These readings made me reflect on how I think about change on both personal and global levels. I realized how our perceptions of good deeds, making change and having power are extremely generalized and inaccurate. For example, I fell into the fallacy described by Goska, equating virtuous with acts receiving major recognition/attention. Of course I try to be a good person, but I would apply this method of thinking onto other people. Reading about the problem with people not using the power they have, how easy it is to excuse oneself from being better if they consider themselves an insignificant contributor. They discredit their own power and in doing so, become the problem.
Chapter five made me think of the protests and events in response to the racist incidents that occurred earlier this semester. Students rallied together to bring attention to an important issue and call for administrative action. If “small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world”, then imagine what could happen if students at every university advocated for creating a culturally inclusive society. I’m not trying to say that the protests and events were small acts. Only that they could become even more powerful if people who discredited their own power would act. Similar to Kushner’s sentiments, if everyone would find an issue they are passionate about and fight for it, the world would be more united in generating solutions. Each person would be pushing themselves to be a more humane human being and use their power for good. Obviously, it’s not that simple to just make everyone interested in taking that initiative but it is amazing to think about how far we could go if even 50% of the world population did that.
Yeah, I think that the student rally on campus showed that many students were feeling the same way. A lot of people saw how those racist incidents made some students feel. The student rally was significant as it revealed the power of a collective voice on campus.
I think that people often would rather wait for other people to start a movement than take action on their own. I agree that it is easy to get out of your own responsibility by thinking that your actions are insignificant. I think the reading really tells us how important our own small actions are and that at the right time something bigger will come, which I think is reflected in what we saw on campus this semester.