When talking about movements and protest and the reasons why they do not work, the issue at hand is that people or groups are too focused on what I will call “the Kodak moment” — a snapshot of a moment in time when they are not driven to act on one specific point, but rather by a thousand different points. As soon as the issues change, their goals change, and that is not going to lead to any kind of change at all. It’s just going to lead to the same systemic problems that we now face. You cannot change things by blowing in the wind. You have to stay focused on a single purpose, and that is how the issues will get results.
If you look at the protests throughout history, every one of them had a single issue—a single purpose—and they did not waver until the appropriate action was taken. For example, when we passed the 1965 Civil Rights Act. That would not have been possible if the people had not maintained a single focus. And that is what we need today—to stay on point, keep our leaders’ feet to the fire, and demand fast, effective legislation.
This will help end the slavery of poverty in this country. By the people focusing on enacting a Green New Deal, then and only then will we be successful in our efforts to turn this country around. If we do not force our local and national officials’ feet to the fire, the problems in this country and the problems throughout every state in our Union will only get worse. We will not have single-payer healthcare; we will not have fair-paying quality jobs for all; and we will not have free college for all students so that when they graduate, they are not shackled with financial burdens. Instead, what we will have is the continuous system of nothingness, and then we will wonder why nothing changed. Well, if that’s the case, the answer my friend is very simple—just look in the mirror.
