Activism 101 : An Activist's Toolbox
What Do You Mean by "Activism" ?
The core tasks of government, as described in the U.S. Bill of Rights and elsewhere in our Constitution, are to protect basic civil and human rights and freedoms ; and to reduce or redress situations in society where people cause each other injury, harm and loss.
When governments fail to protect these needs - or worse, themselves endanger the rights or safety of citizens, these same needs remain, and must still be met. When these failures and dangers occur often, in extreme forms and/or clear patterns, it falls to citizens to remind government of its mandates, and set it back to its mandated work.
Activism, in the sense intended here, includes
- Intensified participation by citizens in the processes of government
- Clear communication of their core rights and safety needs to it and
- Action by all peaceful means possible to make sure these
(irreducible) human needs are met
How Do Citizens DO That ?
Like every kind of work, activism requires certain tools and skills - and also a certain learning curve, to be able to use them properly. Here's a quick look in the toolbox. We'll explore how to use these tools safely and effectively next.
Tool #1 : Communicate with Your Elected Representatives
We don't elect these people to rule us, but as the name states, represent our wishes and concerns. They sometimes forget this and need to be reminded. They also can't read minds, and if we don't communicate with them, they can't know. Like every communication process, this process will require that we be respectful, clear and direct.
Here's an excellent way to quickly find your elected representatives at any level of government - local, state or federal. Bookmark or otherwise save this resource, so you can find it when you need it :
Elected Officials | USAGov (for future reference : https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials)
Tool #2 : Communicate with Public Opinion Makers
Public media, whether broadcast, print or online, really can't know what troubles us - or even if our very lives are in jeopardy - unless we tell them. Here's how to contact these people, to make your thoughts and wishes known :
Public Media Contacts and Addresses
Use this directory to find contact information for reporters, editors, producers and executives of these media outlets. Staff positions at media outlets change frequently, so names may not always be listed, but at worst you'll find an email address, or place to make your comments. Usually, newspapers list this information on their editorial page. Take initiative, make your voice heard !
Tool #3 : Communicate with Corporations
In cases of harmful products and practices attributable to corporations, let them know directly. This is a approach not yet much attempted, but what is it after all that we hope to achieve ? At the heart of the matter, only safer products, and safer or less exploitative practices. Direct feedback, especially if heard from many sides, gives corporations information they can work with - if they're willing to. If they're not, you still have options #1 and 2 above, and you'll be steps ahead for having already organized our thoughts. You'll also have a paper trail of what you've tried to tell them, directly and with goodwill.
Tools like these will be effective if we use them ; and they need to be exercised not just by many people, but by massive numbers of people !
Direct Action : Up Close and Personal
1) Wherever you can, make personal contact with those who make decisions or have influence. Call AND email your elected representatives - and if possible, make a visit to their office. The same goes for contacts with corporate representatives, if you can manage it. Start with a service department, and escalate your concerns to the supervisor above them - even to managers in their local chain store. Always follow through with emails/written materials. A firm but respectful attitude creates openings for relationship - an intangible factor, but one that opens ears, minds and hearts.
2) Deal only in facts, the best you can find, and not in subjective speculation. Those who fight unfairly may call you a "conspiracy theorist", but don't give them an excuse to - and don't be an accuser yourself. It's fair to quote someone accurately and in context, or to report on their provable actions. Beyond that, leave judgment to the facts and evidence themselves - and to the law.
3) It's said that "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity". This is true for activism as well. Gather and organize your facts, and make a written outline. Besides facts, identify your own most important concerns and goals in the matter, and write these down too. Personal viewpoints are an intangible factor - but when backed with hard facts, it lends your voice weight.
4) Contribute what you have - and know that it will be enough. Every one of us has some gift or ability the world needs, and some issue closest to our own heart. To the extent you can bring these two things together, and act on them, you'll be surprised how effective you can be.
