Guidelines for Activists

According to the helpful Wikipedia article, activism “consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good.” That sounds good to me. How about you? 

I asked ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Bing Chat for their suggestions regarding guidelines for activists. Of the three, I thought the former was clearly the best. It (they?) suggested such things as “educate yourself,” “set clear goals,” “build a strong network,” “stay optimistic,” and five more.

This article, though, is more about why one should be(come) an activist, and here is ChatGPT’s response to my question about that: people should be activists to “create change,” to “give a voice to the marginalized,” and to “influence policy.” Those sound like good reasons to me.  

I also agree with their statements about avoiding the errors of “all-or-nothing thinking,” “intolerance of opposing views,” and “demonizing individuals.”

I have long been an advocate of activism, although my actual social activity through the years was greatly limited by work and family responsibilities that kept me from having the time and energy to do more.

Recently, I have been thinking about some of the guidelines for my own activism, and lack thereof, which I am now sharing with you—and I am saying “we” instead of just “I.”

** It is better to do something, however inadequate that might be, rather than nothing. That sort of sentiment was expressed in the following well-known words by Edward E. Hale (1822~1909), an author and Unitarian clergyman. 

**Beware of thinking that because we are doing something we are doing all we can or should do. Perhaps we all are tempted to think that if we are actively engaged in some good activity, or activities, we are doing enough. That is most likely not true.

**Do not be(come) judgmental and critical of those who are doing less. Because we are doing something, it is a temptation to look down on those who are not doing as much. Such “self-righteousness,” though, is unbecoming and harmful to our relationship with others.

** Spend activist time/energy/money wisely, giving priority to those activities that will have the greatest benefit for the most people. It is easy to get caught up in emotional appeals for good but relatively insignificant causes. Always seek to focus on what is most important.

** Let’s remember to wear our bifocals! We must endeavor to make changes for a perceived greater good both for present-day society and for the world of the coming generations.

And speaking of bifocals (as I did in my previous blog post) for those who are activists, such “lenses” can be helpfully used in situations such as E.B. White wrote about: “I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world.”

Let’s try to do both every day.

Christian thinkers have often spoken about sins of omission, that is, not doing things we should have done.

Most of us, perhaps, are more guilty of that kind of sin than doing wrong or bad things, which is how sin is usually thought of. Remember what the New Testament says about this: “So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin” (James 4:17, NET).

My away-from-home activities are greatly limited now by lack of energy and stamina. But, no doubt, there is much (more) I can and should do by working at my computer at home. That can, I think, be meaningful activism also.

So, more than in recent months/years, beginning today I am going to try, consciously, to do one “activist” thing a day, even though it might be rather small. But, again, doing something is better than nothing.

What about you?