My concern is how. Raising awareness is OK, but I have noted that even people who are aware often fail to act. Just re-tweeting or re-posting or wearing a ribbon etc seems to be replacing genuine and meaningful action. Even writing letters to elected officials seems like it is nearly useless given the hundred of millions there are in a country. I am wondering what one can really do anymore that will not only get attention but engender momentum to really affect a change. The levels of apathy and indifference I encounter are staggering, and because we live in a hyperbole driven society of extreme everything, any alarm bells one might sound in the public square are lost in the den of the chorus of false alarms and over-exaggerations. I just don’t see how to truly stand for Burma, or Tibet or anyone else anymore. But for what it’s worth I do at least in principle support Aung San Suu Kyi.
Added: I do endorse the photo campaign, I am just not sure how far it will get. I certainly hope I am being too pessimistic. Don’t want to impede or discourage anyone from participating in that participate in this specific exercise, I was just thinking about the larger picture (no pun intended) of modern activism.
Raising awareness is a kind of action. I don’t think it’s correct to say it’s something other. It rallies people to the cause. As Nelson Mandela says, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Amnesty International too has an incredible track record of results. (It’s one of the reasons the organization itself received the Nobel Peace Prize.)
To your point, however, raising awareness is not the only action, and it can’t be the only action.
The people I’ve spoken to about Burma all say the same thing: we have to go talk to our Congresspeople–call them, visit their offices. We have to make sure they’re on the team, or the U.S. will never engage fully on this issue.
Again, I am not in any way against this particular campaign or Amnesty International. I have the picture downloading now on my desktop. I will be uploading my own photo this weekend. Also I am not suggesting raising awareness isn’t an action. I was reflecting on what kind of actions are done in the name of raising awareness, as well as their effectiveness. What does wearing a ribbon, adding a cause to your Facebook profile, writing a letter to Congress, etc mean? (Don’t get me wrong, I do all of these things myself.)
Is it a commodification of social consciousness in which one enhances their projected self-image or fulfills a sense of obligation through a sacrifice-free measure? Even when such behavior is born of genuine concern and a desire to help, how is it perceived by others? Does it stir them into some kind of effective response or is it just one of several dozen “causes” flying by like embedded ads and infomercials that people learn to ignore?
I heartily agree about education, but as I am sure you know the key to effective lasting education and to raising awareness (aren’t they really the same thing?) isn’t just giving out facts and ideas or even asking new questions. It must produce a spark, the kind of spark that leads one toward a permanent transformation, a revolution in how we experience or understand the world. (“That’s why it pays to know this! How interesting! Tell me more…”)
I am behind these causes and support education, awareness, etc. If these kinds of actions produce such a spark, then I am all for it. But I am not seeing much, either from those currently running society or in the upcoming generation, to suggest that the current models will be enough. I am not looking to give up, I am just looking for something that will make a serious difference.
“Is it a commodification of social consciousness in which one enhances their projected self-image or fulfills a sense of obligation through a sacrifice-free measure? Even when such behavior is born of genuine concern and a desire to help, how is it perceived by others? Does it stir them into some kind of effective response or is it just one of several dozen “causes” flying by like embedded ads and infomercials that people learn to ignore?”
Koans indeed. I guess skillful action avoids these pitfalls, but what makes that?
My concern is how. Raising awareness is OK, but I have noted that even people who are aware often fail to act. Just re-tweeting or re-posting or wearing a ribbon etc seems to be replacing genuine and meaningful action. Even writing letters to elected officials seems like it is nearly useless given the hundred of millions there are in a country. I am wondering what one can really do anymore that will not only get attention but engender momentum to really affect a change. The levels of apathy and indifference I encounter are staggering, and because we live in a hyperbole driven society of extreme everything, any alarm bells one might sound in the public square are lost in the den of the chorus of false alarms and over-exaggerations. I just don’t see how to truly stand for Burma, or Tibet or anyone else anymore. But for what it’s worth I do at least in principle support Aung San Suu Kyi.
Added: I do endorse the photo campaign, I am just not sure how far it will get. I certainly hope I am being too pessimistic. Don’t want to impede or discourage anyone from participating in that participate in this specific exercise, I was just thinking about the larger picture (no pun intended) of modern activism.
Raising awareness is a kind of action. I don’t think it’s correct to say it’s something other. It rallies people to the cause. As Nelson Mandela says, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Amnesty International too has an incredible track record of results. (It’s one of the reasons the organization itself received the Nobel Peace Prize.)
To your point, however, raising awareness is not the only action, and it can’t be the only action.
The people I’ve spoken to about Burma all say the same thing: we have to go talk to our Congresspeople–call them, visit their offices. We have to make sure they’re on the team, or the U.S. will never engage fully on this issue.
Again, I am not in any way against this particular campaign or Amnesty International. I have the picture downloading now on my desktop. I will be uploading my own photo this weekend. Also I am not suggesting raising awareness isn’t an action. I was reflecting on what kind of actions are done in the name of raising awareness, as well as their effectiveness. What does wearing a ribbon, adding a cause to your Facebook profile, writing a letter to Congress, etc mean? (Don’t get me wrong, I do all of these things myself.)
Is it a commodification of social consciousness in which one enhances their projected self-image or fulfills a sense of obligation through a sacrifice-free measure? Even when such behavior is born of genuine concern and a desire to help, how is it perceived by others? Does it stir them into some kind of effective response or is it just one of several dozen “causes” flying by like embedded ads and infomercials that people learn to ignore?
I heartily agree about education, but as I am sure you know the key to effective lasting education and to raising awareness (aren’t they really the same thing?) isn’t just giving out facts and ideas or even asking new questions. It must produce a spark, the kind of spark that leads one toward a permanent transformation, a revolution in how we experience or understand the world. (“That’s why it pays to know this! How interesting! Tell me more…”)
I am behind these causes and support education, awareness, etc. If these kinds of actions produce such a spark, then I am all for it. But I am not seeing much, either from those currently running society or in the upcoming generation, to suggest that the current models will be enough. I am not looking to give up, I am just looking for something that will make a serious difference.
“Is it a commodification of social consciousness in which one enhances their projected self-image or fulfills a sense of obligation through a sacrifice-free measure? Even when such behavior is born of genuine concern and a desire to help, how is it perceived by others? Does it stir them into some kind of effective response or is it just one of several dozen “causes” flying by like embedded ads and infomercials that people learn to ignore?”
Koans indeed. I guess skillful action avoids these pitfalls, but what makes that?