How to Change the World

Whenever I talk about changing the world, I get mixed reactions. Some people are stirred by the idea. Many, however, scoff... and on some days, its hard for me not to agree.

When I flick on the tv, the world that comes streaming through seems pretty immune to improvement. Politics with no accountability. Unchecked warfare. Injustice abounds. Nothing new under the sun, they say, and those days where I hopelessly try to stare down the despair flashing out of that box, I tend to agree.

As I try to peddle my optimistic outlook a hundred stations beam though my body at 200 MHz, offering a picture of the world that is invulnerable to any meaningful change. Is I a fool? Can we really change the world?

The answer to that question depends entirely on which world we are living in.

The world of the tv is a mediated and immediate representation of events on a national and global scale. Huge geographical scope. Tiny temporal scope. Tv answers the question, "What is happening now everywhere?"

So think about it. Can you, on your own, change everywhere now? Of course not! If you live in the world portrayed by your television, proactive movement to improve the quality of the world doesn't even makes sense. Tv channels only go one way. There's no way to interact. No sites for change. And the sheer geographical size of the televisioned world makes it unassailable in the rush of information.

But what if you lived in a neighborhood? What if you paid attention to that which was going on in the next couple of months? Think you could change that world, given that amount of time?

Mass media seductively offers us the ability to interface with the world at large in nearly real time. But what we cannot do is effect that world. Now, I'm not knocking mass media. The free flow if information is a corner stone to the democratic process and improving the accountability of the powerful. But if you live only there, if that is all that you consider important and real, you have decided to live in a place that is too fast moving in respect to its vastness for you to make any meaningful impact.

No wonder people are pessimistic concerning their ability to make change.

Wanna change the world? Set your sights first on that which is around you. Develop a sense of the local. Learn the things that the people around you need. Find out what resources are nearby. Improve the world you pass when you walk, bike, bus or drive yourself to work. Improve your block. Your office building. Your coworkers. Friends. Family.

Change yourself for the better.

Now, I'm not a reductionist. When I said we could change the world, I didn't mean only the local one. Changing that vast world represented by the media is possible. It just takes more time. The timeline of the tube is an unstopping stream of events. No way for ordinary people to influence the whole world that fast. But if you have clarity of vision, sustainable motivation, and a galvanized group... why, you can't help but to make a difference.

So develop a sense of the local. Ask questions about what those nearby you need. Work on your own problems. And when you watch the news... keep your eyes open for ways you can make a difference. When you see it, bitch and brainstorm, find a few others who see it your way, get together, and makes something happen.

That's how you change the world.