by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The way it would appear protests and demonstrations achieve very little, regardless of how peaceful they are and how many people march, as far as a change is concerned.
We must have (more) practical positive actions for and of change and less rhetoric.
Marches, demonstrations, vigils for peace, and whatever, make the organizers and participants feel good and make them feel that they are doing something. But what do they achieve, what is the outcome? Precious little!
The media pays no attention to them as long as they are peacefully marching and demonstrating and if, the gods forbid, violence does flare up that achieves the opposite, for the media and the powers-that-be then make the participants out to be radicals and terrorists even you just can't win in that department.
Therefore positive practical actions and examples to encourage others to do likewise are what is needed. That goes as much for ecological issues as for political and system change.
We also and especially have to be careful with online petitions and protests and must think very carefully as to whether or not to participate in them. (More on that in another article).
What is required, as said, are not so much protests, marches and demonstrations on the streets but demonstrations of practical positive examples for people to follow and to participate in.
With a few exceptions in the past marches, demonstrations, and such like have had very little to show for, at least not in the last decade or so and neither have had most petitions, online and otherwise.
The political system that we have at this present moment is rigged in such a way that neither voting nor anything else short of a revolution will make absolutely no difference and will not bring about the change that we so desperately need.
The this needed change, this new system that is desperately needed by all but especially the poor, can only be brought about by us, by means of positive action, it will not come about in any other way. We are deluded if we believe that the powers-that-be will relent if we keep demonstrating and protesting. They won't!
But we can change things, doing it one step at a time and while it is true that the change is needed yesterday, yesterday we did not go anything about it bar hollering and marching. Today and tomorrow, however, let us work on positive things that will lead to the change, slowly but surely.
Before, however, we can goo out and conquer the world we must affect those changes first in our lives, our personal and our public lives. We cannot, for instance, create a peaceful world if we are not at peace with ourselves.
Then start your own journey towards the changes by implementing changes in your own home setting and your life and in small steps and increments. Find people of like mind thereafter and see what together you can do. That way much can be achieved, much more than by attending any demo, march or protest meet.
© 2014
