Activism not just for the young (Page 2 of 2)

Would she contemplate them later, when the Iraq war flashed for its 30 seconds on the TV news. Those boots — empty. Those lives, with all their promise — lost. Those families…

At the peace rally on Saturday, Mary Dennis said later, someone commented on the work that had gone into the preparations, the collecting of speakers and musicians, the making of signs, the preparation of the little cards with information about contacting our elected officials. “It’s not that hard for you,” the woman said, sincerely, “It’s what you do.”

Is that how others see us? I used to think it was only the quick-thinking passing motorist who believed those people standing on the street holding peace signs were perpetually unemployed. One of my co-workers once told us she stopped to talk with an unemployed man who was keeping a lonely picket outside his former workplace, and when he asked her what she did for a living and she told him she was an organizer, he told her to “get a job.”

The reality for most of us is that we get so wrapped up in our own lives and jobs that we find it hard to get into someone else’s shoes.

So here are six insights into the activist life for those who wonder about those people on the street:

Activists have jobs. I don’t know any full-time activists. I know self-employed surveyors, executives of nonprofit organizations, landscapers, teachers, homemakers, clergy, radiologists, doctors, lawyers, nurses, painters, volunteers, administrators, social workers, soccer coaches, organizers, writers, artists, and people who work in bookstores, restaurants, banks, classrooms, grocery stores, hospitals, offices, homes — but except for children, every person I know who is an activist has a job. They have to make a living and put food on the table and buy clothes and pay the dentist. It’s not always easy. Activism is work. A lot of it is unexciting — meetings to plan things, phone calls to arrange space, presentations to educate, research to learn the facts, fundraising, staff supervision, discussions about strategies, bookkeeping and paperwork and forms to file with the government, event preparation, creating fact sheets and press releases and newsletters. What you see on the street or in the paper is the tip of the iceberg.

Activism ain’t free. It costs money to create street theater, to feed the homeless, to print organizing materials, to rent equipment, to pay the phone bills. It costs when someone takes time off work to attend a demonstration or build a giant puppet for the parade. It costs time especially, which is one of the reasons that one guy spoke of his activism in the past tense.

Activism has no age limit. It is part of the responsible life. I think deep down we all know this. When people say, “I did that when I was younger,” they are offering an apology for why they aren’t doing it now, as though outgrowing activism is a sign of maturity. But you could argue that we don’t outgrow activism so much as we get consumed by the demands of our culture to conform in order to achieve “success.” There is no age limit on living the responsible life. The people I admire most are those who have held firm to their principles and acted on them throughout their lives. When the President gave the nation’s highest civilian honor to Rosa Parks, it was not because she outgrew her activism.

Activism is immensely fulfilling. Not necessarily to the ego that strives for external approbation. An activist is as likely to be called a gutless fool as she is to be praised. When someone calls you a fool, you have to think about that. The difference is this: When I measure that opinion against the commitments of my life — to my children, my community, the world I live in, the principles of justice — I end up deeply satisfied with the life I have chosen. I imagine that guy in the suit who called me an idiot, if he ever turns off the TV to take a measure of his life, ends up pouring himself another drink so he can sleep without thinking about it. (Then again, what do I know of his life? Maybe Robert Burns should have also asked the power to give us the gift to see others as they see themselves. Maybe we’d be a little more compassionate and understanding, too?)

Finally, activists wonder if it does any good. You never know for sure. The evidence is almost always anecdotal.

I do understand activism. It’s the path my life has taken, and I know its price and its satisfactions. Looking back, I see my way has been marked by choices that brought me here. I don’t understand people who absolve themselves of responsibility for the world around them. Maybe the cards, money and power are stacked against us, but history shows even the worst odds are not insurmountable. And we all know if democracy is going to work, it will be us, not Halliburton or Bechtel, that make it work.