The Big One. The protest environmental activists have been waiting for, on the 21st to the 24th of April Extinction Rebellion and its supporters marched to parliament.
Chanting ensued, and like many protests before it, the government attempted to turn a blind eye. The sad truth is many of those sitting in parliament care little for the woes of any of us little folk. They would much rather put their fingers in their ears, sing lalala and hope we all just go away.
Does this mean we shouldn’t try?
Of course not!
Whether you were able to make it or not to the big one, no matter, because activism doesn’t just happen at protests, like other things, activism starts at home. So even from your sofa you can make your voice heard. It can be through actions, words or a well-thought-out sign. No matter how small or how large when we stand united we get things done.
Many of the pessimists out there will tell you that we ‘the little guys’ can’t do a whole hell of a lot. That it’s those big companies, the fat cats at the top, The ones with the real power. While that may be true, we are the many. In the iconic words of Jack Sheppard “if we can’t live together, we are gonna die alone”. We have more power than the 1% wants us to believe. Alone we may just be a drop of water, but together we can be an ocean.
Activism can happen in any way, you can sign a petition, make art, or incorporate better values into your work. It can happen with compost in your garden or helping someone in need, it can be discussions with your friends. You don’t have to be radical, or go to every march, you don’t have to shout catchy chants.
Find activism that works for you big or small, at home or in your community because everything makes a difference. Just look at how far we have come, just a few years ago companies didn’t care about being sustainable. Now they are all trying to pretend to be environmental so much so ‘greenwashing’ is a word people use commonly in conversation. Being a vegan used to mean living off rice and beans, now almost every restaurant has at least one vegan option (and not just chips).
Already we see change, now we just have to push for real change. Not superficial acts or hollow promises but tangible differences because those big companies and the government won’t do anything unless we make them.
