Reflection on Promoting Change

Reading the articles in the book have left me a little frustrated with us as human being.  Some of the issues that I was reading about required society to change the way it thought and acted.  I was only one person in society, so I was feeling a little hopeless.  So I flipped through the book looking for an article that may not frustrate me so much.  Nothing caught my eye until almost the end of the book, page 502.  I would recommend everyone take a minute and read this article.  I would also recommend reading article 51 about how to influence public policy.  (if you do not already know how).  Both these articles left me realizing if I really want to, I can make a difference.  I found this quote from Robert F. Kennedy that is a good summary for article 52.

Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” 
― Robert F. Kennedy

In his article Johnson explains that the challenges we face with discrimination, exclusion, privilege, etc have been around for hundreds of years.  Even though we are seeing some changing now, there is still discrimination and inequalities.  However, as Johnsons puts it “society is always in motion”, meaning it is always changing.  It does not change at the rate that the current people living in it want it to change, but it is very fluid and it is changing.  His point is that we may not see the changes we want to see in society today, but we can impact the way society views things in the future. He states that most of the shift of the attitudes of society do not change in the current setting, but the shift occurs between generations.  I think this fits very well into the idea that we should be teaching students to be global citizens.  This is a great way to change the way that future societies view diversity.   We can also change our own mindset to be one that accepts the small changes we make today will have a ripple effect. 

I feel better about moving forward in reading the articles now.  I do go back and forth about I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t attitude.  I guess I know I could make a bigger impact if I did some of the suggestions Cogan writes about.  She says you could take an even bigger part in making changes by influencing public policies.  You can become part of advocacy groups, you could even do something at your local level.  She states the process may seem daunting to some people, but she says help is always available.  If you have questions about how to go about something, you just ask.  She makes it sound simple. Now I feel kind of bad about myself because honestly I am probably not going to start some advocacy group to promote change at any level.  I am busy living my own life and should I feel bad about that?

What I have walked away with from both of these articles is that I can change myself.  I can set an example that may provoke other people to change in their own time and way.  The things I do to help stop discrimination, promote equality, and embrace diversity will have a slow ripple effect on society.  Also for those of you reading this reflection, the things you do will also have an effect and the more of us embracing the diversity of the world, we will then widen the circle of change.

Reading 51 – Cogan, Jeanine C. – Influencing Public Policy

Reading 52 – Johnson, Allan G – What Can We Do?  Becoming Part of the Solution.

Robert F. Kennedy Quote - http://www.pbs.org/programs/rfk-in-the-land-of-apartheid/