{"id":3304,"date":"2015-02-15T14:00:27","date_gmt":"2015-02-15T20:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=3304"},"modified":"2016-06-13T18:21:21","modified_gmt":"2016-06-14T00:21:21","slug":"the-care-and-feeding-of-activists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2015\/02\/the-care-and-feeding-of-activists.html","title":{"rendered":"The Care and Feeding of Activists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"wind<\/a>The Care and Feeding of Activists<\/strong>
\nby John Beckett
\nthe Denton Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
\nFebruary 15, 2015<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the beginning of the movie Patton<\/em>, George C. Scott stands in front of a giant American flag and gives an excerpt from a speech given several times by General Patton during World War II.\u00a0 The speech begins \u201cI want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.\u201d\u00a0 The rest of that speech is not relevant to our purposes today.\u00a0 But that line is \u2013 soldiers don\u2019t win wars by dying.\u00a0 They win wars by doing the things that soldiers have to do to defeat their enemies.<\/p>\n

Some of us aren\u2019t comfortable with military metaphors, but trying to build a better world is like fighting a war in that it\u2019s big, and long, and complicated, and very very hard.\u00a0 We need as many people as possible doing as much as possible for as long as possible.\u00a0 We can\u2019t afford to lose anyone, and we especially can\u2019t afford to lose anyone to burnout or fatigue.\u00a0 Those are preventable losses.<\/p>\n

There are people who have been killed or injured while working for peace and justice.\u00a0 We celebrate their lives and we honor their deaths.\u00a0 But the benefits of martyrdom are overrated.\u00a0 Perhaps their deaths provide a rallying point for those who are left, but martyrdom mainly deprives the movement of a capable and energetic contributor.\u00a0 The work is too important \u2013 we can\u2019t afford to lose anyone.\u00a0 We want no martyrs of negligence.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to get caught up in the importance of what we do.\u00a0 Causes, issues, candidates, and projects all have impacts on people\u2019s lives.\u00a0 Part of what we do is to build for the future, but sometimes what we\u2019re doing has an effect right here right now.\u00a0 How do you stop for the night when someone is counting on you?\u00a0 How do you take time off \u2013 and not feel guilty about it \u2013 when a project needs everyone it can get right now?<\/p>\n

We like to talk about sustainability \u2013 sustainable cities and sustainable communities and sustainable energy.\u00a0 We need sustainable activists too \u2013 and that means you too!\u00a0 Being an effective activist means taking care of yourself so you\u2019re up for the long haul.<\/p>\n

Why do you do what you do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first key to taking care of yourself is to remember why you do what you do.<\/p>\n

Why do you work for marriage equality?\u00a0 Why do you work to end racism?\u00a0 Why do you teach kids in Religious Education?\u00a0 Why do you fight for good science education in schools?\u00a0 Why do you run for city council?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s some reason why you do what you do that goes beyond \u201cwell, that sounds like a good idea.\u201d\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what that is \u2013 my reasons aren\u2019t your reasons.\u00a0 But whatever your reasons, never forget them.<\/p>\n

It will help to create reminders of why you do what you do.\u00a0 If you keep an altar at home, put it there.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t, put a picture on your refrigerator or your bookshelf or your bathroom mirror.\u00a0 Make a bracelet or a string of beads.\u00a0 Incorporate them into your daily meditations and daily prayers.<\/p>\n

And when you remember your reasons for doing what you do, also remember what aren\u2019t<\/em> your reasons.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t start this to get rich and famous.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t start it so everyone would like you.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t start it so everything would be nice and easy.<\/p>\n

You started it because something deep inside told you it was the right thing to do.\u00a0 Never forget why you\u2019re here.<\/p>\n

