Is Activism Dead?

Is Activism Dead?

As children and grandchildren of activists for the plethora of causes that the last century brought us we hold a legacy in our hands that is currently being squandered by our own selfish need to have something given in return for any good deed we do. We seem to think that change can be brought about by a catchy slogan, a celebrity endorsement, or a pity check sent to a place we’ve never even dreamed of visiting.

Can we really call ourselves activists anymore? You can put the “One” banner on you’re My Space, you can buy the green “Not on Our Watch—Save Darfur” bracelets, you can even take part in the “Camp Cambodia” drives where you set up tents in the quad and talk genocide with passing strangers (admittedly—ALL things that I have done) but what really is being accomplished? Are we simply assuaging our own guilt and trying to empower ourselves to believe that we are world changers when in reality not one of those things is going to fix any of the problems that we supposedly are “activist” for?


Activism is more than just being able to buy a CD (all donations tax deductible and $.80 of every dollar goes to the cause!), attend a rock charity concert (How could you turn down your favorite band? Do a good thing, hear some good music…win/win, yes?), or pick up the telephone to call the charity that turns South American and African children into icons of suffering (why don’t they EVER show a child smiling. Believe it or not, children DO smile in other countries). It is hard to imagine very many people who attend the “Rock Darfur” concerts being willing to be beaten or killed to make a point for the end of genocide.

It’s almost like the television brings us images of things that we never really call real in our minds…and we feel like sending money and pity will make the world a better place. I don’t mean to sound crass, but holding hands and singing Kumbaya is not going to stop genocidal dictatorships from rising, killing millions of people, and then fading into obscurity.

In my mind, worse than stating that one is an activist because one buys a bumper sticker or sings “We Are the World” is the potential problems created by so-called activists taking credit for action that they didn’t make and thereby taking credit for “solving” the problem single-handedly (never mind that if it would have been that easy it probably wouldn’t have been a problem in the first place).

If Hillary Clinton had ever had my support (which, she didn’t) she would’ve completely lost it the moment that she made the sweeping claim that she was instrumental in the talks that brought peace to Rwanda. Sure she was. That’s why it took over three months for anything to happen. Hillary Clinton didn’t stop the killing, the UN didn’t stop the killing, the humanitarian efforts didn’t stop the killing. Eventually, the rebel forces of Rwanda had to roll in unaided to put an end to the slaughter. "Thanks but no thanks!" they said, "If we keep waiting for you to rescue us, we'll all be dead before you get here!"

While all of this was going on, the world was upset (justifiably) but really lacked true conviction to the feeling of upset and lacked follow-through. What good is it to be upset if you’re not willing to demand a change? Instead the rest of the world watched it happen…then when it is over it can shake its finger.

“Tsk, tsk.” It says.

HELLO! America signed the Genocide Conventions after World War II! We swore “Never Again” after witnessing the Holocaust then we watched it happen in Cambodia, we watched it happen in Bosnia, we watched it happen in Rwanda and NOW we are watching it happen in Darfur.

Nancy Pelosi is now saying that America has lost all moral authority if we don’t do something about Tibet, a province trying to win its independence. All of this was simply posturing because of the then upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing. Had China not been about to play good-will ambassador to the world, the only people who would care about Tibet would be the ones who have the “Free Tibet” stickers on the back of their cars. In my mind America lost all moral authority when President Bush said, “Not on our watch” to Darfur and then allowed the Janjaweed to push the Darfurians into the deserts of Chad. Repeatedly.

Unfortunately what the world needs now is not “love, sweet love” but action—decisive and demanding. A movement likened to the ones of generations past where people were willing to sacrifice their reputations, their dignity, and possibly their bodies/lives for the causes that they believed in. There simply are not enough Stephen Walkers in the world, willing to step away from promising careers (as he did in 1993 during the Bosnian genocide) to stand on principle. The question really ends up being, are you willing to take a bullet for what you believe in?

Or better yet…if its not a cause that you personally feel…can you ever have true empathy for it that would rouse the passion or conviction that would cause you to put yourself in harm’s way to prove your point?

Perhaps the problem isn’t lack of passion…

…but lack of proximity.