A Question I Ask Myself

"How do we get others to participate, to care, and to be receptive to our messages?"

I often wonder the same thing. Sometimes there seems to be a sad cycle of reluctance to participate which leads to reluctance to plan and organize, which leads back to reluctance to participate. It's strange how some activist events are booming and how others are a bust. I guess it all has to do with that cycle. I've touched on this idea before, and like I said, I can't really speak for the masses, only myself. In general, I do not consider myself an activist. I don't personally identify with any of the popular causes that exist in the form of countless walks, pledges, plunges, and other events. In the future maybe I will, but right now feel like participating in an activist event that I know little to nothing about is kind of like attending church only at Christmas. But maybe I've got this activist thing all wrong...

As far as the debate about activist planning vs. attendance, I don't think there's much of a difference. Certainly planning an event gives someone a deeper stake in the cause, and obviously they will attend, but participating in someone else's event is just as important. I'm more inclined to see it as activist vs. non-activist as opposed to planner vs. participant. You can't be a true activist if you only stick to one cause because that would just create cliques and work against the goal of unifying people for a cause.

Finding time in people's busy schedules is also probably not the issue. I mean, if there is a direct scheduling conflict then, no, that person will not attend, but if someone is serious about a cause, they will mark it on the calendar and take the time off. I'm working 50 hrs a week and taking 2 classes, but if I had something I was really into (and knew about the event enough in advance) I would find the time to help out. Also, working for an altruistic cause is really personally rewarding, but that's about it. Sometimes people just have different priorities, or they're like me and just haven't found a cause that they personally identify with yet.