(no subject)

[nolly]

When a generation grows up hearing "ignore them and they'll go away" when they complain about someone else's behavior, further reinforced by the general ineffectualness of authority figures (school adminitrators, teachers, parents) regarding bullying, is it surprising that many of these children become adults who ignore politics?

I'm not saying all adults are always ineffective in the face of peer abuse, or that everyone my age is apolitical. It just struck me today that I have much the same attitude about politics and international conflict as I developed about teasing, etc.: ignore it and get on with life. Made worse because the political stuff rarely has as direct an impact on my life -- Dubya isn't playing keep-away with my umbrella, Osama didn't slap me across the dinner table. I don't think I'm the only one; otherwise, we'd be seeing more 60s-style activism, I think. We (myself and those like me) don't know where to start, or how to have an impact. Writing letters doesn't feel effective -- turning people in to the teacher or pricipal neve made them stop. Why would the politicos listen?

While I know I can have an impact in my communities (which is not the same as my neighborhood or my city), because I am known there, I don't feel that I can affect anything on a national level.

Comments

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

It's not just us. Remember that sixties-style activism didn't really get rolling until a whole lot of people across the country saw their friends, neighbors, and loved ones killed, on an unrelenting daily basis. It wasn't until people saw the body bags on the news night after night after night that people started to care enough to have really huge demonstrations. People don't get worked up until it's personal.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

There was more activism than anti-war protests in the 60s, though. What made the civil rights movement personal to those activists? Or otherwise served as the motivation, if it was more than pure moral outrage? (Real question. I was not alive in the 60s, never had a competent history teacher, and have found few readable history books.)

anti-war

[(Anonymous)]

Go to unitedforpeace.org, there is lots of info on the anti-war movement. You can even see about anti-war stuff in your area, and all over.
^_^

[firecat]

Interesting point. Never thought of it that way before.

By the way, one of my theories about why there doesn't seem to be much political activism right now is that the media are so much more mature and more closely controlled by the powers that be. Demonstrations aren't news any more. Changes happen through lobbying and that's not reported either.

[daltong.livejournal.com]

Wow, what a cool insight!

I'm going to ponder this. Thanks.

[linenoise.livejournal.com]

Mmmm. Yeah, that. Yet another good reason why I'm trying desperately to pretend that politics doesn't exist.

I *hate* feeling helpless. But I do.

[gymgeek.livejournal.com]

Who wants to watch all those dirty hippies on television. "Joe Millionaire", "American Idol" and "Survivor: Tiennimen Square", that's what I want I want to occupy my time with.

[ptgmachetti.livejournal.com]

heh. indeed, 'nolly.

...and here, just recently i was blaming the same line for other things... i forget what, probably my preference of avoiding confrontation. (i have a couple newer friends who prefer to get things out in the open right away, whereas i'm more prone to back off for a while and just let it go... [and, now that i think on it more, those friends happen to be older people... hmm... ])

[nolly.livejournal.com]

A good point. But the WTO protests did get news, so it's not entirely ignored, and being as close to the UCSD community as I am, if there was much happening at the student level there, I'd expect to have heard something. Especially since our SF group shares a building with the Ché Cafeé (http://checafe.ucsd.edu/). I don't spend that much time at the office anymore, but if there was anything big going on, it would likely impact us enough that i'd hear about it. Maybe other schools have more going on.

Not only is lobbying not reported in detail, it's not something the average person can easily do. Yet there is enough reporting that we know that's how things appen, which contributes to the sense of powerlessness.

It's apathy rooted in individualism. We know how to act as individuals and how to care about individuals, but not how to be part of a large group or how to care about, or sometimes even how to see, the big picture. We know how to live and let live, not how to make a difference. It's the other end of the pendulum from the rigid, controlling society that is the stereotype of the past, of the 40s and 50s among other eras.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

It's the same thing, on a small scale and a large one, as I see it. Avoiding politics is avoiding conflict, national conflict, international conflict. Looking at it this way, it's no wonder that lately I've liked the less publically flaky Natural Law candidates -- the people who have the "let's all chill out and get along" platform. Even though I recognize that most of them would be unable to actually accomplish anything in office, I generally can't stand any of the candidates who stand a chance anyway. So I end up voting a mixed ticket that's mostly Libertarian and Natural Law, with the occasional mainstream candidate where the third parties are running utter flakes.

[firecat]

Not only is lobbying not reported in detail, it's not something the average person can easily do.

No, but the average person can contribute time/money to organizations that do lobbying, e.g., ACLU. I think the difference between politicial action now and political action back in the 60s is the same as the difference between everything now and back in the 60s. Everything is bigger now, and bigger means more organization and structure, requires more work within the system, and affords less opportunity for individual, outside-the-system action.

It's apathy rooted in individualism.

I think that the notion of individualism is preventing some people from acting (because they feel that helping a large organization doesn't count as making a difference, so they don't do it, and/or because they feel that any organization they would help must 100% reflect their values, which none ever do, so they don't bother or they wander from one organization to another, never quite doing much good at any of them).

I also think the notion of individualism is hiding the actions of others.