Activism - Getting Out There

Anyone can take a stand for something in their lives every day with every purchase they make, with every person they meet, and with every word they say.  While others might claim you are on your soapbox and alienate you, there is nothing wrong with realizing the impact of your words and thus choosing them carefully.  Speech as a form of daily activism might seem the easiest, but is probably the hardest because its roots are macro, think societal pressures, and you must engage it on the micro level, think neighborhood pressures.  By living politically, one can speak out about issues that matter to them and elevate the topic of conversation from something not beneficial to something of interest and/or involving action.  In the 2008 Robert Kenner movie Food, Inc. someone made a comment about how every time you purchase something you are casting your vote to have the product; the applicability to feminist activism is the same.  Your personal concerns are usually not yours alone and you have the freedom, which many do not, to not only speak up but to actually do something about it; thus, things that affect your everyday life, on the micro level, have ripple effects into the macro level.  If one is looking for how the student benefit of daily activism that “connects theory to practice” and the community benefit that “meets client/agency needs” (Benefits), is impacted by politicizing one’s life, I have the example of my first trip to Cassadaga. I met a kind lady who chatted with me for a while and while just making friendly small talk she began educating me about the various uses of solar power right here in Central Florida, providing me with websites and names of people to contact for further information.  As we walked around I saw her talk to everyone this way – raising solar energy awareness. Her conversation was effortless, educated (she was an engineer), and genuine; to this day, even though I only met her once, I will remember her.  Not only was she politicizing her life, she was also aware of how the energy that affects her also affects a whole community and state, drawing a direct line from the micro level to the macro level.  I believe one of the keys to effective activism is being genuine.

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Works Cited

“Benefits.” Service-Learning – UCF Experiential Learning. UCF, 2009. Web. 12 Sept. 2011. <http://www.explearning.ucf.edu/categories/For%20Students/www.coop.ucf.edu/categories/For%20Students/Service-Learning/157_143.aspx>