At present few people know how to begin or want to think
about it. Responsible action is viewed as boring, painful,
joining a cause, writing a check, or feeling helpless.
rant, rant, rant <grin>. For those in Pc this topic becomes:
Can we teach Pc and not live it? From there we go to the
question of: Is Pc a static path or something that grows
and we grow with it? In other words, a process of growth.
----
jeff owens, [EMAIL PROTECTED], http://www.xprt.net/~jko
underground house, solar power, self-reliance, edible landscape
to leave ecopath: unsubscribe ecopath -> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
