COVID-19 Warning
The “Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizens Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear” by Paul Rogat Loeb was an amazing read during the times we are living now. It is easy to forget about the good in the world, especially when things are so uncertain right now. CoVID-19 has uprooted all of our lives in a way no one has really known before. Maneuvering in our current climate right now is difficult, stressful, and confusing. This reading really reminded me to look at the glass half full instead of half empty. As difficult as it may be right now, it’s important to not lose sight of hope and our happiness.
It was very powerful to read how change and activism really begins with an idea or just one person. It reminded me a lot of the quote “be the change you wish to see in the world”. Many people believe that you need to gather an audience in order to do good for others. Especially now in mainstream media, it seems people do good deeds for just views and not from the goodness of their hearts. It is refreshing to read about how something small or how just one person creates an enormous impact. Danusha Goska receiving a ride back to her home from strangers at a food bank really shows how something that may seem small to some creates a huge impact for others. The world seems so selfish now as greed has taken over many’s mind and goals- small acts of kindness really goes a long way.
The article Howard Zimm wrote reminded me a lot of one of earlier readings about how we always focus on the bad. Our generation tends to center the bad outcomes and often forgets about the good in the world. We especially tend to want fast results from movements and expect progress to be made overnight. The beauty of movements is the journey it takes to build up community and audience. It relates back to Danusha’s point of how progress really starts with one person. To expect change overnight is an expectation that will not always guarantee happiness. However, looking back at history to see how movements took years and different routes to get to the effectiveness and power they have today is fascinating to see. It’s kind of like the light at the end of the tunnel. The more you work towards something, the more of the light you’ll end up seeing.
I really liked Zimm’s points because I am definitely guilty of cynicism and only seeing the world for the bad sometimes. But this reading in whole was interesting for me because I liked learning and reading about small actions and cases that really instigated large level changes. I think after reading these articles, my cynicism will start to dwindle, at least in terms of how I view everyday, small actions and their overall effect.
I agree that this is a very timely reading. With everything going on and stay at home orders in place, it can be really difficult to maintain a positive outlook and see past the chaos and uncertainty of our times. This reading was definitely a nice reminder of how we can still be optimistic and make positive changes.
I also really liked Zinn’s chapter because a lot of times we only see the tidal wave of change. His explanation of the individuals that start and motivate movements made me think of the individual molecules that make up the waves. It is uplifting to breakdown movements like this because it makes us as individuals more aware of our individual impacts.