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| The reality remains unchanged, the only shift is the perspective and focus but it changes the whole picture. |
When a
photographer snaps a photo they are showing you the world through
their eyes. They are framing a small piece of the world in order to
communicate a specific message by virtue of physical limitation. In
order to communicate their perspective it is necessary for the
photographer to focus attention on certain things and avoid attention to others. This is done in a strategic way to disseminate the
intended meaning of the photographer to the observers. What the
photographer fails to do is give you the entire picture, not
physically speaking. The photographer makes a statement on what the
photograph is intended for only, it is up to the observer to take
into consideration the world that lies outside the photo. This is
also what is done through the media, the media like the photographer
strategically paints a certain picture to people in order to
manipulate public opinion. Though only certain messages and meanings
are communicated life is drastically more complex than what is
communicated through these mediums.
Engulfed
in a tremendously pervasive media culture, though seemingly enigmatic
actually remains to be more overt than at first glance. Public
opinion is strategically shaped to manipulate public opinion to be
complacent and ignorant of the bigger picture not represented in the
consolidated chromatic pixelated box. There are activists that refuse to buy into this culture literally and
figuratively. We are innovators, we think outside the box, we work
within our constraints but also outside them, we are passionate,
innovative, stubborn, and creative, just as our counterparts. We aim
to create systemic change, we want to build a new framework, one that
operates in the only way we will tolerate and that is a sound
framework of justice. As injustice continues to plague our nation and
our globe it is creating a growing group of frustrated resistant
individuals. These individuals have seen the detriment that is
growing from inaction and remaining static and they are coming up
with innovative ways to counter this. With lack
of resources compared to our corporate counterparts, the advantages
of solidarity and organization must be emphasized. The utilization of
non-physical resources need to be expended into the far-reaching
abyss in order to take advantage of skills that remain under
utilized.
Activists
should be persistent while simultaneously cooperative until their
goals are reached and never take no for an answer. In order to
achieve more and remain in high spirits it is useful to remain
optimistic about the potential embodied in all social activists.
Personally as opposed to being a full-fledged shameless idealist I
remain to be realistically idealistic. Being overly optimistic or too
idealistic can leave people disappointed and when that optimism is
imposed on us by others, it can leave individuals feeling betrayed
and lied too in some cases. Activists should always speak from their
hearts, because it is their hearts that led them to be activists, it
should be the hearts of those they are trying to reach that spark an
indescribable overwhelming passion towards action and social change.
The
American government is often associated with buzz-words such as
“freedom”, “democracy”, “patriotism”, the “American
Dream”. These words are idealistic illusions fed to the American
public to keep them from interfering with United States interests. To
create a dependence through the yearning for protectionism in order
to gain compliance and complacency among the American Public. Most activists remain less than optimistic about the good intentions of our government overall. Instead
of creating innovative alternatives to create social change with
little government interference,another viable option could be the
manipulation of the current conventional system and efforts to
reformulate it. There are vast entities interconnected into a large
systemic global framework that include political, economic, and
social entities, these entities form a structure that is embedded
into our society. Those who wish to engage in social change need to
not only work to aid those suffering from the injustice created by
these entities but they also have to work to prevent the occurrence
of injustice altogether.
In
order to work against these injustices the goal of all social
activists alike should be to aid those suffering from injustice while
simultaneously working towards dismantling those that created the
injustice from the get-go. Though there are many separations of
different groups working for justice, ultimately the goal is to
respect inherent human and environmental rights, and to create a more
equal world. In working towards distinct goals it is important to not
lose sight of the larger picture and goal which is equality and
respect for inherent human rights. Working solely within the
framework of those creating the oppressive environment will never
solve global issues. It must be an innovative and strategic plan to
deconstruct oppressive systems through the use of mechanisms that
these systems remain unfamiliar with. To break down the
disillusionment experienced by knowing and unknowing bystanders must
be paired with consciousness of each individual's place in the global
world. Though it is tempting to live in a world of individualistic
blissful ignorance, inequality and oppression creates an inherent
frustration within a human being. Outside individualistic thinking in
an attempt to disempower and undermine the power of the people to
organize, it is possible to create a network of solidarity through
common goals.While
embracing the differences among individuals and harnessing individual
talents there can also be cooperation. One can remain an individual,
while still being thought of as a piece of the puzzle in a larger
global community where each individual is important, and it is the
connection between those individuals that will create empowerment and
the dismantling of unjust entities.
Unless
purposeful, people perceive information from their own personal
standpoint. This entails things that often involve group
identification whether it be race, nationality, gender,age, or sexual
orientation etc. This standpoint encompassing the latter convergent
concepts is a huge factor in how information is received. Without
learned critical thinking and awareness of possible bias and
ethnocentrism this limits the wider picture that we are all capable
of seeing. To expand one's perspective to incorporate other
viewpoints that lay outside our own personal standpoint we see from a
“wider angle zoom”. With this wider angle zoom we can get a far
more clear and diverse picture of reality and way to experience the
world.
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