Blog Action Day: The Power of We (conclusion)

Thank God I'm done.

And thank you for putting up with my disjointed and oversimplified ramblings about things I experienced on TV, radio, books, and Wikipedia.

At the time of this writing, it's 9:21pm.  I have been blogging about the Power of We for over twelve hours.  Apart from a walk to 7-Eleven and a couple of bathroom breaks, I've been sitting at this keyboard all day.  I missed a lecture by a famous architect that I wanted to attend.  Not how I pictured myself spending the last day of my vacation.  And what did I get out of Blog Action Day?

Did I bring about change?

Was it positive change?

Did I win?

No, no, and no.

I was never really out to win.  I don't think one can "win" Blog Action Day (I got a couple of retweets for my efforts, though!), and despite participating nearly every year, I don't think one can truly bring about real change by participating.  One can bring raise so-called Awareness of an issue, but I have a number of problems with the current use of that word Awareness in social media and activism... problems I will detail in an upcoming post.

At any rate, I'm not entirely happy with my efforts today.  They weren't bad, but know I can do better.  I dusted off the Prague Spring draft a couple of weeks ago, along with the outline I'd done for Seasons of Change.  But I sat on it until this morning, and the work suffered.

Such is life.

So, what about this Power of We?

I sum it up as follows:

We have the power to effect real change in our lives and situations, but we need to have the courage and the will to speak up.

We need to have the fortitude and strength of conviction to speak louder if we are not heard, and to act if need be.

There is always strength in numbers.

And finally, though the winds of change may blow, they don't always smell pleasant.

Viva la revolucion!







Comments

  1. I have more thoughts, but they will come later.

    I find it interesting that "Blog Action Day" was the day after Social Justice Sunday in the Catholic Church, which has a long history of social justice and acting for change. :) Perhaps that is something I will get into on my own blog..If I ever get around to updating it.

    I think part of the problem with raising awareness, especially in the hippie days, is that "everyone wants a revolution, but no one wants to do the dishes"..myself included. (Just look at the pile in our kitchen, and you KNOW my hatred for dishes.) People are fond of singing songs, carrying signs, and wearing flowers in their hair..or, in the case of extremists, toting guns and marching off in the name of a glorious cause, but when it comes time to actually DO the work that will create the change, many don't want to do it. The cause also becomes more important then the people, and the issue at hand can be lost.

    The power of "we" only works when it doesn't disintegrate into "we for the rights of me", or "we..as long as you think just like me", or..we turning into a homogenous group, carrying placards and screaming, but when the party's over and the rally's done, daily life goes on as usual.

    All right..I'm tired. Time to put my soapbox away and get to bed. Speaking of the winds of change smelling unpleasant...blogger marathons can turn that way after two Big Gulps of Dr. Pepper and a large pizza from 7-11, ya' know. ;) Be grateful your wife writes, too! ;)

    Love you!
    The Missus

    ReplyDelete
  2. I only had ONE Big Gulp, thank you.

    Seriously, though, you should take a stab at the subject "The Power of We". I know you have a few interesting stories to tell :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I saw two Big Gulp cups in the office. I was merely reporting the evidence...remember "CSI coffee cup" yesterday? ;)

    I could take a stab at it. However, I find the subject matter problematic. I could wax philosophical on that, I suppose, but in the words of Austin Powers, "I've just gone cross-eyed". Perhaps tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The other Big Gulp cup was from Friday, when I spent the day playing video games instead of blogging.

    I'm coming to bed momentarily.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Small bits of content which are explained in details, helps me understand the topic,thank you!

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    ReplyDelete

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