5) Reach out to others with like concerns. If you hear something said really well on social media, don't stop with a "Like" or "Comment" - send that person a Contact/Friend request too. Build a network of competence, of integrity and of true "friends in spirit". Take note also of people with knowledge/skills you don't have yet, who can help you through your learning curves faster. You may be surprised to find this works both ways, and that your skills are needed too !
6) Share the good work of others. We sometimes forget how crucial this is. If someone is doing good work, share that work with links to it, plus your own comments and recommendations. Not least, encourage friends to get on the mailing lists of people and groups you trust, again with links to help them do that. In a time of social media censorship, search engine blacklists and "de-platforming'', direct personal recommendations and referrals are crucial !
Simply said : we need to become our own "mainstream media". This is the sine qua non - the "without this, nothing" - of activism for the future, if we're to have a future at all.
7) Take the long view, and don't be discouraged by seeming defeats. We can't control the actions and attitudes of others - nor the outcomes of actions we ourselves take. But we can learn from seeming failures, and come back better and stronger from them. Live and work constantly for your intentions - your own core concerns, values and goals - but don't try to force the timeline.
There are many ways to reach the same goal - and the goal is the important thing. Rethink, reconsider and revise. Don't let disappointments make you more discouraged, but rather more creative, thorough, flexible - and in the process, inwardly more free. Keep sight of the big picture, but be willing to adapt and change.
8) Live with questions, in an ongoing way. This has to do with openness, and with alignment to truth. No matter the situation, there are actually just three possible questions :
"How can I best and rightly understand this information, this situation, these facts ?"
" How can I best and rightly deal with my feelings about these things ?"
"What is the best and most right thing I can do, in this moment and situation ?"
Situations change, new facts and perceptions come towards us constantly. To respond to these things rightly, we first need to take them in. Willingness to live with questions - open, ongoing ones - keeps this a process, rather than a loop of dogma or doctrine. Our insights and actions stay appropriate to the facts of situations, straying neither into fantasy nor compulsion. They anchor us in reality - which is crucial to progress, if we're ever to hope for it.
9) Attend to your own health and well being. We can be no good to others if we ourselves fall apart ; and even where true sacrifice is required of us, we need adequate forces to offer it.
Health also has three main aspects : namely the health of our bodies ; health in how we deal with our feelings and emotions ; and health in the way we think - again, not losing ourselves either to fantasy or compulsion (hasty judgments, fixed thoughts). Here's are some places to start :
Health Emotional Wellness The Spirit !
Treat your own health and well being as you would that of someone you love - a partner, friend or child in your life. You don't even need to tell anyone you're doing it. Just begin to practice self care - and if you should ever fall away from it, just go straight back to it !
10) Don't be tempted onto the path of power.
The Path of Power and the Path of Truth
It's been said that in our times, warfare is no longer a legitimate way to solve human conflicts. Obvious and naïve as this might seem, it shouldn't be lightly dismissed. The ways we wage war have passed a certain tipping point, where economies and infrastructures of whole nations can be destroyed in a matter of days - even hours. These events burst with equal violence into social infrastructures, and into individual lives. Even victory multiplies chaos, hatred and cunning in the world, bleeding the economies and societies even of “victors” far into their future.
The appropriate form of warfare today, the saying continues, is spiritual warfare - the war of facts, of truth and ideas. In this realm thoughts, words, actions prevail not through violence, but through their truth and transparency, their appeal to reason, fairness and appropriateness to situations at hand.
As activists today we should be very clear - the forces that oppose us are expert at the warfare of weapons and power. It's fantasy to think we can fight back in that mode - we'd be outwitted, outgunned and crushed. And If being drawn into "the warfare of power" is dangerous for us as activists, for the remainder of society it could be tragic, in the sense of collateral damage.
Worst of all we'd have been diverted from the kind of fight we can win - the war of science, facts and justice. This war and victory are based in the realities of all life on earth - and are within our reach.
