Since one of my recent posts alluded to the idea of a steemit protest, I thought it'd be a good time to write about a topic which I've wanted to write about forever

Cause Halloween is the closest thing pexels has to protest, image link

Social movements as a means of community building

The Occupy movement may have been the biggest worldwide movements in modern history. It had a huge amount of support from a diversity of backgrounds and political beliefs. There were protests that last months in hundreds of cities across the world. People spent months in the street and developed new cultural ecosystems within the camps. They weren't just shouting from morning to night. They were discussing issues, managing their resources together through consensus and limited power structure, forming deep connections, planning and dealing with problems as they showed up and having a good time sharing art and music and a variety of other passions. It was a chance for people to exercise their skills in a totally different situation from the 9-5, outside of the rat race. It was a grand experiment that touched millions of people.

Many criticized the movement for it's lack of a clear direction, lack of concrete demands, and for being a hodgepodge mess without a clear unifying vision. What I have to say to anyone with these criticisms is:

"So What?"

Does a movement need clear goals to accomplish something worthwhile? If politicians and businesses have not been able to solve many serious problems, who could expect a random group of people to have the answers. Going to the street was merely a first step, a chance to start a discussion which, at the time, was not happening. Is there a problem with experimenting and allowing people to gather in the streets peacefully (and it was peaceful) to see what happens?

Many people believe that the movement accomplished nothing but that is an extremely short sighted perspective!

Just because no policy changes as a direct result of a movement DOES NOT mean it didn't accomplish anything. The entire conversation changed as a result of the movement. A generation of people who had felt pressured to keep their opinions inside was liberated and allowed to speak their mind. The conversation reached around the world, to all corners of society and all the way to some countries election process.

Do you think Bernie Sanders would have made so much noise if it hadn't been for the Occupy movement?

Of course not! He wouldn't have even had an inkling that it was worth trying to run for president and if he had, he would have been shot down right away. Now you may say that Bernie also accomplished nothing because he did not become president. But have the seeds not been planted for more change to occur within the system and outside of it? Look carefully and you will find that the course of events has been effected by his running. You may not agree with Bernie's policies, or you may think that it's him to blame for having this guy in office now. Things are not always so simple though.

What about cryptocurrency?

Would we feel so optimistic and eager about the idea of decentralization being a possibility if we did not have memories fresh in our minds of people trying something different? Would so many of us even dare to test the waters? Nothing exists in a bubble and if you can look at the larger context, it's easy to imagine how the Occupy movement may have indirectly contributed in the rise of crypto in a very significant way. If so, we may not have been here right now having these conversations if it weren’t for a so-called “failed movement”.

Aside from all the impact it has had there was a sense of community built at occupy that goes far beyond what most people see

There are many groups around the world who are doing wonderful things for their communities and solving real problems, these groups met and formed bonds of trust thanks to the movement and their opportunity to discuss these issues in public.

Stirring things up and breaking the norm allows people to think

One of the best things about peaceful social movements is that they are a break from the norm. When cars are forced to stop, when people camp out and make their voice heard every day, when the daily routine is interrupted, when plans need to be made about how to effectively manage so many people without reliance on the traditional societal structures, people are forced to re-imagine and re-evaluate their understandings and assumptions about how we interact. They are able to formulate new ideas, many of which could potentially push humanity forward or solve long term problems later on. Even if problems arise, if the sense of community is not destroyed, good results will always reach far beyond what we can easily identify.

Changing policy is not required for a movement to have a positive impact

Think about that. It doesn't only apply to a movement but also to your own personal actions. You may think that your actions have not made a difference but you may have changed someones life through your kindness, and that person may go on to help 1000 others like themselves. Perhaps it wasn't the change you were planning but that isn't the point.
What we do reverberates far beyond what we can see. Fill your heart with love and do what you believe is right and things can only get better as a result, even when they take a detour, even when it's hard to spot the good that has been done.