Be the change

There's a saying often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi - "Be the change that you want to see in the world".  It's been changed a little from the original "The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems".

So the exact words might be different, but the sentiment is the same.  I see it as meaning "don't sit on your arse whingeing about an issue if you're not prepared to try and do something to change it".  Not quite as eloquent as Gandhi or Budda, but it does what is says on the tin!

Sadly Hogwarts isn't real and there isn't a spell to turn odious excuses for human beings into socially, morally & environmentally aware individuals (please do write in if you know of a charm that does all of the above!!).

However, if you sign an e-petition and you post a link to it on social media - your 100 friends see it.  Then , say a third of them share it on Facebook, or tweet a link to it.  Then all of their friends and followers see it and maybe a third of them sign it and publicise it, and so on.  Then if some of those friends, and friends of friends sign up for updates from a site such as Avaaz, Change.org, Be the change initiative, or 38 degrees, they will receive information about how the project or cause is progressing and be notified about other campaigns that they may want to get involved in.    So even though little old you is statistically unlikely to be able to single handedly change the world, a couple of minutes of your time (if that) could help to make a big change.

Just one person and their contacts can create a tidal wave of activity, and then suddenly a couple of hundred thousand people have signed a petition and it gets loads of publicity and the petition publicly lands on the desk of a politician or a CEO of a company, or a local councillor.  Then suddenly, it isn't quite as easy to keep up their shady activities because lots more people know about it and are putting pressure on them to change their practices.

Obviously, even a huge petition or protest isn't a guarantee of a person, an institution, or a company changing their ways.  But embarrassment is a good motivator for those in the public eye - as one thing they really hate is having their dirty laundry aired in public.  In a company, negative publicity can affect trade deals; customer confidence; sales; share prices.  And one thing we have learnt from the banking crisis is that no matter what, those at the top of the tree do like their bonuses, and share deals as part of their remuneration packages.

If the negative publicity is going to affect their share prices and profits (which those at the top of the tree have a lot of interest in because it affects how many holidays in the Caribbean they can have a year), then there is a bigger chance that they will change.  Politicians don't like bad press either - the Oxbridge elite do like to appear whiter that white in public. Public opinion about their practices can affect opinion polls, and opinion polls can affect voting.  Negotiation is always a good strategy to start off with, but sometimes, causing a fuss is more effective.

Sometimes I have to tune myself out from the news because the amount of negative things that are happening across the world just seems depressing and overwhelming.  After all, what can I do to change what's happening in Iraq?  I don't have enough money to buy sufficient food to feed the millions of people that don't know where their next meal is coming from.

But then I metaphorically slap myself around the face, get my head out of the sand, and get active.  I don't have the answer to all the world's problems, I don't have the money to feed the poor, or employ the homeless.  But, I can buy a copy of The Big Issue; sign a petition to stop British companies supplying arms to Gaza; join the committee of my union to help make changes in my workplace; write about issues on social media; donate to Water Aid , sponsor a child through World Vision - and that's just a few ideas as to what you could do. I think Matt Damon took the ice bucket challenge the right spirit - Matt Damon Ice Bucket.

I'm conscious of trying not to be preachy - that's the last thing I want.  But I do want to try and do my bit, so that when I eventually pop my clogs people may say that I made some mistakes in my life, but I did stand up for who, and what I believe in.