Making a Change

markus spiske

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. -Margaret Mead

Inertia

A property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force.

"the power required to overcome friction and the inertia of the moving parts"

I talk about inertia when I teach people how to drive. There are only three things that you can control to change inertia when driving. You can steer, you can use your brakes, or you can use your accelerator. Sometimes it's a combination of all three. A small change can make a huge difference. Yet, there are a substantial number of collisions (around 30%) where drivers took no action.

But I digress. Back to Margaret Mead. Looking her up in Britannica, Margaret Mead was an American anthropologist best known for her studies of the peoples of Oceania. She also commented on a wide array of societal issues, such as women's rights, nuclear proliferation, race relations, environmental pollution, and world hunger. Her thoughts on social change made her a target of conservatives.

An essay in Scientific American by John Horgan posits that her bashers owe her an apology. Most attacks on Mead focus on her ethnographic writings, notably her classic Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilization. 

"Her book nonetheless posed a challenge to Western sexual mores, which according to Mead inflicted needless suffering on young men and women. The metatheme of Coming of Age and all Mead's subsequent work was that the way things are is not the way they must or should be; we can choose to live in ways that make us happier and healthier. Her writings helped inspire feminism, the sexual revolution, the human potential movement and other countercultural trends during the 1960s."

Margaret Mead was a political progressive. Horgan points out that mead was  an outspoken critic of social Darwinism and eugenics, which in this pre-Nazi era were still intellectually fashionable. As a result of these influences, Mead opposed genetic determinism, racism, sexism, militarism and stultifying religious morality. She was biased—and she was right.

But was she right about change? Does a movement begin with an idea and end with a small group of committed individuals? There needs to be a point where the commitment of a few  becomes something larger.

Pettus Bridge

The first protest on March 7th was small. Led by Hosea Williams, one of Martin Luther King's SCLC lieutenants, and John Lewis, some 600 demonstrators walked, two by two, the six blocks to the Edmund Pettus Bridge that crossed the Alabama River and led out of Selma. They were literally beaten back. Press coverage changed that dynamic. Lewis spoke of how the civil rights music was able to change the dynamics through press coverage. “Without the press, the Civil Rights movement would have been a bird without wings.” 

There were actually three marches. The second march had two thousand participants. Martin Luther King turned the marchers back fearing the same outcome. By the third march, there ended up being 25 thousand when they reached Montgomery. Those who crossed the bridge were protected by 1,000 military policemen and 2,000 military troops.

The march was a pivotal point in the civil rights movement. As the numbers grew, the momentum, the inertia of the movement, became a force to strong to turn aside.

There have been times that I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will. -Sam Cooke

Mass Shootings

There's been another mass shooting over the weekend. A gunman or gunmen opened fire at a backyard party in Fresno. At least four are dead. (As I write this, there is a second shooting in Oklahoma at a Walmart!)

Deadly Backyard Shooting

As tragic as these shootings are, it's only the tip of the iceberg in this country. According to statistics from bradyunited.org, 310 people are shot in the United States every day. The effects are much broader than the glaring headlines created when there is a mass shooting.

• 100 people are shot and killed
• 210 survive gun injuries
• 95 are injured in an attack
• 61 die from suicide
• 10 survive a suicide attempt
• 1 is killed unintentionally
• 90 are shot unintentionally
• 1 is killed by legal intervention
• 4 are shot by legal intervention
• 1 died but the intent was unknown
• 12 are shot but the intent was unknown

DAILY GUN VIOLENCE IMPACTING CHILDREN AND TEENS (1-17)

Every day, 21 children and teens (1-17) are shot in the United States. Among those:

• 4 die from gun violence
• 2 are murdered
• 17 children and teens survive gun injuries
• 8 are injured in an attack
• 2 children and teens either die from suicide or survive a suicide attempt
• 8 children and teens are shot instances of family fire — a shooting involving an improperly stored or misused gun found in the home resulting in injury or death

Over 113,000 are shot every year. I would think gun owners want to be a part of the solution. Yet, nothing gets accomplished. Congress and the President are doing nothing, shielding themselves in the second amendment. There is something bigger than this. It is a guiding principle in the Declaration of Independence. Our founding fathers thought it so important they put "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness toward the top of the Declaration. None of this make sense if we're all afraid of what our neighbor may do with his or here second amendment rights. 

John Lewis offers a perspective on Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

 There is no motive available at this time for the shooting in Fresno, but maybe Americans are not mature enough to bear arms without some limits put on that ownership. Those limits may not end violence, but this is not a zero sum game. Reducing the violence should be a the goal.

Public Radio stations are offering perspective on guns and gun violence. My station, Connecticut Public Radio, is a part of this collaborative.Guns and America over the course of two years, Reporting Fellows at 10 partner public media stations, representing a diverse range of communities all over the country, will report on gun issues, from the cultural significance of hunting and gun ownership to the role guns play in suicide, homicide, mass shootings and beyond.