First, the song is called "Say Hey" by Michael Franti & Spearhead. (Yes, Michael Franti sounds like a Finnish name, but I'm pretty sure he is not.) I have many many happy sounding songs, but this one stands out to me for some reason. The video is a lot of fun. (I especially like the little old lady movin' her hips better than I can!) It is such a simple, exuberant song; It is absolutely impossible to hear this song and be mad or unhappy. The main line of the song is nothing more or less than "I love you, I love you, I love you!" This is everything. Can you really say it any other way? It's fantastic. I have been thinking about this song for weeks, and it makes me smile every time, even just thinking about it.
"It seems like everywhere I go,
The more I see, the less I know.
But I know one thing, that I love you.
I love you! I love you! I love you!"
The message is simple, but deep.
Second, I just watched a lecture on ted.com about children in India who made a difference. Kids at the Riverside school are being taught to be Contagious. They are being challenged, taken seriously, and shown that their opinions make a difference. This is an amazing phenomenon. India is a country of a billion+ people, a large portion of whom are impoverished and uneducated. Women, and especially children, make up a huge percentage of this underprivileged class. But India's children today will be their adults in just a few years. This program is remarkable in that it focuses on childrens' ability to DO. They are challenged to say "I can."
There are three stages. It all starts with Awareness: seeing the change. For example, children at the Riverside school were being taught about child labor, and to illustrate this, they were actually made to roll incense sticks for 8 hours, just for one day. Just one day. This opened their eyes, and really personalized and drove home the realities of child labor in India.
We Americans, as a country, are blooming in the Awareness stage. We know about the big problems, like pollution, climate change, environmental degradation, AIDS and other diseases, human rights violations and so on. Television and the Internet have fostered unprecedented leaps in access to information and global awareness. Despite the pridefully militant ignorance of a certain, unfortunately vociferous minority (I view the arrogance of the smug "anti-elitist" crowd incredibly ironic), we have have an fantastic wealth of knowledge at our very fingertips. With very few exceptions, there is really no excuse for ignorance.
The next step is Enabling: being changed. Now that these children are aware of the issue at hand, the school helped support a program in which the kids went out into the community to talk to people in taxies, businesses and just on the street to spread their newfound awareness. They learn first hand the challenges and obstacles that come with being entrepreneurs of social change.
We have only just juuust begun the Enablement phase. Far too often I witness people displaying knowledge about a hot-button issue, saying it's a horrible reality of life, and doing nothing. A line from the film Hotel Rwanda, a true story about the April 1998 genocide, stuck in my mind; The main character, Paul, was questioning an American journalist as to how people could be aware of the atrocities occurring in this country, and still do nothing. The journalist made the succinct yet cuttingly true remark: "People will watch this on the evening news and say "That's horrible," and then continue eating their dinner."
Activism is hard. We are tiny people in a big world, and one little voice is easily lost in the roar of mass media and general global hugeness. But if you don't say it, and I don't say it, then who will? We need to realize, as a nation, that we ARE in the Enablement phase. We really do have the ability, as a large, listened to, democratic country, to make real changes in the world. Especially as Americans, we are in a unique position as instigators and promotors of social change. Our media, policies and language all have such a global reach, that it would be irresponsible to NOT do something.
As Gandiji put it: Be the change you want to see in the world. That is the essence of the third step: Empowerment: leading the change. With so many opportunities, so much information, and such a position of power, every one of us has the potential to be the change. There is no reason you can't. If you don't, then that is your choice. Everything else is just an excuse.
The memorable closing comment of the lecture is: "If not us, then who? If not now, then when?"
Interesting comments about "Awareness."
ReplyDeleteFor years (decades, maybe) I've heard people try to "Raise Awareness" over a variety of issues, and I've always wondered what's the point of simply being aware?
It seems like the world's problems are huge and difficult to solve, but no one's bothered to figure out a plan that even sounds like it could alleviate any of these issues. And then there are so many who are aware of it that they all think "at least awareness has been raised. I don't have the time to spare or the money to burn, but someone else will surely do something," and then they go back to eating dinner.
And yeah...as I say that I realize I just finished eating a sandwich and that I've got commitments that I'm not willing to break to go help kids in India.
Even if I did, the question is "how?"
I think that might be the next step, is to figure out a plan. Something more than "let's raise money" or something vague like that. That's another situation where so many people are involved and they're all doing so little that no one really knows what's going on.
Sorry to wax for so long on the subject...but it's a puzzling one.
Take care!
-Jake
"How" is always a problem. Knowing what to do depends on what you know. That's why the "Awareness" part is so very important.
ReplyDeleteThe big challenge with solving global issues is understanding the complex system that gives rise to them. Seemingly obvious solutions might be ineffective, or even harmful. You can't solve hunger with food. By feeding starving children, for example, you will absolutely be helping the ones who are getting the food. However, if that is the only part of your solution, then you are actually creating a system of dependence that is ultimately unsustainable. A more complete strategy would have to get to the root problems like unemployment and poor infrastructure. (Kind of the "give a man a fish vs. teach a man to fish axiom.)
Awareness is important. You're right, simply knowing about an issue but doing nothing about it won't solve any problems. But how COULD you do something about it if you don't even know? Also, if YOU know about an issue but don't have the time, means or desire to act, by passing the information along to someone else, you are both spreading awareness AND possibly planting the seeds of change in someone else. Personally, I think it's best to be the leader and work to make the changes you want to see yourself. But realistically, not everyone has the same priorities as I do, so helping to educate and inform others may be the best bet.
So if you're concerned about something, tell people about it. That's why I make posts like this one in the first place.
I did a presentation on just this idea in the spring semester. My presentation was simply supposed to be on the advantages/disadvantages of 3 different cultural events I attended that semester, and it ended up being really negative solely because I felt like all of these events were structured around the idea of 'awareness,' and that I felt that most people already had an awareness of the issues presented, which were pretty much "diversity exists."
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this blog entry, I now understand what you were getting at when arguing with me in my new house that night when you were saying, pretty much, that if I truly cared about being some sort of LGBT activist in the future, I would have no problem with being open with my roommates. In my opinion, at least in regards to LGBT sort of stuff, the best way to change hearts and minds is for someone to know an LGBT person personally. Your entry really makes me want to come out to them as soon as possible, regardless of how comfortable I am with it, because I really do want to make change.
Thanks Domi, I really am glad that I met you :).
Hi, Domi:
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to let you know that I am reading your blogs and enjoying what I am hearing and learning. Obviously, you have more layers and dimensions than even I imagined when I had you in my class. I look forward to reading more. JH