So much of my discontent is in this: I prepare myself with the knowledge, but am unable to descend into action. I have no voice, and no hands–only eyes. Maybe this is the danger of blogs and forums. They give us a voice, but satisfy us with table scraps. "Think" satisfied me. The Philosophical Society satisfied me. It gave an outlet for my voice to be heard, and for respect to be won. But these were small victories.We must find ways to share our voices with those who have power. Will protests legitimate our cause to those with power, or will our unruly chants distance us even further? It seems all too easy for the powerful to scoff at the misfits they see, chuckling to themselves at the idea that those people could run their company or rule the nation.
It's not that I'm categorically against protesting in the streets—the nonviolent protests led by Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. had profound effects. It's that I'm cautious of massive groups of people all chanting slogans together, all raising fists together. It's all a bit too... bacchanalian. The identity of the individual has a way of breaking down and blending in with the group. That experience is usually quite intoxicating. But I'm not sure it's conducive the creating the kind of world we want to live in.
During the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle, the anarchists actually broke through the line—they achieved the impossible. But then they froze. The question of "Now what?" resonated through every triumphant mind. And nothing happened.
While in D.C. filming for a documentary on social responsibility, the five of us began to notice different kinds of activists. After interviewing a number non-profits, we identified three basic motivations: to build, to burn, or to belong. Builders hold visions of a better world. Burners despise the institutions that oppress humans. Belongers, for the most part, came in with the wind. Far from being a negative, this last category is actually rather important. We want to structure our institutions and social incentives so that they can accommodate those who want to belong, but do so in a way that is socially beneficial.
Builders are willing to burn when it is necessary. Some institutions must be done away with if we are to clear the path towards a better future. But the abiding desire is for a better world, a world which they can see in their minds. Burners, however, are motivated more by anger and resentment. They want to tear down corporations, governments, and oppressive institutions. They aren't so much interested in what comes next. Of course they will be able to talk about it with you if asked, but their motivation comes from the darker corners of the human psyche.
But in a world that needs change so desperately, perhaps those who are driven to burn are exactly what we need. I'm skeptical, though. I think builders will always be more beneficial in the long-run.
What kind of motivation do street protests cultivate? I have seen the desire to burn rise amidst a protest. Self-righteous anger is reinforced by the faceless masses around you. And this kind of behavior only polarizes those who were already far too stratified. Onlookers will likely react with their own brand of self-righteousness, or will look upon the mass with condescending amusement.
We need a form of protest that emphasizes what we want to build, not what we want to destroy. This is the wisdom of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. They saw that only by taking the moral high ground—the ground of humility, principle, and earnest perseverance, not the repugnant ground of self-righteousness—that only then could they help create the world they sought. Pragmatically speaking, the end cannot justify the means. The end must be weaved inextricably into means. In other words, if we envision a world that is compassionate, just, and reasonable, then the movement itself must be compassionate, just, and reasonable.
So blogs, forums, and clubs are often small victories: accomplishments that satisfy our desire to contribute without contributing anything substantial. But the victories won through normal protests are of a different sort: they often sacrifice the long-term for the short-term by:
- Cultivating detrimental dispositions within protesters.
- Alienating onlookers through self-righteous anger.
- Polarizing rather than uniting communities.
