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Power, Potential and Social change

An interesting or even scary concept about leadership is how easily it can take turns – whether positive turns or shocking, disturbing ones. To people in the position of followership (as everyone is at some point in their lives), hope is what we hang on to as we are under leadership. The truth is that even when you are an avid supporter of someone and had a hand in getting that person into power, after he or she assumes leadership, hope is what you hold on to. This is because leadership can take turns. Someone who made impressive promises and seemed very compatible for a job, may turn out to be a poor performer. Or there may be systematic barriers that will slow the person down Or hopefully, the person could be the dynamo that you expected.

There are different angles that one may choose to analyze leadership from. However, leadership should be seen as a mandate to deliver, to make things better than before, to influence people positively, to produce solutions and to create future leaders. Leaders hold influence and as such, should be careful that their influence is being directed towards a greater good.

This week, the Pope’s visit to the United States was highly publicized. Social media was abuzz – news alert after news alert kept coming in. It was hardly impossible for me to not get caught up in the frenzy. I skimmed through the excerpts of the Pope’s speech to the US Congress and I was impressed. I could imagine the thousands or millions of Catholics in America and around the world who would have watched the Pope’s speech or read it with way more enthusiasm than I – and were being positively influenced. I considered Catholics lucky to have a leader that is seemingly open-minded and an advocate for the fair treatment of the marginalized and our environment. The events surrounding the Pope’s visit reinforced within me, the importance of using the fortune of influence for good.

In a world shaken by injustice, war and pain, we need leaders who are dedicated to using their role to lead people in the direction of unity, peace, success and care. We need leaders who can see above the powers they possess – to the potential that each individual possesses – and in this way, understands that people can be great contributors and changemakers when they are rightfully empowered. Picture the professor-student relationship: The professor has the leadership mandate in the classroom and imparts knowledge to people who have a potential to apply that knowledge in the near future, in service to others.

So, here’s to hoping for a world with leaders that are humbled to be in a position to guide and work with those they lead towards the path of greatness and social change.

Love & Peace,

Chiamaka

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Converging for social change: Is everyone following?

The world is drastically changing and societies are converging. People are learning more about different societies, a lot of ignorance is fading away, people are getting more informed – and this is good for social change.

The modern convergence of societies which boosts social change is operating rapidly and is not only as a result of the media but also because of social actors – community activists, politicians, entrepreneurs and other contributing members of the public – who are willing to lend their voices on platforms that will reach across societies. In recent years, you and I have seen a world where you do not have to be from a particular nation before you can speak up on the issues being faced by the locals of that nation. In this day and age, Canadians can speak up for any suffering Jamaicans, the Polish can speak up for any suffering Canadians – these are just examples. Again, the world is converging and this is good for social change. The question is: How can people make the best out of this benefit?

A major way is by staying informed. People need to read newspapers, watch the news and constantly engage with others. Sometimes, wish yourself strength and look through the words under a bitter caption. If you do not read, if you do not watch, if you do not listen – it is almost impossible to make social change. Those activities take you outside of your own reasoning and you can grasp the reality of a people and what the understanding of others about that situation is. This is dialoguing. When you turn on the news, you are dialoguing. Same thing goes for when you are speaking with a group of social actors who have organized for action or change.

When you dialogue, you are able to understand issues better and most importantly, you realize why there is much ado about a particular issue. Dialoguing helps to cast away – personal stereotypical beliefs, lack of interest and channel vulnerability in the right direction.

You may sometimes fail to see the issue in an issue because of a stereotype that you do not acknowledge. For instance, when a Black person gets wrongfully shot in America, there are those who sympathize and there are those who try to find reason to castigate the deceased. Reason that is backed up with stereotypes, while such persons fail to question why an unarmed person will be shot as though he/she were armed. Everyone has a stereotype but it does not have to be permanent. When you dialogue including having constructive arguments with people, your stereotypes begin to come clear and only when you have acknowledged them can you then work towards change.

To alleviate social problems, the attention of many needs to be garnered and this is why the media (when they do not misinform), social media, organizations for social change are appreciated and continuously needed. They raise awareness on issues, frame and deliver information about these issues in a way that spurs interest. Allow yourself to give in. Allow yourself to care, allow your conscience to stay activated.

It is human nature to be vulnerable and this can be a virtue when it awakens compassion in people. Social issues test vulnerability and you may just want to change the channel or throw away that newspaper. However, you must first feel before you can take strides.

Stay informed and do not stop having an open-minded approach towards caring for the issues of people and societies.

Love,

Chiamaka

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“How Can I Respond?”

Personally, there are certain things that are going on in different parts of the world that make me hopeless for change sometimes, while there is the yearning within me that change should occur. When people complain about vices, they do so because they want a positive reformation. In your anger and sometimes, confusion, find strength to ask yourself – “How can I respond?”

You must not be a politician or a popular entrepreneur to be able to influence change. Every human being possesses powers to amend poor systems for the better. Each person needs to discover his/her own powers. The contributors to the Facebook group Am I Next? (raises awareness on the numerous cases of Aboriginal women getting murdered and going missing in Canada, and calls on the federal government to act), must have come to a realization that power lies within them and that with collective action, a change may come. Protesters in Ferguson have shown so much confidence in what they are defending and in the change that they seek. They have risen to their powers. Non-profit organizations, advocates on social media, everyone reading to get themselves more informed about social justice issues, people that are trying to change their own attitudes in order to influence positive change in their society – all these people have risen to their powers.

Change does start with you. If we do the right things in our personal lives, we are consciously or unconsciously influencing others positively. Your actions toward positive change can never be in vain. The Am I Next movement has so far generated the support of many Aboriginal women. The page has 3,464 members, at the moment. It definitely started with one member. Whoever decided to create the group inspired people to use their power of expression. I can imagine that the Facebook group has given Aboriginal women who have been pondering the question “How can I respond?”, an answer and some faith that change may come – that Aboriginal women will one day, hopefully soon, no longer be susceptible to murder.

The news of protests in Ferguson spread like wildfire on social media. When I see pictures from the protests, I see people who are tired of being executed because of the colour of their skin, because a dirty history of racism in the United States has made them susceptible to violence. I see the protesters in Ferguson as people who have risen to their powers. They are people who understand that black people in America, like people from any other race, deserve to be treated fairly.

I was yearning to realize the power that I could use to help raise awareness on social justice issues and in the process, bring about positive change as much as I could. Creative writing was the power that I tapped into and based on the feedback that I have been getting, my objectives for this blog are coming into fruition. My friends, tap into your own powers. We can truly make the world a better place, if we start with ourselves.

Love & Peace,

Chiamaka.

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If you like this post, CLICK HERE to subscribe!!:)

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