formula for change: why you are the only one who can make a difference

"All we have to do now is convince the politicians, the corporations, the voters, and the super-elite who pull the strings of the fact."

~No Impact Man, when writing of reducing resource consumption on 4/17/08

This statement is a blatant misconception—that the power lies ultimately in the hands of politicians, corporations, and the super-elite (the voters do need convinced, of course, but alas—we are the voters). The only reason they have power is because WE GIVE THEM POWER and LET THEM KEEP IT. We play along with their game and most of us don't even realize it.

A political cartoon caught my eye recently, one picturing a large herd of sheep standing in front of a single dog. The sheep had thought bubbles above their heads, saying things like: "He’d be better if he were more decisive" and "I wish he’d be more open to suggestions" and "He's good on ideas, but not so good on follow-through" (you can see the cartoon here). Whether or not this is the point the cartoon is trying to convey, here’s my reaction to it: there's all those sheep and just one dog. Instead of the sheep complaining about the dog (who the sheep believe has power over them), they could very easily take control into their own hands, solve their own problems, and independently create solutions. They hold a huge advantage—their numbers. If every sheep were to take action, the dog would be powerless. On the same token, if the sheep didn’t believe the dog had power over them, the dog wouldn’t! The dog, who looks quite pleased, seems to be thinking: "All of these silly sheep think I'm their leader—what a silly thing to think! Oh well. Might as well take advantage of the situation."

We are that massive herd of sheep and the dog is that tiny percentage of folks who hold political power. And to believe that the only way we can create any sort of significant change is to convince politicians to follow our views or wait for them to catch on and take action is not only hypocritical, but is foolish, ignorant, and counterproductive. To sit back and let the politicians do everything is ludicrous. Almost no one is happy with the way the government is handling things—how hard is it to stand up against the things we disagree with, propose changes, and demand that they be met?

Every one of us is a consumer and, believe it or not, that fact gives us immense political power. To illustrate this point, here’s an example:

If 1 out of every 4 Americans (about 76 million people and just over 1% of the world's population) refused to drive a car or use any sort of oil-consuming transportation in order to boycott oil consumption and cut back on pollution, the impact would be colossal. Oil companies would experience a significant dent in their profits, which would affect oil distributors, oil refiners, and the countries where oil is being extracted. Car companies would experience a significant drop in sales and would most likely experience a surplus in stock (especially if the car boycott occurred suddenly and without warning) that could hurt them financially. In order to continue bringing in their current revenue, they would have to increase car prices, which could cause even more Americans to jump on the boycotting bandwagon.

Without transportation, boycotters would have to quit their jobs and seek work within walking or biking distance of their homes, would have to shop at local stores and markets, benefiting local farmers, and would have to cut back on their consumption (if they can't drive all the way to the nearest mall, how are they going to buy?). Thousands and thousands of companies and businesses would experience a shortage of labor (unless they were located within walking distance of a town), causing them financial hardship (if not bankruptcy and shutdown) and prices of their goods and services to increase. Car accidents would decrease significantly, affecting health providers and insurance companies—25% of the country would be practically immune to any sort of car or vehicle related injury, though bike related injuries would increase.

Bike companies would make out like bandits, bike prices would drop drastically, and new legislation would have to be put in place in order to meet the needs of millions of bikers hitting the roads. It would be the bike company CEOs that would be the multibillionaires now and there would be a sudden, increased need for the resources required to make bikes. With all that walking and biking, 25% of the country would weigh less and would be much healthier, also affecting health providers and insurance companies. And the list goes on and on. All that because of just 1 out of every 4 Americans boycotting fueled transportation.

In the above example, every single change occurred because of the actions of regular, everyday people (except the bike legislation, but ultimately, that was a response to the boycott, as well). No politician or corporation had any say in the matter and couldn't do anything to change the decisions of those 76 million American consumers. It's not like they were waging guerilla warfare in Washington D.C. They simply made a single decision to boycott fueled transportation, a one-time action that, in this example, was so powerful because so many people participated.

And while this is an entirely unrealistic example (I highly doubt 25% of the American population would give up the luxury of owning a car), I hope it illustrates: (1) the point that tiny actions on a huge scale make a colossal impact and (2) that the power lies ultimately in the hands of you and me, the consumers, the voters, the citizens—people in political office only have as much power as we give them.


What you can do: Try using your car less and spread the word. Not only will it save you hugely on gas money, but it will also increase your health, which will increase your quality of life. Consider finding a job in a nice little small town, and move to a home close to that new job. Then walk to work every day. And if you already live in a nice little small town, consider quitting your far away job and finding work within walking distance. While the car boycott idea was just an example, it doesn’t hurt to try it out, or anything else you would like to do to take action. Be a leader, encourage others to follow, and even you can start a revolution.

p.s. I tried to condense this post so it wouldn't be so long, but I'm really passionate about this topic. Please leave comments--I want to know what you think!