THOSE of you who have been involved in political activism for some time might find something familiar in what Søren Kierkegaard has to say about the way most people tend to view individuals who have dedicated themselves to a cause:
“Humanly speaking, there is something pleasant about having secure employment, comfort; there is something agreeable about working for a living. And then there are only two kinds of people who come together in the opposite kind of life. Wrecked selves, fallen persons – and those who seriously and truly live for an idea. Ah, and in the eyes of the world, it’s too easy to confuse the two.”
It is, indeed, and I am reminded of a time when I was in my early-30s and an elderly family member asked, in all seriousness: “When are you going to grow out of all this politics, Troy?” Activism, at least for those who are political beyond lecturing others at the local bar, can often be a thankless task and one of the conditions arising from one’s dedication to a particular struggle, is that as far as living a ‘normal’ existence is concerned the very degree of self-motivation that a cause demands from its adherents becomes almost dictatorial.
Although the best activists are those who have an honest and unswerving belief in what they are trying to achieve, adamant that the work he or she is carrying out is for the wider benefit of society as a whole, the very fact that so few are prepared to make sacrifices in the face of mounting apathy inevitably means that a small minority of individuals feel even more duty-bound to struggle for the realisation of their own world-view. Whilst many people use their spare time to indulge themselves in the escapist trappings of the capitalist pleasure dome, the committed activist has reached the point where a conscientious level of acquired knowledge demands regular involvement in the political trenches and this fact contains a degree of irony in the sense that having firm principles often takes the activist away from those he loves. In the words of G.K. Chesterton:
“I wish we did not have to fritter away on frivolous things like lectures and literature, the time we might have given to serious, solid and constructive work like cutting out cardboard figures and pasting coloured tinsel upon them.”
I am not suggesting that the more half-hearted or lazy politicos systematically deprive themselves of the more enjoyable things in life as a monk might scourge himself at the mere thought of a second slice of cake, only that being active in some way helps to make life slightly easier for those of us who have chosen to walk this path every day.
Do not think of this post as an exercise in narcissistic self-martyrdom – I’ve never been interested in personal glory – but as a fundamental call to action. If you care, then for goodness sake turn off Netflix and do something. Activism can take a multitude of different forms, yet those who know and fail to act, immersed in their own selfish pleasures, are the worst of all. Once you dip your toes into the vortex, there will be no looking back and you might even enjoy it.
Recommended New Year’s resolution: jump!
