Attributed to Margaret Mead, Anthropologist
As this year draws towards its final month, I think most of us have this sinking feeling of 'I've done absolutely nothing this year'. There's an element of this at the close of every year - in January we feel really positive and plan out how this new year will be different, the year we make things work for us, the year it comes together - come December, it rarely has. This one is different though - the COVID pandemic has shaken up all of our lives so much that most of us cannot remember a year that has failed to go to plan so spectacularly. I myself remember last December, the one positive I could find in the election result was that I'd be shaken up so much that I'd be back out on the streets each weekend - something I'd been finding myself doing less and less. And of course, this hasn't happened.
It's not just COVID. Brexit happened at the end of January, and the fallout from that is just around the corner - as chaotic as it always was, conveniently forgotten in the confusion about the pandemic rules. Day by day, our rights are taken from us. Here in the UK we have a profoundly undemocratic system, with an opposition that doesn't seem remotely inclined to change it even if it were able to (and there is very little improvement on this even in other countries). In the middle of the year, we had the ever so refreshing Black Lives Matter protests - but I see little evidence that racism has gone down as a result. Our planet itself is on fire. And we have a society which is so tightly grasped within the iron fist of capitalism, it seems as if we'll never escape. It feels there is so much that we must be doing, and so little that we practically can do, that it weighs quite heavily on all of our mental health.
I'm as susceptible as anyone to this - truthfully, I'm extremely mentally unstable at the moment, more so than I ever have been before, I think. However, it's important to remember that those who profit most from the status quo have a vested interest in helplessness. When we feel helpless, we allow the status quo to continue, and this doesn't help anyone. And truthfully, we're very rarely as helpless as we think we are.
This year, all things considered, I've actually been very fortunate. My partner and I have created some amazing stories together, most importantly our gritty left-wing political TV drama series, which we're just about to produce the pilot episode of. I've made some good friends this year, read some wonderful books, learned some good things, silently processed some personal trauma, gone into hiding to protect people from COVID... and been there for people who are in need. All of these things have helped either myself or other people, which is the first step to creating social change. And right now, I actually feel quite empowered to do so.
If you're concerned that you aren't doing anything that you feel is worthwhile, I will tell you that firstly, you are most likely doing more than you believe you are. Secondly, ask yourself what you would like to be doing? What matters most to you in this world, and what can you do to change it? If you're really stuck, the first and most important thing you can do to realise where your skills are most needed is to talk to someone. It's so much easier to do this with a teammate - it's why most left-wing activists know each other. Send a message to a friend - find something you both think isn't right, and say to yourselves, 'What needs to be done to change it?' It doesn't have to be a huge global thing - even being there for someone who is unwell can help, because it creates a domino effect. (That said, if you are capable of doing huge global things, such as organising huge socially-distanced protests, by all means do so!)
For me, I've had a few ideas for projects I want to work on. Besides my TV drama (which focusses very much on the kind of dialogue I'm talking about) I want to do more to make our society more democratic. I've had some ideas about how to do so, which I'll try to outline in subsequent blogs; I feel that most people are relatively capable and fair-minded, and if we could all engage in a bit more constructive dialogue we can build some amazing things.
Human beings are exceptionally good at adapting to their own circumstances, but exceptionally bad at envisioning themselves out of whatever circumstances they happen to be in. If you wake up and you're feeling really well and organised, there is this feeling of 'if I can just keep up this good mood, my life is sorted!' And the same is the case when you're feeling down - 'I've realised that everything is going wrong, I might as well accept this now'. This occurs in politics as well. On the left, we felt terrible when the Conservatives won their super-majority in December last year - it literally felt like the end of the world. If Jeremy Corbyn had won, there'd be this euphoria that we'd won, and that all the cruelty and oppression is a thing of the past. And in truth, neither of these things are true. Things fluctuate, and always have done from the beginning of time. A big part of wisdom is the ability to recognise one's own ability to influence that.
As this year draws towards its final month, I think most of us have this sinking feeling of 'I've done absolutely nothing this year'. There's an element of this at the close of every year - in January we feel really positive and plan out how this new year will be different, the year we make things work for us, the year it comes together - come December, it rarely has. This one is different though - the COVID pandemic has shaken up all of our lives so much that most of us cannot remember a year that has failed to go to plan so spectacularly. I myself remember last December, the one positive I could find in the election result was that I'd be shaken up so much that I'd be back out on the streets each weekend - something I'd been finding myself doing less and less. And of course, this hasn't happened.
