 I've always been ambivalent
about ethicist Peter Singer's work (which is most famously in the area
of animal rights, though his new book, The President of Good & Evil,
is about Bush's "pattern of ethical confusion and self-contradiction").
I've always believed that the best way to bring about change is by
building consensus, and by collaboration, not
PETA-style confrontation. I've always believed that you should
never allow "ends justify the means" arguments to compromise your
principles and ideals.
Where I am an idealist, Singer is a pragmatist. His philosophy is "fuck
your ideals, get something done". When you get discouraged enough at
the continued failure of idealistic argument and consensus to achieve
real change, that philosophy starts to look pretty good. So here, for
pragmatists and activists everywhere, are Singer's Ten Ways to Make
a Difference, with my usual blathering comments. Like the late Dana
Meadows' Ten
Ways To Change Anything, Singer's points apply equally to any
change effort. But where Meadows' steps are conceptual and consensual,
Singer's are down to Earth, brutally realistic, and, when all else
fails, in your face:
- Try
to understand the public's current thinking and where it could be
encouraged to go tomorrow. Above all, keep in touch with reality.
Don't cloister yourself with like minds. Study, and associate with
people who have different and opposing views, and understand their
thinking. Test out their reactions to your point of view. Be prepared
for similar reaction on a larger scale when you act.
- Select a target on
the basis of vulnerabilities to public opinion, the intensity of
suffering or need, and the opportunities for change. Pick
your battles carefully, where you have clear advantage morally or
scientifically, and are least open to attack. "You know that you have a
good target if, by merely stating the issue, you put your adversary on
the defensive. You only had to ask, 'Is another shampoo worth blinding
rabbits?' to put Revlon officials on the defensive". The value of an
activist campaign is the product of the amount of good it will bring,
times its probability of success.
- Set
goals that are achievable. Bring about meaningful change one step at a
time. Raising awareness is not enough. If you allow your ideals
to make every issue all-or-nothing, you cannot succeed, and you'll burn
yourself out. Look for goals that, when achieve, will have ripple
effects or give you momentum. Raising awareness is an essential part of
the change process, but merely raising awareness without proposing and
leading action accomplishes nothing. (Maybe that's the problem with
blogging, and with journalism for that matter.)
- Establish
credible sources of information and documentation. Never assume
anything. Never deceive the media or the public. Maintain credibility,
don't exaggerate or hype the issue. Meticulously check every
source, especially when you're about to go before a big or influential
audience. Even the sin of omitting certain details or mitigating
factors, while it may make your point more emotionally powerful, will
eventually be caught and will lesson your authority in future efforts.
A lot of us got caught up in the recent story of the Pentagon Climate
Change Warning report, and as it turned out its questionability hurt
our arguments. And much better to get it right, and fair, in the first
place, than to have to apologize for overstatement or inappropriate
reliance on a source later.
- Don't
divide the world into saints and sinners. Understand that people
can change, and if you confront them angrily you set back the chances
of winning them over. Rage sometimes feels good, and may even be
justifiable, but it's a lousy change tactic -- it only works on those
that already share your point of view.
- Seek
dialogue and attempt to work together to solve problems. Position
issues as problems with solutions. This is best done by presenting
realistic alternatives. Don't present the situation as hopeless,
or you'll just discourage people. Don't foist a single, inflexible
solution on people. Give them a choice and they'll be more inclined to
select one and work with you. And use those subversive
story-telling techniques as well -- tell a story that suggests, but
doesn't dictate, a solution, and let the articulation of the solution
come from the audience, where they will take it as their own. And make
sure the solution alternatives are simple and achievable. One step at a
time gets you there.
- Be
ready for confrontation if your target remains unresponsive. If
accepted channels don't work, prepare an escalating public awareness
campaign to place your adversary on the defensive. That campaign
needs to be carefully planned out, relentless and inexorable. Parry
attacks from adversaries with reason, common sense and self-discipline,
but don't get intimidated or back down just because the adversary has
more money, more resources, or more lawyers. Keep the agenda focused on
your articulation of
the issues the adversary
needs to respond to, not on your tactics. Right makes might.
- Avoid
bureaucracy. That means your
own bureaucracy. Use loose, focused project coalitions to run
programs and drive change, not permanent self-established
organizations. Avoid committees to make or ratify decisions -- use
advisors but take personal responsibility for drafting and seeing
through the entire program. Encourage others to join, or not, for the
duration or during critical points, but don't let them set the agenda
or policy. Focus your collective persuasive skills on the people out
there, not resolving internal differences of opinion.
- Don't
assume that only legislation or legal action can solve the problem.
Political lobbying and legal manoeuvring is no substitute for real
action. The battle is for the hearts and minds of people, and if you
win that battle, and if it is also necessary to change the laws or to
litigate (often it isn't), it will then be much easier.
- Ask yourself: "Will
it work?". Singer says "If you can't give a realistic
account of the ways in which your plans will achieve your objectives,
you need to change your plans. Keeping in touch with what the public is
thinking, selecting a target, setting an achievable goal, getting
accurate information, maintaining credibility, suggesting alternative
solutions, being ready to talk to adversaries or to confront them if
they will not talk—all of these are directed toward creating a campaign
that is a practical means of making a difference."
Thanks to Salon blogger
David V. Johnson at WWDT
for the link.
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