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Paul Loeb Comes to Lehigh:
by: Peter Christine
Paul Loeb, a writer and social activist from Washington state came to Lehigh University to lead discussions about the importance of social action. Tuesday evening he gave a public talk at Packer Auditorium. The talk was reasonably well attended, with the seating about half full.
His speech focused on the community of activism. He began by talking about the CNN version of the Civil Rights movement. It goes like this: Rosa Parks began the Civil Rights movement when she refused to give up her seat on the bus. While this action was clearly a critical point for the Civil Rights movement, it is hardly reasonable to suggest that Rosa Parks all of a sudden got it into her head to start a social movement by sitting down on a bus. The action was completed after years of training and planning. Rosa Parks had been involved with the NAACP for 12 years before she took her famous stand (or sit). Loeb argued that just as Rosa Parks changed history, whoever it was that got her involved with the NAACP changed history as well. It just so happens that we know who got Rosa Parks involved. It was her husband, Raymond Parks. But who brought him into the movement? Whenever we organize for change, whether it be for getting recycling bins in a high school, or overthrowing a dictatorship, we not only try to achieve an immediate goal, we “bring people into a stream of activists.” Once they enter the stream, they might be carried anyplace, they could even be the next Nobel Peace Prize winners.
Paul Loeb encouraged the audience to get involved in electoral politics. He argued the 2008 presidential campaign has “degraded into a competition of images,” and that it is our duty to try to bring the focus back to the real issues. The upcoming election will be a referendum on the last 8 years. It was interesting that Loeb had little patience for third parties. While he was very careful to permit any point of view, conservative or liberal, he said that elections are no time to be a purist. He advised we choose the electable candidates who share the most of our views, then push them as much as possible until the next election.
Loeb closed by noting the strain of political action. Organizing can be physically and emotionally draining. It is important to take time to do the things you enjoy. After all, what’s the point of making the world a better place, if you can’t enjoy it. We must “savor the gifts of being on this earth.”
bravenet.com