Protesting

The long running saga of protest has introduced itself to most of the world. We all know the shtick by now. It’s the placards, chants, and messages that make the blood boil – of those taking part.

The rest of us are supposed to take a side.

The eruption of anger over an issue that has little relating to us personally is something only the involved can feel. We are trying to make sense of the lack of decorum – the show of hands – and cannot feel the same sadness because it’s left to make sense in different ways.

It may be the videos that come out by social media. It could be the graphics on social media. It could be the first-hand accounts that make for long and detailed posts on social media. Nevertheless, unless it’s presented to us first, we are just feeding off second-hand propaganda for all we know.

The news with stats, faces, and places moves us all.

It isn’t difficult to feel grievance over children dying or parents struggling with grief. It’s easier however to write to an MP or to make our thoughts known in essays or longer prose. It’s better to wait and make it count rather than hope an afternoon out in London lasts longer than any other effort.

This is not the plan of those who organise protests. It’s also not the will of those who attend, because what they want is immediate change.

What we all want

What we all want to see is difference that doesn’t take an age to fulfil. We want to see our politicians make waves in issues that we feel powerless to change by ourselves.

The case of Gaza is a good one. It’s a separate territory, it takes hours to get there, and probably most of us cannot. It isn’t easy to live there and it’s extremely difficult to get to grips with its real news.

The fact is that conflicts erupt there more frequently than we can understand and so there is a lack of patience over what the problem might be. Is it because they are Muslim? Is it because they are poor? Is it because they look different to the rest of us?

It’s an issue that fits typically into our way of seeing things. We see injustice where there should be justice. We see suffering where there should be peace. We see illness where there should be wellbeing.

It’s a preoccupation of our time to make a complaint when standards are not met. This is the same in protest lore. If there’s a situation that isn’t resolved and it flares up again there needs to be further direct action. If there isn’t, the fear is perhaps it will descend into further pain.

Modes of change today

Today we have the same ways to address issues that plaque us as humans and have done so since the day our race emerged.

Yes, they change and evolve according to better ways of seeing things. Our leaders or representatives are supposed to listen more carefully now. They’re supposed to help us even if we can’t help ourselves at all. These are the ways we have now.

The truth is we are also a responsive society. We also believe that elections take place every so often but ears need to be open all the time. The fact of free speech is not expressed in a silent vote. It’s done every day and the more often we do it we believe the better we get.

It’s because democracy works. It’s because we are able to help each other if we are talking to each other.

The streams of protests that fill our streets every year now are indicative of a need to feel this way of politics again. It’s not sightly and sometimes it’s violent and looks like insane behaviour. The truth is people are driven to extremes because they feel it so deeply.

The reality is that we all need to calm down too. It’s better to see things as part of a larger picture rather than in pieces. It may be that Gaza can be ‘freed’ but not this time. It may be more needs to be done but a protest to end a conflict is not the way.

The intelligent have more time to get their thoughts down. They also have a greater opportunity to get their messages out there. The protests of today may become the narrative of the infancy of a more holistic and fulfilling way of doing politics in future.

We don’t need to fear it but embrace democracy once again.