Forum Post: Films for Action

Posted 11 years ago on June 15, 2013, 9:01 p.m. EST by Kavatz (464) from Edmonton, AB
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

Films For Action is a community-powered alternative news center and learning library for people who want to change the world.

http://www.filmsforaction.org/

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[-] 2 points by BradB (2693) from Washington, DC 11 years ago

I like it ... and from the about page :

Just Do It! This is Powerful and Fast. We are all in dire straits and there’s no time left for failure or fiddling around.

It's time to begin treating your world like you treat your toilet. When your toilet is broken, you fix it. You don't pray to goddess or God to fix it. You don't go to a protest against the injustice of its brokenness. You don't write a letter to your congressperson asking for action. You don't give to a charity for sick toilets. You don't read or write articles or books arguing that the socialist way to fix toilets is better than the capitalist way. Your toilet is important, so you don't piddle around. You just fix it. If fixing the toilet requires more work than you can do alone, you get help fast. If the break is complicated, you problem-solve and plan practically and effectively.

Today and every day, 50,000 people die unnecessarily from poverty. We are quickly destroying our Earth's species, forests, oceans, rivers, atmosphere and life support systems. Economic inequality is worsening. Wars rage. But, judging by the evidence of human actions, it appears that our planet and the life on it are not as important to us as our toilets.

This is a call to action. Your friends are calling you. We need a mass movement. We must use our great numbers. The numbers are on our side, but we must connect and work together.

We'll stay focused on the root causes of problems: We will not bother putting Band-Aids on cancer. Lots of folks already do that. This is an overwhelmingly powerful mass movement. It's about actually effecting lasting change using whatever efficient means we all consent to. It’s a global evolution.

Critical mass will vary depending on the task at hand: Before acting on a specific project we'll build our numbers until we have enough people organized to complete that project quickly and efficiently. What’s the use of protesting the war every Wednesday afternoon? Let’s organize every afternoon until we can do one giant action and just end the war in a week.

Barn-building is an effective strategy: Quickly and in a practical sequence, we will combine our energies and act on as many groups’ projects as we can. We all help Mary build her barn, then your barn, then mine.

We'll plan: We'll be proactive, not reactive. We lose battles fought on ground our opponent chooses. By the way, our opponent is not individual people. People are all doing the best they can. The opponent is status quo systems of governance and commerce in our world in which might makes right, and in which the needs and potential contributions of the many, the weak and the voiceless are disregarded.

We'll have fun! Most people move in the direction where they see the possibility of getting joy, hope and pleasure. We'll foster a culture that meets everyone's need for a rich, enjoyable and wholesome life.

Everyone's invited and expected to share an equal role: We assume that everyone on Earth, in their heart of hearts, is in the circle and ready, or almost ready, to participate in the process of determining and taking next steps together.

We'll start where we are: We'll build on the relationships that already exist, connecting individuals and groups who already care. We'll not force anything on anyone. We'll not steal anyone's thunder, money or constituencies.

This is simple: We use commonsense ideas that spread virally. We avoid artifice, single-issue politics and identity politics. This is non-invasive, natural, organic, smart and elegant.