When we look at the world we often see what we expect to see\u200a\u2014\u200awhat we are used to seeing. This makes sense. After accumulating a significant amount of knowledge and a number of experiences, we often feel that we understand what\u2019s going on around us\u200a\u2014\u200awhether we like what we see or not. Because the conclusions we\u2019ve reached have been the product of years of thinking, searching and living, it might seem like a lot of extra work to second guess what appears to be fundamentally true. But when we admit to ourselves that those conclusions have not really led us any closer to a truth that will correct the deep-seated problems that plague our lives and our society, it becomes apparent that we must question what we\u2019ve assumed to be so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once we reach this realization we must begin re-thinking, re-searching and re-living. It\u2019s not that we need to throw everything away that we\u2019ve come to feel is correct, but we must at least review it and perhaps see it from a different perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often a great deal of the problem is that certain assumptions may be based on conclusions others have reached\u200a\u2014\u200atruths that have been handed to us and that we feel we must embrace to be accepted by others or to merely survive. These kinds of ideas are often the most difficult to dismiss, even if we don\u2019t necessarily agree with them. If enough people embrace a particular belief it essentially becomes codified, and our unwillingness to go along with it puts us at odds with the society and culture in which we find ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simply going along with the program, as it were, may be the most expedient approach, but it may also be the least satisfying\u200a\u2014\u200aand even quite often problematic. When we see a different way of doing things\u200a\u2014\u200aa way that appears to be better and improves our lives as well as the lives of others\u200a\u2014\u200awe have an obligation to bring this discovery to light. It doesn\u2019t mean that it will be embraced\u200a\u2014\u200aoften such new ideas take time before they are seen as valid since people are often suspicious of things with which they are unfamiliar. But if we can find a way to present a unique concept that makes it understandable and demonstrates its practicality and its beneficial effects, we have a better chance of gaining wider acceptance of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real trick to convincing others of the value of an alternative approach and of its potential effectiveness involves making more people aware of it and putting it into practice\u200a\u2014\u200aproving that it can actually work. If we want to have our vision for a better world become a reality we have to spread the word\u200a\u2014\u200awe have to show others that it can be a path toward bringing about real and lasting change that can ultimately benefit everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people feel that the most effective means of improving society is through the political process, by electing those who will change the laws and enforce a more progressive code by which we must live. Under certain circumstances laws may appear to be necessary, but legislating change is not the only course of action. There are lots of things we can do that don\u2019t directly involve the government or hinge on which individual or party is in office. There are tools at our disposal that we can use, but we have to appreciate this fact and understand how to use them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case of the localism movement, for instance, it is a question of changing buying patterns\u200a\u2014\u200aof convincing people that buying local products such as produce or patronizing local businesses helps to keep local economies healthier without relying on transnational corporations, which generally do not recirculate money to as large an extent in those areas where they do business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also need to look at restructuring the workplace, giving workers control of what and how they produce or provide what they do. A democratically run business where profits are shared can give people a greater stake in their jobs and help raise the standard of living for many who otherwise labor in low-paying positions. That greater sense of responsibility and engagement can translate into a deeper sense of civic involvement, overcoming the apathy that results from what often amounts to exploitation of the workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are other steps that can be taken. There are ways that people can learn about how their neighborhoods and cities function and how to determine spending priorities. By participating in the budget process, average citizens can take charge of their tax dollars and bypass what is often a questionable political process that can be easily corrupted when no one is paying attention. There are approaches to building community through co-housing and land trusts. And as people learn to interact more cooperatively, they can begin to appreciate how that cooperation can give them leverage when dealing with concentrations of corporate or political power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even for those who believe the most effective method for changing society is through the political process, these alternative tools can be used to build an electoral base\u200a\u2014\u200aalthough they may soon realize that electoral success is secondary to the goal of creating vibrant, interactive communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, the key to a better life for all is to be found in our ability to come together, talk together, work together and determine together how we should live. We cannot leave this up to an elite class of experts, elected or not. The apathy that often accompanies this tendency to hand over our rights to determining the course of our lives creates the kind of deep class divisions and the unhealthy disparity of wealth and poverty that has such a corrosive effect on society and generates so much misery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making these alternatives work depends on our expanding the awareness of them\u200a\u2014\u200aof informing more people and helping them understand the potential of these tools. We need these ideas to \u201cgo viral\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200ato spread through our personal contacts, since it\u2019s clear that the corporate, mainstream media and the entrenched political parties will not favor a more horizontal approach to communicating and organizing, mainly because those in control of these institutions are not used to thinking in these terms. The top-down structures that focus on the upper echelons of power will only continue the same narrative with which they are familiar and that allows them to hold the power they have held for so long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so it is up to those of us who see promise in these alternatives to reach out to those we know and with whom we have an opportunity to communicate, either in real life or through social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s really up to us. This is the heart and soul of real, meaningful, effective change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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