Yesterday when I got to campus two strange things were happening. First, hovering above the small town were three black and angular military helicopters landing in the practice fields; unusually. Second, lining one side of the main street were protesters chanting a phrase that was garbled by the distance. I chose not to approach close enough to make out the cause for which they demonstrated. But today around campus I've noticed coffin shaped signs hanging on trees asking "Are we responsible for the actions of our government?" and the like. Are these events related, who knows? But it did get me pondering...
Whenever I see demonstrations of this sort I tend to walk the long way around. Even living in Flagstaff, I was too busy or too tired to take part in much activism. I thought this was because I was a shy person. Or even worse, I feared that I avoided protesting because I lacked conviction in my beliefs. I have a new idea.
I don't protest because the relationship with the living other is more important than any theory or cause or conviction (paraphrased from Nel Noddings' work). That is, building and maintaining relationships with other people is what really matters. I listen to someone speaking because I care about them and I wish to show that I care by considering their thoughts and opinions. However, the person shouting from the other side of the road does not care about me except as a mind to be influenced, manipulated. And I don't care about that person except that I wish to avoid them.
I do think that activism has a place. Organizing protests and demonstrations can bring people within a group closer together and it can spark dialogue between the people who care about each other enough to plan an event together. But my goal in organizing a demonstration is not change the minds of strangers (how aggressive!) but to build relationship and start dialogue with my co-organizers.
However, I hold this opinion loosely. Perhaps at times I am shy and cowardly when I choose not to join a cause I believe in. But at other times, I know that I am choosing to change the situation through care instead of combat.
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6 comments:
I feel like we need some people to protest, and others to go on about their ordinary business. I'm doing the latter these days, but whenever I encounter protesters (not uncommon in downtown D.C.), despite my irritation I feel heartened by them. They're a necessary piece of the puzzle.
Of course, these days, a lot of the protesters are conservatives, and I never know just what to feel about that. Actually, I feel surprisingly peaceful about that, too: yet another piece of the puzzle.
On another note, I hope you're doing well these days. Isn't it weird to be settled in on the east coast? I know I still think about leaving sometimes, but I'm no longer sure where I'd go.
Well said, Miich.
More and more, I'm beginning to feel like you can't wait to bring everyone into the fold if you want anything to happen. As irritated as I am about education spending being cut and wars being fought, I think I can probably do a lot more by trying to teach and create peace in my ho-hum life than yell and scream on a corner somewhere.
Hi Jonathan! I guess I agree, protesters are a part of the puzzle. But I increasingly feel that more love and less anger is needed to make protesting effective.
I've actually been thinking about moving to DC after I finish my student teaching next year. How do you like it? I never did see myself as an east coaster...funny how things happen.
Hi Russ! How's life? I totally agree and I think a life at peace is never ho-hum :)
How to summarize D.C. life... ... ...? It's very comfortable place: decent weather (ish), clean streets, nice metro, etc. Great non-corporate jobs. It's not only the government capital, but also the headquarters of like 90% of all U.S. nonprofits (there's a reason for that, of course; most nonprofits engage in lobbying). The jobs are still stressful in their own way, though; for instance, there's a great emphasis on rules and authority.
The most stressful part, though, is the constant crush of people. It's just big enough that there are always... people... everywhere... but it's not big enough (e.g. New York) that people move efficiently and predictably. It really takes/teaches people skills. If you don't know how to talk to people when you arrive here, you absolutely will know how by the time you leave. But you might not always enjoy people anymore.
There's plenty more to think about, but I won't write a book. When Eleanor was thinking about this area, I pretty much said "don't do it, you'll regret it." But I appreciate the area a bit more now, and you're not Eleanor, so there is that.
Overall, I'm totally with you, Mich, more than ever. In fact, I feel like these are precisely the things I've been thinking about, though in a slightly different way, over on my blog. I wonder though, about the huge protests, like the ones that have come to Washington D.C., like the civil rights protests, for example. Perhaps they didn't change the minds of individual people, but they did show the powers-that-be how huge the numbers were, and therefore that change needed to happen. Which probably did make a difference, you know? Then again, millions of people around the world protested the Iraq war, and that hasn't seemed to change anything.
I love what you said, that peace is never ho-hum. AMEN.
Open conversation seems to be obsolete in our culture, as most people have their own agendas from the moment they take in air. Even just talking to people you've made friends with requires careful consideration as to what their viewpoint may be, or whether they're actually listening.
I think it is incredibly admirable to keep the mindset where your main priority is to listen to others as you would want to be listened to. (Sorry for ending that sentence with a preposition.)However difficult it may be to maintain that conviction, I think you can do it!
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