Lughnasa New Harvest Moon
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Gandhi
OK. Heresy moment. Being the change you want to see in the world will not change the world. Paraphrasing Patton’s famous quote: You don’t change the world by changing yourself, you change the world by getting other poor bastards to change it. Change is a political as well as a personal process and for any personal change to become larger than one person, you have to engage others.
Additionally, even if you change yourself, the world will not change along with you. Here’s an example. Let’s say you desire a greener world. In order to achieve a greener world you decide to drive a Prius or a Volt, compost your household organic waste, put solar panels on your roof next to the wind turbine and grow your own vegetables. Maybe even throw in chickens and bees to round things out. You’ve changed yourself.
Is that a bad thing? Of course not. Did it contribute to a greener planet? Yes, but in a very, very small way. Are you setting a good example for others? Yes.
Do people follow good examples? Not so much. People follow marketing, neighbor’s status symbols and their own values. If others don’t voluntarily buy a Volt, compost, create renewable energy and grow their own vegetables, how will we get to a greener world?
By government incentives on solar panels and wind turbines. Feed in tariffs. A city or county owned compost pile available to residents. A government that creates more public transit and fewer roads. National standards for mpg. A carbon tax. Any of several wedges that can create enough change to ratchet down the pace of climate change.
How do we get these things to happen? How do we get these changes to happen in the world? Not by changing ourselves (though it won’t hurt), but by becoming strong enough politically to change how government and corporations treat carbon emissions.
Even though Ghandi become the change he wanted to see in the world, he also organized and led a large non-violent resistance movement against the might of the British Empire. It was the British Empire that changed. And not because Ghandi changed himself, but because thousands came along with him in a political movement.
To make the change you want to see in the world, organize.
