Growing a Transformative Movement: Uniting for a Better Future
By Wade Lee Hudson
Countless compassionate individuals relieve suffering and promote justice, but these efforts are fragmented and internal conflicts undermine them.
What if we unite, call for holistic and systemic transformation, unlearn divisive social conditioning, build caring communities, and focus on winnable policy changes? A powerful independent, global movement could emerge. Even if the Republicans implode and Democrats dominate Washington, we’ll still need sustained, effective pressure from below to make significant progress.
Activists could come together briefly to support each other and accomplish more together than they can alone — and then return to their regular activities, empowered by a sense of purpose and solidarity.
The following scenario is a thought experiment. We’ll never achieve it completely. It’s not a blueprint, but if we move in this direction as much as we can, we’ll be better for it.
Imagine two million Americans urging their Congresspeople to support a crucial bill that has strong public backing but is stuck in Congress. These campaigners use various methods, such as letters, emails, phone calls, office visits, and statements at public forums.
Many participate in small Action Teams to promote the campaign. The national committee helps these members contact voters in districts with persuadable representatives, urging them to support the bill.
If a Congressperson already co-sponsors the bill, team members meet with their staff to explore how the representative can do more, such as hosting fundraisers or convening public forums.
Teams dedicate themselves to overcoming habits that weaken their effectiveness. They regularly confidentially report on their self-improvement efforts, fostering intimacy and trust among members. They address ego-driven power struggles, judgmental attitudes, and other destructive habits that hinder progress. They create a solid and caring community by supporting each other's growth.
This transformative movement challenges our society's hyper-competitive and self-centered tendencies. Members help each other unlearn oppressive social conditioning, enriching a cultural revolution that promotes justice, compassion, peer-to-peer support, and cooperation.
Additionally, teams organize social events open to the public, strengthening connections, building team spirit, and attracting new members. Representatives from different teams occasionally meet to share experiences and explore new methods to enhance their efforts.
If the initial lobbying efforts fail to pass the bill, the national coordinating committee calls on local teams to increase pressure. District Teams coordinate activities in specific Congressional districts and seek endorsements from local organizations. Joining with other organizations, they engage in public rallies, picket lines, and nonviolent sit-ins at officials' offices, escalating their actions as necessary.
If all else fails, if feasible, the campaign calls for a nationwide work stoppage and steadily escalates these actions until the bill is passed or deemed unattainable.
Once the issue resolves, the organization shifts its focus to another top-priority, winnable issue, garnering support from activists who work on different causes.
This transformative movement's strength lies in its autonomous small teams, guided by shared principles and methods. The national office provides resources, including occasional training and an online manual for conducting team meetings and operations. However, most teams work self-sufficiently with minimal training as long as their work aligns with national policies.
The core commitment of this movement is to transform society into a just and compassionate community that serves all humanity, the environment, and life itself. It taps the compassion deeply rooted in human nature, challenges oppressive hierarchical social structures, and fosters compassion and cooperation.
Our society weaves together a self-perpetuating social system driven by the pursuit of wealth, power, and status. This movement aims to reform this dominant System, build democratic hierarchies, cultivate self-governing communities, and enable ourselves and our institutions to fulfill our highest ideals.
To achieve this vision, movement members challenge the System wherever they encounter it — in institutions, cultures, and within themselves. They advocate for a world where everyone can access necessities, reject oppressive hierarchies, and replace blind submission with mutual empowerment.
This transformative movement strives to create lasting change by addressing interconnected issues, embracing unity, and cultivating improvements in every arena that synergistically reinforce each other. By becoming the change they seek, activists work towards a better future together, transforming society into one of compassion, justice, and cooperation.
If we did fulfill this dream, would we have a better world? If you affirm this vision, why not pursue it, even though what you achieve will always be less than perfect?
Hopefully, a strong, diverse team will soon organize and lead a transformative movement of the sort envisioned here, uniting people from all walks of life to create a more compassionate world for all.