Focus on Volunteerism;
Silence costlier than speaking out;
Loeb examines activism in 'Soul of a Citizen'
By Derrick Henry
June 12, 1999
Paul Rogat Loeb thinks social activism offers a key to individual
self- worth and our collective future. Loeb, an associated scholar at
Seattle's Center for Ethical Leadership and author of numerous books and
articles on social involvement, details his views in the just-published
"Soul of a Citizen: Living With Conviction in a Cynical Time"
(St. Martin's Griffin, $ 15.95. The book examines the psychology and
spirituality of community involvement, recounting numerous true stories
of how ordinary citizens produced significant social change. "Silence
is more costly than speaking out," writes Loeb, "because it
requires the ultimate sacrifice --- the erosion of the spirit."
During a recent phone interview, Loeb, 46, discussed some of the
central themes raised in "Soul of a Citizen."
Q: What motivated you to write this book?
A: It came . . . from speaking around the country, addressing
questions people are hungry to have answered. We don't want to live
cynical lives; we want our choices and decisions to matter. Yet we are
told by society that we don't have a voice.
Q: Why should people get involved?
A: Very ordinary people can make a difference in their community.
There is a strength that comes from speaking what you believe instead of
bottling it up inside and feeling powerless.
Q: Yet you say there has been a significant drop in civic involvement
in recent decades. Why?
A: People are working longer hours, commuting more. There's a
frustration that everything is so corrupt there's nothing we can do. Or
that people who achieve change are impossibly perfect or heroic or
knowledgeable and we can't be like them. That's not true. We aren't
being told the stories that might most inspire us, hearing of courageous
things people have done and are doing today. In my book I try to tell
those inspirational stories.
Q: You talk about the importance of just listening, of trying to
understand the positions of those with whom we disagree.
A: It's terribly important. At the minimum it may help you think
through your own arguments more clearly. You may find a common ground,
or even change your position. I tell the story of a Ku Klux Klansman and
a (black) activist thrown together on the same committee. The Klansman
became a union supervisor. When the activist was asked why he would let
a former Klansman serve in that position, the activist said: "He
changed. I knew what he had been, but he is not there anymore."
Q: Do churches and synagogues have a responsibility to serve the less
fortunate in their communities?
A: If you take seriously any religious tradition, they all talk about
being common children of God, of the responsibility we have to one
another. I don't see how they can duck it. Religious faith can
strengthen us in taking on these challenges.
Q: What do you say to those people engaged in finding their inner path
through self-help books and seminars and gurus but who do nothing to
better their communities?
A: There's nothing wrong with focusing on internal growth, but when
you turn away from the serious problems on the earth, I believe it eats
away at your soul. You are limiting yourself by hunkering down in a
burrow, a little creature living in a tiny world when there is a rich,
complicated world outside.
Q: Talk about the dark side of social involvement --- the pain, the
burnout, the risk.
A: I don't want to paint pictures of Candyland. Think of Martin Luther
King Jr. and how he was blasted by the media for speaking out about the
Vietnam War. Trying to change society calls for radical patience. It can
be a hard process, and you can take some heat. But if we feel something
is really worthwhile, we can have the faith to keep on, even if we don't
see the results. Susan B. Anthony worked all her life for women's
suffrage, but it wasn't until 14 years after her death that women won
the right to vote. Sonya Vetra Tinsley, a wonderful singer/activist in
Atlanta who has brought together different communities racially, says
she wants to be on the side of faith because if you are on the side of
cynicism, who wants to win that argument anyway. At heart, people get
involved because they want to be able to look into the mirror and see
someone who did what they could.
MORE READING
Recent books on volunteering and social activism:
Stone Soup for the World: Life-Changing Stories of Kindness &
Courageous Acts of Service
Edited by Marianne Larned. Conari Press, 1998. $ 15.95
Modeled on the format popularized by the best-selling "Chicken
Soup for the Soul" books, this volume contains 100 inspiring
stories of how ordinary individuals made an extraordinary impact.
There's also a useful resource guide.
Volunteering: 101 Ways You Can Improve the World and Your Life
By Douglas M. Lawson. Alti, 1998. $ 7.95
Lawson answers those questions about volunteering you always wanted to
ask or never even considered, like: How can volunteerism heal my pain,
enhance my dating life, make me feel young again or create meaning in my
life? Twenty percent of the publisher's receipts will be donated to
charity.
The Halo Effect: How Volunteering Can Lead to a More Fulfilling
Life --- and a Better Career
By John Raynolds. Golden Books, 1998. $
21.95
One of the greatest beneficiaries of volunteerism is often the
volunteer. Raynolds convincingly documents why. He also details the
proper way to get started.
The Healing of America
By Marianne Williamson. Simon & Schuster, 1997. $ 24
A powerful exploration of the meaning of democracy and the principles
articulated in the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence and
Bill of Rights from the perspective of citizen involvement. Williamson
focuses on the moral and spiritual obligations compelling political
activism.
The Call of Service: A Witness to Idealism
By Robert Coles. Houghton Mifflin, 1994. $ 12
A Pulitzer Prize-winning author examines the nature of idealism and
offers his reflections on the rewards and pitfalls of social activism.
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