What gives you strength?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

What gives you strength?\u00a0 What restores you, what rejuvenates you, what re-energizes you?<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t overemphasize the need for daily spiritual practice, the need to do something every day.\u00a0 Meditation, prayer, devotional reading, singing and chanting all help.\u00a0 So does going outside and looking up at the brilliant night sky and realizing that no matter how big and vast the universe is, you\u2019re a part of it all\u2026 and so is everyone else.\u00a0 Daily spiritual practice helps us to learn and grow deeper in spirit, it reinforces our core values, it reminds us of who and what we are.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re a Pagan or a Christian or a Buddhist<\/a> or a Humanist or anything else \u2013 these are daily spiritual practices that can be used in any tradition.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s group practice \u2013 getting together to sit in meditation or observe the full moon or participate in a Sunday service.\u00a0 It\u2019s a rare person who can live a truly spiritual life alone \u2013 most of us need the encouragement and reinforcement and accountability that comes from being in community with other like-minded folks.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s basic self care.\u00a0 You\u2019re an adult \u2013 you know what I\u2019m talking about.\u00a0 Eat healthy.\u00a0 Hitting the drive-through at McDonald\u2019s may be OK every now and then, but there\u2019s no substitute for sitting down to a real dinner with real food.\u00a0 Drink healthy.\u00a0 Coffee in the morning and wine at night will only keep you going for so long.\u00a0 Get plenty of exercise.\u00a0 Maybe what you do has you up and walking all over town, but maybe it has you sitting behind a computer all day.\u00a0 You\u2019re a product of millions of years of evolution \u2013 your body expects to move.<\/p>\n

And get plenty of rest.\u00a0 The older I get, the more important this becomes.\u00a0 Yes, there are times when something simply has to get done now even if it means staying up till 3 AM.\u00a0 But that means you\u2019re going to be running on empty the next day, and you\u2019re simply not going to be back to full strength until you get enough rest.<\/p>\n

Who has permission to tell you to go to bed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you remember when you were six or seven years old, it was getting late, you were getting sleepy\u2026 you were having trouble staying awake.\u00a0 But the grownups were talking and doing stuff and if you go to bed now you might miss something!\u00a0 Your mother would ask \u201caren\u2019t you about ready for bed?\u201d and you\u2019d say \u201cno, no \u2013 I\u2019m not sleepy!\u201d\u00a0 Eventually your mother would say \u201cGO TO BED!\u201d and you\u2019d drag yourself to your room complaining about how it wasn\u2019t fair and wondering what cool stuff you were going to miss and as soon as your head hit the pillow you were out till the next morning.\u00a0 And when you woke up you might still be mad about what you thought you missed, but you felt great and you were ready for whatever would come that day.<\/p>\n

Who has permission to tell you to go to bed?<\/p>\n

Who has permission to tell you \u201cyou look pretty run down \u2013 why don\u2019t you go home and we\u2019ll finish up here?\u201d\u00a0 Who has permission to tell you \u201cyou\u2019ve been working really hard \u2013 let\u2019s let someone else take care of this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes our devotion to a cause or our obsession with a project overrides our good sense.\u00a0 If we\u2019re constantly tired because we aren\u2019t getting enough rest, if we\u2019re dealing with too much stress, or if we\u2019ve become physically ill, we aren\u2019t as effective as we need to be.\u00a0 Take the time off you need to rest and recharge and then come back at full strength.<\/p>\n

Some of my more hard core activist friends like to point out that for people living in extreme poverty, in violent environments, and in states of oppression, there is no opportunity to rest and recharge.\u00a0 That\u2019s a sad truth.\u00a0 The ability to take time off is a privilege, and like all privilege our best approach is not to reject it but to use it for the greater good.<\/p>\n

Taking on bigger things<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you do good work, and you do it consistently, expect to be asked to take on bigger things.\u00a0 Even in a non-hierarchic or anarchic movement, do things well and bigger things will find you.\u00a0 It\u2019s always nice to have your work recognized \u2013 congratulations.\u00a0 But as you move on to bigger things, there are three things to keep in mind.<\/p>\n

First, what got you here won\u2019t get you there.\u00a0 New roles and new challenges require new skills \u2013 give yourself the opportunity to learn them.\u00a0 Read books, take classes, go to seminars.\u00a0 Find someone who\u2019s already doing what you\u2019re starting and see how they work.\u00a0 Eventually you\u2019ll figure out your own way of doing things, but to start, learn from the best.<\/p>\n