Jeff Smith RN (Retired)
Next in series : Collaborative Problem Solving
What Do You Mean by "Activism" ?
The core tasks of government, as described in the U.S. Bill of Rights and elsewhere in our Constitution, are to protect basic civil and human rights and freedoms ; and to reduce or redress situations in society where people cause each other injury, harm and loss.
When governments fail to protect these needs - or worse, themselves endanger the rights or safety of citizens, these same needs remain, and must still be met. When these failures and dangers occur often, in extreme forms and/or clear patterns, it falls to citizens to remind government of its mandates, and set it back to its mandated work.
Activism, in the sense intended here, includes
- Intensified participation by citizens in the processes of government
- Clear communication of their core rights and safety needs to it and
- Action by all peaceful means possible to make sure these
(irreducible) human needs are met
How Do Citizens DO That ?
Like every kind of work, activism requires certain tools and skills - and also a certain learning curve, to be able to use them properly. Here's a quick look in the toolbox. We'll explore how to use these tools safely and effectively next.
Tool #1 : Communicate with Your Elected Representatives
We don't elect these people to rule us, but as the name states, represent our wishes and concerns. They sometimes forget this and need to be reminded. They also can't read minds, and if we don't communicate with them, they can't know. Like every communication process, this process will require that we be respectful, clear and direct.
Here's an excellent way to quickly find your elected representatives at any level of government - local, state or federal. Bookmark or otherwise save this resource, so you can find it when you need it :
Elected Officials | USAGov (for future reference : https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials)
Tool #2 : Communicate with Public Opinion Makers
Public media, whether broadcast, print or online, really can't know what troubles us - or even if our very lives are in jeopardy - unless we tell them. Here's how to contact these people, to make your thoughts and wishes known :
Public Media Contacts and Addresses
Use this directory to find contact information for reporters, editors, producers and executives of these media outlets. Staff positions at media outlets change frequently, so names may not always be listed, but at worst you'll find an email address, or place to make your comments. Usually, newspapers list this information on their editorial page. Take initiative, make your voice heard !
Tool #3 : Communicate with Corporations
In cases of harmful products and practices attributable to corporations, let them know directly. This is a approach not yet much attempted, but what is it after all that we hope to achieve ? At the heart of the matter, only safer products, and safer or less exploitative practices. Direct feedback, especially if heard from many sides, gives corporations information they can work with - if they're willing to. If they're not, you still have options #1 and 2 above, and you'll be steps ahead for having already organized our thoughts. You'll also have a paper trail of what you've tried to tell them, directly and with goodwill.
Tools like these will be effective if we use them ; and they need to be exercised not just by many people, but by massive numbers of people !
Direct Action : Up Close and Personal
1) Wherever you can, make personal contact with those who make decisions or have influence. Call AND email your elected representatives - and if possible, make a visit to their office. The same goes for contacts with corporate representatives, if you can manage it. Start with a service department, and escalate your concerns to the supervisor above them - even to managers in their local chain store. Always follow through with emails/written materials. A firm but respectful attitude creates openings for relationship - an intangible factor, but one that opens ears, minds and hearts.
2) Deal only in facts, the best you can find, and not in subjective speculation. Those who fight unfairly may call you a "conspiracy theorist", but don't give them an excuse to - and don't be an accuser yourself. It's fair to quote someone accurately and in context, or to report on their provable actions. Beyond that, leave judgment to the facts and evidence themselves - and to the law.
3) It's said that "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity". This is true for activism as well. Gather and organize your facts, and make a written outline. Besides facts, identify your own most important concerns and goals in the matter, and write these down too. Personal viewpoints are an intangible factor - but when backed with hard facts, it lends your voice weight.
4) Contribute what you have - and know that it will be enough. Every one of us has some gift or ability the world needs, and some issue closest to our own heart. To the extent you can bring these two things together, and act on them, you'll be surprised how effective you can be.
