This project is one that has been ruminating deep within me for quite some time now. It a creative, grassroots Social Justice movement that offers a countermeasure approach. The aim is to address the fear that is pervading our country and overtaking many people in different forms, by highlighting the opposite: LOVE; and by this I mean hope as well. This will be a bold type of social media campaign that will seek to highlight "The Helpers" (Mister Rogers' term) in society who show love through various simple, yet powerful, acts of kindness and love. It is my belief that by sharing these visual and written stories we will help to mobilize HOPE in our communities and nation, where we are desperately in need of it. In his article titled, Why Stories Matter, Marshall Ganz wrote,
"Hope is not only audacious, it is substantial. Hope is what allows us to deal with problems creatively. In order to deal with fear, we have to mobilize hope. Hope is one of the most precious gifts we can give each other and the people we work with to make change."
I believe that the majority of the problems we face in our communities, as well as our nation, stem from fear. Societal oppression comes in many forms - racism, sexism, classism, ageism, fascism, anti-semitism, etc. - and at each of their roots is fear. We have all witnessed the negative and destructive impacts of fear in our own personal lives, our communities, and our nation. Conversely, we have all experienced, at one time or another, the transformative, transcendent, and positive power that showing love can have - for both the giver and the receiver! Though we may not always realize it, love is a choice, and when we choose it, we find that it feels amazing which can have an exponentially contagious effect. It can also be scary to choose love. We might get hurt, our love might not be reciprocated; we may be rejected. What if we chose to reject those fears, and instead, boldly chose love? What if...? I envision endless possibilities.
Madeleine L’Engle beautifully illustrates the power that we as humans possess to fight fear with love in her book, A Wrinkle In Time. When the characters in this book find “the perfect frequency” (which is love), they are able to “tesser” through space and time to another planet that is being overtaken by the Dark Thing (which represents evil/fear). There, the main character, Meg Murry, must confront her fears. She finds that her faults and insecurities, which she had thought of as weaknesses, are actually her greatest strengths. It is in this place, where Meg is able to love and accept herself, that she can finally tap into the only weapon that can prevent her and the others from falling prey to IT’s mind control causing them to succumb to the evil power of the Dark Thing. This ultimate weapon is love.
The mission of this campaign is possible. It is a grassroots movement aimed at addressing fear-mongering generated by the political and social obstacles our marginalized communities face which seeks to erode our country through division, by proposing a countermeasure approach of utilizing social media to highlight the tangible acts of everyday love around us, bringing kindness to the forefront, and actively mobilizing hope for a healthier future.
Some of the strategizing/guiding principles outlined in the Walk Out Walk On text that I see as connected to this project are,
This is an ongoing work in progress for the PSU Senior Capstone: Effective Change Agents - Summer 2018
"Hope is not only audacious, it is substantial. Hope is what allows us to deal with problems creatively. In order to deal with fear, we have to mobilize hope. Hope is one of the most precious gifts we can give each other and the people we work with to make change."
I believe that the majority of the problems we face in our communities, as well as our nation, stem from fear. Societal oppression comes in many forms - racism, sexism, classism, ageism, fascism, anti-semitism, etc. - and at each of their roots is fear. We have all witnessed the negative and destructive impacts of fear in our own personal lives, our communities, and our nation. Conversely, we have all experienced, at one time or another, the transformative, transcendent, and positive power that showing love can have - for both the giver and the receiver! Though we may not always realize it, love is a choice, and when we choose it, we find that it feels amazing which can have an exponentially contagious effect. It can also be scary to choose love. We might get hurt, our love might not be reciprocated; we may be rejected. What if we chose to reject those fears, and instead, boldly chose love? What if...? I envision endless possibilities.
Madeleine L’Engle beautifully illustrates the power that we as humans possess to fight fear with love in her book, A Wrinkle In Time. When the characters in this book find “the perfect frequency” (which is love), they are able to “tesser” through space and time to another planet that is being overtaken by the Dark Thing (which represents evil/fear). There, the main character, Meg Murry, must confront her fears. She finds that her faults and insecurities, which she had thought of as weaknesses, are actually her greatest strengths. It is in this place, where Meg is able to love and accept herself, that she can finally tap into the only weapon that can prevent her and the others from falling prey to IT’s mind control causing them to succumb to the evil power of the Dark Thing. This ultimate weapon is love.
The mission of this campaign is possible. It is a grassroots movement aimed at addressing fear-mongering generated by the political and social obstacles our marginalized communities face which seeks to erode our country through division, by proposing a countermeasure approach of utilizing social media to highlight the tangible acts of everyday love around us, bringing kindness to the forefront, and actively mobilizing hope for a healthier future.
Some of the strategizing/guiding principles outlined in the Walk Out Walk On text that I see as connected to this project are,
- Co-motion (rather than promotion): Spreading ideas through contagion rather than pushing people in a particular direction. Walking at the pace of the other, rather that at the pace you want to go. A horizontal movement that begins with being rooted in your own purpose and place, and then connects with others who are rooted in theirs.
- The “Start anywhere, follow it everywhere” principle also applies to this project, as does,
- “Doing more with less,” a simple quote that I recently came across links both of these principles together: “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” It reminds me that beginnings don’t have to be earth-shattering. They can be simplistic in nature. Just do it; do something!
- Generosity/Kindness, and
- Friendship - as a means to address needs.
This is an ongoing work in progress for the PSU Senior Capstone: Effective Change Agents - Summer 2018