When I dreamt, I found the spaces in between…

I’ve been reflecting daily over the past many months on how to be politically effective, emotionally balanced, and not entirely overwhelmed by the media, the world, the government, all at the same time…wondering, is this even possible? Is it enough to live my life non-violently, to support others in that work of non-violence through volunteering, to write letters to my Senators, to write blog posts about those things that I feel people should be thinking about, aware of? I’m confident that right now, I’m doing what I can and that that will have to be enough for now - that taking care of myself and taking care of the world have to be balanced, otherwise my effectiveness gets completely trashed by burnout. Yet, there is a nagging part of me that says there’s got to be some way to be more effective, to move through the fear of real action, and make more change happen. That there’s a better way to engage my friends and family, and a more impactful way to move forward.

It’s probably a matter of focus, of choosing to not be overwhelmed by the immense amount of work that there is to do and the pain that seems to be attached to so much of it, of deciding on one issue into which to dive. But I’ve got to say, after years of political work, I still find it incredibly difficult to focus on one issue area and let the rest go. I typically feel both passionate about so many issues and paralyzed about what to do in order to effect change in any of them. And, like I hinted at in my media fast post, the constant bombardment of online news, YouTube exposes, social networking sites, and planning wikis, doesn’t really help the situation. Too much to read, too much to think about, too much to lose. Yes, knowledge is power. But at what limit do you have enough knowledge to act?

Courtney Martin seems to be struggling with some of those same questions. In response to Thomas Friedman’s characterization of our generation as Generation Q (for quiet) (see his New York Times op-ed), she writes in The American Prospect:

We are not apathetic. What we are, and perhaps this is what Friedman was picking up on, is totally and completely overwhelmed. One of the most critical questions of our time is one of attention. In a 24-7 news climate, it is all but impossible to emotionally engage all of the stories and issues you are taking in, and then act on them in some pragmatic way. So instead, young people become paralyzed. (It seems that all of us are a bit paralyzed. After all, what are Friedman’s peers really doing? And aren’t his peers the ones with the most straightforward kind of power?)

My generation tries to create lives that seem to match our values, but beyond that it’s hard to locate a place to put our outrage. We aren’t satisfied with point-and-click activism, as Friedman suggests, but we don’t see other options. Many of us have protested, but we — by and large — felt like we were imitating an earlier generation, playing dress-up in our parents’ old hippie clothes. I marched against the war and my president called it a focus group. The worst part was that I did feel inert while doing it. In the 21st century, a bunch of people marching down the street, complimenting one another on their original slogans and pretty protest signs, feels like self-flagellation, not real and true social change.

Read the whole thing here.

I’m finding that to get beyond the paralysis, I have to set my boundaries, be realistic, and choose what change I’m going to make. While this makes me feel a little better about my own situation, it takes me right back to this question: In a world where our government is torturing humans, waging unjust wars, and quickly taking its people’s rights away, is that enough?

(thanks for the link, Feministing)