While in the 60’s and 70’s, protests were very common, for a wide range of social issues, I don’t remember a whole lot of protests happening in the 80’s and 90’s. In the 60’s and 70’s, the Vietnam War and racial inequality were perhaps two of the biggest causes that people marched and organized for, but did any of it really make a difference? Do you think the Viet Nam war was even shortened by one day due to protests? Did it stop the draft from happening? Did protests really help to foster racial equality or is it possible that they actually just made racial tensions worse?
One thing I’ve been struck by recently is that Jesus, while often considered a “revolutionary”, even in his day, never once led, organized, or advocated for a protest or revolt. It’s important to understand that in his time, Israel was under Roman occupation. For context, think of France or Poland under German occupation during World War II. Or, imagine all police departments in the U.S. being abolished and replaced with ICE agents.
It is fair to say his fellow Jews were not happy with their current situation, and just like people of today, they wanted Jesus to “use his platform” to do something about it. They wanted action, but instead, Jesus just traveled around the area speaking, teaching, healing people and breaking bread with people from all walks of life. While today’s liberal or progressive Christians love to point out how Jesus hung out and broke bread with prostitutes and “sinners,” what they don’t want to acknowledge is that he also broke bread with the wealthy, the powerful, and the elite.
It’s difficult for people to understand today just how controversial Jesus actually was, but that’s also because we love to pick and choose the storylines or the “version” of Jesus that is most in keeping with our own personal values and ideals. When he was brought before the Romans, however, Pontius Pilate found no fault with him. Which is to say, the government had no beef with him.
Why?
Because he never once participated in, organized or advocated for a single protest, revolution or a revolt.
So is it possible that all of our many protests are not, in fact, the best way to bring about change? Do you think there is any possibility that they really just make us feel like we are doing something, all while accomplishing exactly nothing?
A protest is essentially saying you don’t like the way things are, but also that you want someone else to do something about it.
Don’t like global warming? Fair enough. But one of the leading causes of global warming is the burning of fossil fuels. So you may hate global warming enough to protest it, but you do you hate it enough to give up your air conditioning, your heating, your car and your smart phone? Probably not. So, you don’t really hate it enough to personally do something about it, other than march and protest. You want someone else to fix a problem or create change, without having to make any personal sacrifices.
Another problem with protesting is that it requires exactly zero understanding of the full picture of why things are the way they are or why what is happening is happening. The people who do understand those things are often actually trying to change them, but most of the problems we protest are incredibly complicated. Some go back dozens of years, if not decades, and will sometimes take at least that long, if not longer, to change. Long before any solution can be arrived at or agreed upon, however, protesters are long gone and likely five to six protests down the road. Because while they may claim to want change, what they most often want is quick, easy solutions, and they simply bounce right on to the next problem when they don’t get them.
You can’t change the world, you can only change yourself; but in changing yourself, you change the world.
Change can happen, but I don’t believe it’s ever going to come through organizing or protesting. It’s going to come through doing the hard work of reaching out to others in your community, including people you may have fundamental disagreements with, to address issues happening right in your own front yard.
** For those following along on my Tiny experiment, this was about 735 words. Still well above my 500-word goal, but definitely progress!