It's not just COVID. Brexit happened at the end of January, and the fallout from that is just around the corner - as chaotic as it always was, conveniently forgotten in the confusion about the pandemic rules. Day by day, our rights are taken from us. Here in the UK we have a profoundly undemocratic system, with an opposition that doesn't seem remotely inclined to change it even if it were able to (and there is very little improvement on this even in other countries). In the middle of the year, we had the ever so refreshing Black Lives Matter protests - but I see little evidence that racism has gone down as a result. Our planet itself is on fire. And we have a society which is so tightly grasped within the iron fist of capitalism, it seems as if we'll never escape. It feels there is so much that we must be doing, and so little that we practically can do, that it weighs quite heavily on all of our mental health.
I'm as susceptible as anyone to this - truthfully, I'm extremely mentally unstable at the moment, more so than I ever have been before, I think. However, it's important to remember that those who profit most from the status quo have a vested interest in helplessness. When we feel helpless, we allow the status quo to continue, and this doesn't help anyone. And truthfully, we're very rarely as helpless as we think we are.
This year, all things considered, I've actually been very fortunate. My partner and I have created some amazing stories together, most importantly our gritty left-wing political TV drama series, which we're just about to produce the pilot episode of. I've made some good friends this year, read some wonderful books, learned some good things, silently processed some personal trauma, gone into hiding to protect people from COVID... and been there for people who are in need. All of these things have helped either myself or other people, which is the first step to creating social change. And right now, I actually feel quite empowered to do so.
If you're concerned that you aren't doing anything that you feel is worthwhile, I will tell you that firstly, you are most likely doing more than you believe you are. Secondly, ask yourself what you would like to be doing? What matters most to you in this world, and what can you do to change it? If you're really stuck, the first and most important thing you can do to realise where your skills are most needed is to talk to someone. It's so much easier to do this with a teammate - it's why most left-wing activists know each other. Send a message to a friend - find something you both think isn't right, and say to yourselves, 'What needs to be done to change it?' It doesn't have to be a huge global thing - even being there for someone who is unwell can help, because it creates a domino effect. (That said, if you are capable of doing huge global things, such as organising huge socially-distanced protests, by all means do so!)
For me, I've had a few ideas for projects I want to work on. Besides my TV drama (which focusses very much on the kind of dialogue I'm talking about) I want to do more to make our society more democratic. I've had some ideas about how to do so, which I'll try to outline in subsequent blogs; I feel that most people are relatively capable and fair-minded, and if we could all engage in a bit more constructive dialogue we can build some amazing things.
Human beings are exceptionally good at adapting to their own circumstances, but exceptionally bad at envisioning themselves out of whatever circumstances they happen to be in. If you wake up and you're feeling really well and organised, there is this feeling of 'if I can just keep up this good mood, my life is sorted!' And the same is the case when you're feeling down - 'I've realised that everything is going wrong, I might as well accept this now'. This occurs in politics as well. On the left, we felt terrible when the Conservatives won their super-majority in December last year - it literally felt like the end of the world. If Jeremy Corbyn had won, there'd be this euphoria that we'd won, and that all the cruelty and oppression is a thing of the past. And in truth, neither of these things are true. Things fluctuate, and always have done from the beginning of time. A big part of wisdom is the ability to recognise one's own ability to influence that.
Change is inevitable. All things change, and we should not try to keep them the same because that is fighting a losing battle. But what we do have an impact on is how things change. The truth is that there are a lot of people out there who will have you believe that you're just a pawn in this game called life. This is not true - whoever is reading this, you have already impacted the world hugely, even if it's just having caused someone to meet or inadvertently said something which gave somebody an idea. It's very difficult to see the impact we're having in perspective because we never know how the world would look if we weren't here - but the impact is there. As for what you do with your influence, that is up to you. But you should not underestimate your own potential to create social change. Everyone who has ever achieved anything has been told at some point that their struggle is fruitless - normally by those who seek to lose out from it.
So I'll leave you with this - what are you going to do to change the world?
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