Throughout their lives, children are taught to do something. Do you see something suspicious? Tell someone. Do you see someone struggling? Help someone. Is someone in trouble? Do something. Examples in which good versus bad seem as distinct as black and white are presented and discussed, and children utter promises to their parents, their teachers, and many other influential adults in their lives that they will act properly when then time comes.They promise that they won’t simply be bystanders.
Yet, many of us: young adults, middle-aged community members, and senior citizens alike, find ourselves as bystanders—bystanders in causes we may be passionate about, bystanders even in our own lives.
Why?
There are a myriad of excuses that we use to defend ourselves:
“I don’t have the time.”
“It’s too complex of an issue.”
“Maybe when I’m older/more financially stable…”
“There’s not enough support.”
And the one with greatest concern, “It’s too dangerous.”
Yet, if the great activists we look up to today, such as Martin Luther King Jr, Susan B. Anthony, Malala Yusafzai, had used these hundreds of excuses as a reason to remain bystanders, then chances are that society would not be where it is today. Of course, our society is still flawed, but we cannot simply bypass the progress we have made—especially in the last one hundred years.
So our theme for this week is, “Putting the Act in Activism,” because we live in a world that demands change, that demands us to be activists. Focusing on all angles of activism: from political, to social, to even self-advocacy, we, at HerCampus, know that it only takes one individual to be a catalyst. And while we may not all be Martin Luther King Jrs or Rosa Parks, and our legacies may not reach as far, we know that to inspire someone, even yourself, brings us closer to the utopian society we all desire.
Photo Source: https://kerrabolton.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Activism-1.jpg