Journalists are the notorious natural cynics of the earth. But underneath that crust, many of us do see ourselves as scribes delivering "The Word" to the best of our abilities and within the everyday constraints of time and space and the reality of a society in which news is also business.
We tend to believe that if we are committed to the telling of the human condition and of government policies and injustices as accurately and as truly as possible, we could make a difference. People will perhaps read, understand, maybe make an effort to change the world in some small way. If they are well informed, one hopes, the decisions they make for themselves and their society will at least be more enlightened.
But at times like the present era we live in, when the majority of people seem oblivious to anything except the most simplistic of stereotypes, slogans and manipulations, the question is: Why Bother? Maybe people really are, as one folk songwriter put it: "too stupid for democracy."
Journalists are not the only ones affected by this dour societal mood. Many activists are likewise feeling there is no longer any point in fighting for policies that advance equality or the environmental integrity of the planet. It seems the majority of people are either feeling helpless and have tuned out, or are fundamentally selfish and unconcerned.
So does this mean that those of us who care about something deeper and broader are destined to live out our lives as mere cranks? Personally, I don't like the new depth of my cynicism. It's left me drowning. But what hope is there?
This is a time when we need to pull back, recharge our batteries and reflect on what has gone before. The history of every human rights movement has experienced the same pattern: "Two steps forward, one step back."
In any peaceful revolution, victories are slow and hard to come by. The right of married women to hold good paying jobs was rejected by the majority of society 50 years ago. Today it is accepted and taken for granted.
My point is that the public mood changes. It doesn't happen overnight. It doesn't happen easily. And it doesn't happen without a struggle. But society does change. It evolves over time.
In the current difficult and repressive climate, we must ask the most basic of spiritual questions: Why are we doing this? Is this merely a popularity contest? Or are we doing it because we believe? If we are promoting the cause of change because we really believe that through these changes, we can create a better society, then throwing in the towel is not an option.
So this is a situation in which the conventional ideas of winning and losing are irrelevant. When you lose fighting a good fight, you have won. Your opponents might shrug or laugh or call you a fool, but at some deep level, they are frightened. They are not pleased that at the end of the day, you are still standing there, on solid ground, unmoving.The trick is to wait it out.
You have time on your side.
Copyright © Rose Simone, 1999
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To read another of my articles, please click on one of the links below:
Losing Faith | Island of I | Millennial Dreams | Global Shoes | What Do Women Want? |
