The Sidewalk Philosopher expouses on his views on the true nature of Activism, Compromise, and Progress.
The nature of the world today is defined by the delicate balance of
opinion and reality, a swirling amalgamation of altruism and realism.
When these two often-conflicting paradigms collide, the resulting fiery
supernova of ideology breeds the compromise and understanding on which
the world operates. Too often, we see individuals unable to come to
grips with the concept of opposing viewpoints, stubbornly insisting
upon their point-of-view being the �right� one. This blatant disregard
for people�s opinions and this sense of closed-mindedness is sublimely
detrimental to global progress.
It�s all well and good for people to take it upon themselves to �do the
right thing�, shamelessly marching down streets chanting, waving
banners and taunting law enforcement, but as we�ve seen, such closed-
minded displays of �ethical bravado� only lead to reckless alienation
of those who need to be influenced�people in positions of power.
The entire concept of �fighting the power� is utterly irresponsible on
the part of self-proclaimed �activists� who try to affect change by
yelling and screaming, only propelling their own rage against the
machine and completely neglecting the most crucial aspect of true
activism: debate. Discourse is what breeds change, not someone waving a
sign and singing. Discussion catalyses progress by allowing individuals
to find common ground in opposition to the status quo, and then to act
upon consensus.
Protest is completely redundant in terms of raw efficacy. It
accomplishes little in terms of real progress, and for the large part,
the awareness generated by the protests serves only to alienate those
in power. Fine, the government may be evil, terrible and utterly
despicable, but that doesn�t justify hating the entire process of
government, calling for the collective to eschew hierarchy in favor
of �anarchy�. Crazy. If change is what is needed, then change must be
affected from the inside-out. If such change is impossible to attain,
then we must have faith in international organizations to affect the
change for us. We are not a people struggling against the omnipresent
evils of hatred, discrimination and oppression. In order for any of the
three to exist, there must be bilateral consent, so effectively we
cause ourselves to feel and in some cases bee oppressed, hated and
discriminated against.
Why should we, in an effort to change the world, yell and scream when,
as Theodore Roosevelt once advised, we would be much better advised
to �talk softly and carry a big stick.� If we are united in opposition
and willing to admit our own flaws, then we can cooperate with those
who can really affect real change and make the world a better place.
I applaud those who protest for their courage and determination, but I
honestly question their perception of reality. We must be neither
realists nor altruists to change the world, but a satisfying breed of
the two in order to reach our goals.
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