Become An Activist
Fourteen Steps To Promote The Social Issues You Care About
Here are steps to become an activist for social causes. Activism is a movement addressing an issue, perhaps by petitions, rallies and lifestyle changes. Make a difference
Do you have a cause on your heart? If you are passionate about changing something, from ending to war to cleaning up your neighborhood, you can get involved. Sometimes it's as easy as a good idea. Perhaps "get involved" has become a clique catch-phrase, but everyday, ordinary people are changing the world. They aren't superheros or politically powerful people, they are individuals like you with a sense of duty and call, willing to take one step in the right direction.
For hundreds of years improvement has been on the rise. Folks like Jane Addams, John Wesley, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cindy Sheehan are well-known for their caring hearts and activism. In the past centuries we have seen activists champion for higher standards of living, safer working conditions, equality among race and gender, a cleaner environment, the rights of children and animals protected and the political structure become more friendly to the caring activist.
This leaves the question, what now? Here are fourteen small ways you can achieve personal activism and spark big change locally or nationally. The first step is the first step.
1. Spend some time in quiet meditation to clarify what issues you care about. A people group? A freedom or right that is being withheld? An injustice?
2. Develop a personal response to your issue(s). If you are a painter, express your feelings through paint. Write. Pray. Talk out loud. Compose music.
3. Research your issue on-line or at your local library. Find out the current needs and how you can be a part of the change.
4. Explore websites like Care2.com and iPetitions.com for some inspiration or to start on-line petitions. They have become very popular in the last two years. Your petition could give voice to hundreds or even thousands of people.
5. Organize a phone rally. Encourage your family, friends and neighbors to call Senators/Congressmen about your issue. These elected officials have phone numbers, e-mail addresses and contact information available so that citizens like you can contact them regarding the issues you care about most. They want to hear from you so don't be afraid to speak out.
6. Start an action group by finding other individuals who care about your issue too. By banning together your group can more easily spread news, collect signatures or rally publicly.
7. You guessed it: Spread news, collect signatures and rally publicly! Don't under-estimate the power of these statements.
8. Keep your local media up to date on ALL efforts made by community members and action groups. Call your local newspaper, TV station or radio station often with leads about rallies, newsletters, charities, and fund-raisers. More than likely your local news services will take an interest and give your cause useful press coverage.
9. Start a blog or newsletter to keep your movement on the forefront of people's attention. It is easy to get distracted or lose heart, but consistency is the key to keeping a movement going.
10. In colder months check into the availability of public spaces, such as schools or museums, for after-hours use of the indoors. These places are good for hosting awareness meetings, rallies, protests, or debates.
11. Coordinate with teachers to organize fund-raisers, charity projects or awareness classes within your neighborhood's public or private school system. Including young people in problem solving and volunteer work benefits everyone.
12. Remember to delegate! Don't try to take on projects alone or do all the work yourself. Overcommitment can lead to burn out. Avoid stress and loneliness by creating an action group (see #6).
13. Rejoice in small victories. The path to change is taken by small steps. Don't expect to end poverty or charter world peace in one leap-- make workable steps and small goals. Remember that giving your voice to a cause is a step in itself.
14. Finally, change your lifestyle. To make sure your lifestyle lives up to what you care about, take the necessary steps to ensure you are doing all you personally can do. Nothing is greater testament to your cause than commitment. Fight for animals and give up wearing fur. Promote recycling and shop using canvas bags instead of polyethylene bags. Encourage adoption and become a foster parent. Petition against pollution and give up heavy chemical cleaning supplies. Campaign for more school funding and give your child's teacher a meaningful holiday gift. Get your neighborhood to install solar panels... and give up the giant SUV! Living out what you promote can be just as beneficial if not more to your cause than anything else.
Achieving personal activism requires picking an issue, making it personal and addressing it publicly. Social change has come about this way from people like Mother Theresa and John Wesley, to Jane Addams, Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony , Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela. The goal isn't to get famous but to bring social action and revitalizing change to problems throughout society. You CAN do it-- good luck!
