Movements are always tricky because it's easy to get wrapped up in a cause, and lose sight of it at the same time. It can start off as something very noble in someone's head, and then be usurped by the wrong group of folks that steer it in another direction, and possibly in the ground. There are many things to call attention to, and many ideas that actually should be at least heard, because that is how our society works best. That is how most movements begin. An idea or concern that needs to be addressed and taken to the level of awareness on a grand scale. Something needs attention, and the best way that Americans bridge ideas of concern to action of awareness, is organizing movements. The movements can be as small as a committee in a condo association, or it could be as big as many branches of nationwide protests, but the main focus of any movement is one word. "Change". Someone's better is always someone's worse, so as many movements as there are, there are people who don't agree with them, and sometimes form counter movements just to in their minds balance things. That's fine because no one movement has all of the right answers, and people want to get heard for fear of being run over by some particular movement that they disagree with. The problem that movements run into is that in this day and age require constant media coverage to be relevant, therefore you will have people who really don't represent the true sentiments of the movement speaking untruths and not necessarily understanding the nuances of what is required to explain to folks just what the idea is. And people within the movements are too busy painting to everyone what they can't stand.
That is why the most important thing about movements has to be that they are FOR something. Too many movements are formed to be AGAINST something, or have vitriol for some entity that someone has made a case to be public enemy #1. Whether that entity be big Government, The President, Wall Street, or Billionaires, nothing is worse than a movement that uses the word "Against" in their description. It turns people off, and many can't get behind something that describes its main focus as conflict. A movement must become a mindset for people to gravitate to, and yes anger is a mindset, but there is a difference between productive anger that enables a person to be "for" something, as opposed to that unproductive contempt that fuels and motivates people out of fear that something will happen to them if they don't join. The movement on your shoulders is an important one because it is truly the mindset that has to lead the way to changes for the better, and not just talking points and signs.
I point to the Civil Rights Movement as an example of the perfect cause for protest in our history. It wasn't against anything when you really get down to Brass tacks. It was for the just cause of equal rights that everyone is this country was promised. It was for the betterment of humanity as a whole, and the heart of the movement was a man who understood that it was a mindset that had to change along with laws. Just one of those by themselves wasn't going to cut it, In order for people to want to be a part of the movement, and get behind it, it had to be for something. And that something resonated with people of different races, economic backgrounds, religions, and political leanings. The antagonists were never named, They didn't have to be, because they made themselves seen and known. The movement was just, and noble because it wasn't about these people against those people. It was about the right thing to do, and a cause that turned over rocks and exposed worms that people were afraid to acknowledge existing under them. That's what the best movements do. They awaken people's perceptions without scapegoats, and incendiary rhetoric. A parallel movement is what's happening all over the Middle East. Those people are fighting for basic human rights, and freedoms that we enjoy, and those movements are violent because that's the result of true oppression. But again the movements are "for" those basic things. They may be fighting against dictatorships, but what is transpiring is positive rebellion for basic things that all humans want, and are denied over there. And the change in mindset is at the heart of it. The movement is on the shoulders of those people first...In their hearts second...In their mouths third.
Movements must be just, and organized to a point where they have a center, and a purpose, and a heartbeat. A movement without those things is doomed, as it will wither away, and not fulfill its promise to be an agent of change. It will become corrupted by people trying to morph it into ideas identical to their own personal agendas and whims, and not for the greater purpose that it was intended. That is why every movement needs a manifesto, and a spokesperson who can articulate just what is being said, and tell others just what the movement stands for, what it hopes to achieve, and present solutions to the particular dilemma. But the main part of that movement is a collective mindset where everyone is in accordance with what thought processes need to be kicked into gear to truly make the changes. A true "Pro Tester" understands this, because it truly is testing the system, and trying to challenge people to push the boundaries of what they know and accept. A true "Pro Test" is one who will make people want to join something because it is "for" a cause, and not "against" some cloudy version of what they perceive of as "fighting the enemy". That doesn't work for long because the conditions eventually change, therefore what happens to the enemy? Are fingers pointed toward a now "new" enemy? And then a new enemy after that? When you are for something, there is no enemy..There is only striving for a goal and you will have more people join your cause because they won't have the fear of becoming the enemy Du Jour.
The movements that I see here in America have had promise, but they are falling victim to becoming something against, and not something for. Politicians attaching themselves to movements, is never a good thing because they begin to manipulate their agendas to ride a wave, trying to embrace some people while alienating others. And then the movement will become fractured because it will fight itself, and other people who would otherwise have supported it.
My advice is this: For those who want a movement, think first, because the movement you need really is on your shoulders first. A mindset that you have to use first to have solutions, and then once you have solutions, you can make everyone aware of them, as you are for a purpose, and not against a concept. You can be against something, but you will more likely to get people interested if your "for" is first and foremost.
Remember that the 60's youth movement were for peace , love and equality. Where they went wrong was that they were more against the war in Vietnam then they were for those other things. When the war ended, so did they.
No comments:
Post a Comment