The world I want

Last year, as part of my Masters course work, I took a “Poetry, Social Change and Adult Education” course. For two weeks I had to–and got to–write poetry. Though it pushed my comfort zone, admittedly it was fun playing with words and bouncing about in the creative world for a while!

One outcome was the poem below. For me, it was a small journey into how  imagining a new future can be energizing and enlightening. It was also a way of sharing my values and hopes in a non-threatening way. Perhaps instead of a letter-writing campaign, someone should try initiating a poetry-writing campaign and inundate our Yukon politicians with verse! 

It won’t always be this way

Last week, I heard a reference to acid rain and recalled how trees and lakes in Eastern Canada were once dying from toxic rains.  Emissions of sulfur and nitrogen were being belched out of large smokestacks, owned by even larger companies in the US, and carried north where they drizzled down on our environment. The future of these forests and waterways seemed bleak.

Angela Davis, a political activist from the US, spoke at a conference in 2006 about growing up in a segregated world in Birmingham, Alabama. She learned not to cry about having to drink out of a different water fountain or go in a different door than white people because of something her mother used to say: “This is not the way things are supposed to be. It is how they are now, but they are not supposed to be, and will not always be, this way.”

Hope or Anger?

The other day I asked a friend from Vancouver, a long time activist, why he thought that some people acted while others didn’t.

“Hope” he quickly said.

But I wondered if it wasn’t more about anger?

The effectiveness of mosquitoes

As with any research, one sometimes pulls at threads, jumping from a publication, to a website, to another website. In the process I came across an online booklet called “I am an activist”.

The publication was put out in memory of Anita Roddick, the founder of The Body Shop and a passionate activist on a variety of issues.  The graphically engaging booklet encourages people to get active by providing information on the many organizations and causes Anita supported. Inspiring quotes from Anita and others are sprinkled throughout the booklet.

I thought I would share a few quotes  that highlight the ability of individuals to make a difference:

The important thing to know is that you don’t ever have to wait one minute to begin improving the world. Anne Frank

I am only one, But still I am one. I cannot do everything, But I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. Edward Everett

And perhaps the most appropriate one for the Yukon:

If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito. Betty Reese

If you know of any quotes that inspire people to act, please share them by leaving a comment on this posting!

Fear of being labeled

Today, I heard an interview with Lia Johnson on CBC. Lia is a young Yukoner who is trying to motivate others, particularly youth, to act on climate change issues. (Go Lia!)

During the interview, the host noted that perhaps “environmentalist” wasn’t the dirty word it used to be. I wondered what he would think of the word “activist”!

However, he queried if being branded “green” was an issue for Lia in her day-to-day life. I mused if others stopped short of speaking out for fear of being similarly labeled.

One motivating moment?

What motivates someone to speak out on an issue while others with similar values and backgrounds don’t? What is it that tips them over the edge? Is there a particular “moment” that makes people speak out?

For Tzeporah Berman, one of the movers and shakers behind Clayoquot Sound campaign and lifelong environmentalist, her “moment” was when she returned to the Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island. After a summer of working there, it was an area of 1,000 year old trees that she knew well; yet she couldn’t find the camp site and or the swimming hole. It had all been clearcut. “That was the moment that changed my life,” she said in an interview on The Hour. She headed from there to the protests in Clayoquot Sound.

What is “advocacy”?

Why is it that some people will make an effort to speak up for change – to engage in advocacy – on issues they are concerned about, while others with similar concerns don’t?

Why will one person write a letter, speak out at a meeting or sign an online petition while someone else with similar beliefs and values will stay silent?

Under construction

This blog is “under construction” as they say. Please check back in the New Year for the first postings.

In the meantime, check out the “about” page to learn about the purpose of this blog.

Feel free to leave a comment that will point me towards interesting tidbits, articles, stories and so on about why some people get involved in advocacy activities and others don’t.