5) Reach out to others with like concerns. If you hear something said really well on social media, don't stop with a "Like" or "Comment" - send that person a Contact/Friend request too. Build a network of competence, of integrity and of true "friends in spirit". Take note also of people with knowledge/skills you don't have yet, who can help you through your learning curves faster. You may be surprised to find this works both ways, and that your skills are needed too !
6) Share the good work of others. We sometimes forget how crucial this is. If someone is doing good work, share that work with links to it, plus your own comments and recommendations. Not least, encourage friends to get on the mailing lists of people and groups you trust, again with links to help them do that. In a time of social media censorship, search engine blacklists and "de-platforming'', direct personal recommendations and referrals are crucial !
Simply said : we need to become our own "mainstream media". This is the sine qua non - the "without this, nothing" - of activism for the future, if we're to have a future at all.
7) Take the long view, and don't be discouraged by seeming defeats. We can't control the actions and attitudes of others - nor the outcomes of actions we ourselves take. But we can learn from seeming failures, and come back better and stronger from them. Live and work constantly for your intentions - your own core concerns, values and goals - but don't try to force the timeline.
There are many ways to reach the same goal - and the goal is the important thing. Rethink, reconsider and revise. Don't let disappointments make you more discouraged, but rather more creative, thorough, flexible - and in the process, inwardly more free. Keep sight of the big picture, but be willing to adapt and change.
8) Live with questions, in an ongoing way. This has to do with openness, and with alignment to truth. No matter the situation, there are actually just three possible questions :
"How can I best and rightly understand this information, this situation, these facts ?"
" How can I best and rightly deal with my feelings about these things ?"
"What is the best and most right thing I can do, in this moment and situation ?"
Situations change, new facts and perceptions come towards us constantly. To respond to these things rightly, we first need to take them in. Willingness to live with questions - open, ongoing ones - keeps this a process, rather than a loop of dogma or doctrine. Our insights and actions stay appropriate to the facts of situations, straying neither into fantasy nor compulsion. They anchor us in reality - which is crucial to progress, if we're ever to hope for it.
9) Attend to your own health and well being. We can be no good to others if we ourselves fall apart ; and even where true sacrifice is required of us, we need adequate forces to offer it.
Health also has three main aspects : namely the health of our bodies ; health in how we deal with our feelings and emotions ; and health in the way we think - again, not losing ourselves either to fantasy or compulsion (hasty judgments, fixed thoughts). Here's are some places to start :
Health Emotional Wellness The Spirit !
Treat your own health and well being as you would that of someone you love - a partner, friend or child in your life. You don't even need to tell anyone you're doing it. Just begin to practice self care - and if you should ever fall away from it, just go straight back to it !
10) Don't be tempted onto the path of power.
The Path of Power and the Path of Truth
It's been said that in our times, warfare is no longer a legitimate way to solve human conflicts. Obvious and naïve as this might seem, it shouldn't be lightly dismissed. The ways we wage war have passed a certain tipping point, where economies and infrastructures of whole nations can be destroyed in a matter of days - even hours. These events burst with equal violence into social infrastructures, and into individual lives. Even victory multiplies chaos, hatred and cunning in the world, bleeding the economies and societies even of “victors” far into their future.
The appropriate form of warfare today, the saying continues, is spiritual warfare - the war of facts, of truth and ideas. In this realm thoughts, words, actions prevail not through violence, but through their truth and transparency, their appeal to reason, fairness and appropriateness to situations at hand.
As activists today we should be very clear - the forces that oppose us are expert at the warfare of weapons and power. It's fantasy to think we can fight back in that mode - we'd be outwitted, outgunned and crushed. And If being drawn into "the warfare of power" is dangerous for us as activists, for the remainder of society it could be tragic, in the sense of collateral damage.
Worst of all we'd have been diverted from the kind of fight we can win - the war of science, facts and justice. This war and victory are based in the realities of all life on earth - and are within our reach.
Jeff Smith RN (Retired)
Next in series : Collaborative Problem Solving
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