Second, what got you here will keep you here.\u00a0 This line comes from baseball, where sometimes young players will be promoted to the major leagues and get intimidated by all the great players they grew up watching.\u00a0 All of a sudden a power pitcher thinks he has to nibble on the corners, or a finesse pitcher thinks he has to strike everyone out.\u00a0 They get away from doing what they do best and they struggle as a result.<\/p>\n

Yes, you want to learn from the best, but if you try to be someone you\u2019re not you\u2019ll fall flat on your face.\u00a0 Remember what you\u2019re good at and use your strengths.<\/p>\n

Third, teach the next generation.\u00a0 If you\u2019re going to move on to something else someone needs to take your place.\u00a0 Perhaps your organization or movement has a formal training program, but more likely the movement depends on newcomers learning from experienced folks \u2013 even though those \u201cexperienced\u201d people may only have been in their roles for a couple years or a couple months.<\/p>\n

Find someone who has the talent and the desire to do what you do and train them, even if they don\u2019t look or sound like you, even if they have a very different background from you, even if they\u2019re a lot younger than you.\u00a0 Even if they\u2019re a lot older than you.\u00a0 Skills can be taught \u2013 desire can\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many ways to contribute.\u00a0 Some people make speeches and write editorials supporting helpful legislation.\u00a0 Some people work in the kitchen at the homeless shelter.\u00a0 Some people are out in the streets, carrying signs and sometimes getting arrested for calling attention to injustice.\u00a0\u00a0 This is all good and necessary work.<\/p>\n

But some of us can\u2019t do those things.\u00a0 We have obligations to family, we have health issues, or the thought of public activism fills us with a fear we just can\u2019t overcome.<\/p>\n

Charlie the Marine may be doing the fighting, but he needs Rosie the Riveter supporting him in the factory.\u00a0 If we can\u2019t be on the front lines, we can be behind the scenes.\u00a0 We can make phone calls and stuff envelopes.\u00a0 We can write checks.\u00a0 We can use our unique set of abilities and resources to contribute to the greater good.\u00a0 It\u2019s all important work, it\u2019s all necessary work, and there is honor in doing any of it.\u00a0 Do what you can do the best you can do it and don\u2019t obsess about what you can\u2019t do.<\/p>\n

The Fraud Police<\/strong><\/p>\n

Singer Amanda Palmer warns us about the Fraud Police.\u00a0 These are the people who sneak into your bedroom at 2:00 AM and whisper:\u00a0 \u201cyou don\u2019t know what you\u2019re doing.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re making this up as you go.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re not a real activist, you\u2019re not a real UU.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re a hypocrite.\u00a0 You\u2019re a fraud.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re going to take away all your credentials, all your positions, all the stuff you do, and we\u2019re going to tell everybody what a fraud you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Has anybody had a visit from the Fraud Police?\u00a0 Has anybody not<\/em> had a visit from the Fraud Police?<\/p>\n

Here are the facts:\u00a0 if you\u2019re doing something helpful, then you\u2019re for real.\u00a0 If you\u2019re making the world a better place, then you\u2019re for real. If you\u2019re supporting justice and compassion, then you\u2019re for real.<\/p>\n

So what do we say to the Fraud Police when they whisper to us in the middle of the night?<\/p>\n

We say \u201cyou know, you\u2019re right \u2013 I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m doing.\u00a0 You\u2019re right \u2013 I am making it up as I go.\u00a0 But you know what?\u00a0 There were some homeless people who got fed yesterday because of the work we did.\u00a0 There was a roadside that got cleaned up because of the work we\u2019re doing.\u00a0 There were laws changed because of the work we did.\u00a0 The world is a little more just, a little more compassionate, and a little more fair because of the work we did.<\/p>\n

Now, would you like to help?\u00a0 Or would you like to get the hell out of the way?\u201d<\/p>\n