What Does Kindness Have to Do with Activism?
So that lesson from the river was that when
we operate from a deep love, then we’re unstoppable.
Mark Dubois
We believe that kindness is love with its work boots on. It means taking our love out into the world and making a difference - in the lives of the people we meet in our daily life or sometimes, in our community or in the world.
As I considered the different ways in which we act in the world, I thought about activism, which is a dramatic form of action. So, I turned to my trusty resource, dictionary.com, and this is what it said about activism:
“the doctrine or practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving political or other goals, sometimes by demonstrations, protests, etc.”
In our culture today, we see activism as cultural and political protest, but it is much more. It can take the form of determined advocacy at various levels of government. It can take the form of written or video advocacy to inform the public of an important issue. In some cases, it can be a dramatic single act to bring attention to a current or impending tragedy. The causes behind activism often relate to human rights issues, but sometimes they spring from our love for an individual, a group of people or for nature.
Often acts of activism seem to fail, but with persistence, over time, as more people are inspired to get involved, they bring results – an awakening in our culture to the importance of an issue that had not been generally recognized before. In the United States, the civil rights movement in the 1960s and the racial justice movement today are good examples of the power of activism.
I want to focus on a different kind of activism – acts of courage and commitment by an individual to take a stand against great odds to protect something of value or to make a powerful statement in a time of crisis. Sometimes, individual acts courage stand-out from the background of a larger demonstration.
On June 5, 1989, the world watched as pro-democracy student protestors were forcibly cleared from Beijing's Tiananmen Square. As a line of tanks entered the square to disband the protestors, one man stood in front of the first tank and caused them to stop. Very quickly, other protestors pulled him away. He did not stop the massacre, but his dramatic act of courage inspired people world-wide.
Photo: Jeff Widener of the Associated Press
In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on 9 July 2016, 28-year-old Ieshia Evans was part of a peaceful demonstration against the shooting by police of Alton Sterling. As two cops in riot gear approached her, she showed dignity and determination, taking a stand for a safer future for her son. Her graceful act of resistance personified peaceful protest in stark contrast to the violence of the police response.
Image: Jonathan Bachman of Reuters
These examples came from the context of an existing demonstration and drew additional attention to the cause. Sometimes, an individual’s act of courage and commitment inspire others to join in a cause that had not gotten much attention.
Image: KarmaTube video - "The Voice of a River"
Mark Dubois grew up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. He had a passionate love for the Stanislaus River Canyon, a beautiful pristine river valley with limestone caves, sliding rocks, deep pools of water and vigorous rapids where water enthusiasts could go kayaking and rafting downstream. He was a river guide, and he spent every hour he could in the place he loved.
Then, in 1973, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prepared to open a new dam project, flooding miles of the Canyon. Mark and a few river advocates did everything they could to convince politicians and the public that the price was too high – to lose such a natural treasure.
Their efforts failed, and with no other way to stop the destruction of the canyon, Mark chained himself to a boulder behind the New Melones Dam and threw away the key. "If you guys are going to flood 9 million years of evolution, why not take one more creature with you," he said.
His willingness to give his life to protect the place he loved got national attention. Eventually, the governor’s office agreed to monitor the water level, and Mark ended his protest. Unfortunately, with deeper water, the character of the river was dramatically changed, and the free-flowing stream was turned into a dead zone above the reservoir.
Mark’s passionate fight for the life of the river he loved focused national attention on the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources caused by the building of dams at a time when other sources of power were available. Many outdoor enthusiasts were inspired to become river activists and to work to protect the rivers in California. With more public awareness, politicians were persuaded to oppose other proposed dams. In the next six years, Mark and the river activists saved four other rivers from similar destruction.
People are willing to commit their time and passion to promote or protect something they love. “Once our heart is open,” Mark said, “then the other attributes of conscious activism come into play. But the first step is falling in love. The rest flows from there.”
Enjoy a video of Mark's journey:
In looking at the examples above, it is clear that Mark loved the river on which he spent so much of his early life. What love inspired others to their actions?
The protestors in Beijing were fighting for more political freedom, and their love was for the vision of a more open and free society. For the protestors in Baton Rouge, the love for their families and their own desire for a safer, more just society fueled their passionate opposition to a police culture that allowed unjustified killing of Black men.
In the process of researching and writing this, I gained a deeper understanding of activism. Now, whenever I see or read about demonstrations for or against something, I will ask myself, “What do they love?” What quality of life do they want more of or what are they fighting against that prevents them from having a missing quality in their lives – or in someone else’s life?
In looking at life through a lens of kindness, I will now consider how love or lack of love impacts any situation that I am viewing. It is also helpful to consider how love or lack of it impacts my own response to it.
The further I go on this kindness path, the more it asks of me, and the more likely I am to step off the path. It is so easy to fall back to old ways of judgment of others and out of the love that wants to understand them.
The kindness path does not demand perfection. It gently calls us back when we have stepped off.
Our thanks to KarmaTube for the video of Mark’s journey,
and thanks to ServiceSpace for this interview with Mark Dubois.
What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment below.
Help us spread the message of kindness.
If you know others who might appreciate these ideas, please share below.
We’re grateful that you are on this journey with us.
With love from our hearts to yours,
Pat and Larry
