Activists in Our Society

 

Student protesters in the 80s (Photo credit: Pinterest)

An activist is someone who actively seeks to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism involves direct action, advocacy, or public campaigns aimed at addressing injustices, inequalities, or causes that the activist believes require reform. While the term "activist" may often evoke images of protests, rallies, or high-profile campaigns, activism can take many forms, from grassroots efforts to policy advocacy, and encompasses a wide range of issues and methods.

An activist is sometimes maligned, misjudged and misunderstood, but he is a complex individual who has transformed and transcended beyond expectations – succeeding with his goals.   

Rolando de la Cruz, a former SAMASA student leader and an outstanding UP Alumnus pointed out in an article: “There were those who left the country for various reasons, and yet many of them whom I know continue to contribute to the welfare of this nation in diverse ways. Those who remained in mainstream Philippine society eventually entered politics or became servants of the people in government in other capacities. Others went to the private sector, trying to effect changes in their fields of interests and endeavors – lawyers, educators, artists, writers, filmmakers, corporate people, NGO workers, IT professionals, founders of companies, creators of ideas, and what have you!” (Ref: News & Blog - Samasa Alumni)

Student protesters in the 80s (Photo credit: Pinterest)

The Core of Activism

At its core, activism is driven by a commitment to create positive change. Activists typically:

• Identify a problem or injustice.
• Raise awareness and educate others about the issue.
• Take actions aimed at solving or mitigating the problem.

Activism is often born out of passion, a sense of duty, or personal experiences that highlight societal problems. Activists are motivated by a desire to rectify perceived wrongs or improve conditions for others. This commitment can come from deep ideological or moral beliefs, empathy, or a personal connection to the cause.

The Role of Activists in Society

Activists play an essential role in shaping societal norms, policies, and laws. They often act as catalysts for change, bringing attention to marginalized voices, forgotten issues, and systemic problems. By questioning the status quo and demanding better, they push society to evolve.

Activists are also educators and organizers. They use their platforms to inform the public, challenge misconceptions, and build communities around shared causes. Through their advocacy, they make it easier for others to get involved, providing pathways for people to contribute to the movements they care about.

Atty. Raffy Aquino, a former SAMASA student leader, once spoke in a forum organized by UP SAMASA during its 40^th anniversary last year, and he enumerated the five (5) important implications of activism. These are the qualities that SAMASA activists strive to uphold:

·        FIRST: The activist is not an occasional adventurer. His activism is habitual, sustained, disciplined, and purposeful. He keeps at it despite reversals and defeats, and he does not rest upon victories but constantly learns from them and builds upon them. The activist is not the socialite or the politician who attend rallies only to be televised, or to secure for themselves some short-term political advantage. The activist is in it for the long haul.

·        SECOND: The activist is outward looking. He looks to his neighbors, to his community, to his people and the society they live in. He realizes that the affirmation of his own humanity ultimately depends on his taking part in building a society that would allow everyone else the same affirmation. The person who is consumed by angst over his floundering career or his failed marriage will have no time to look outward, will have no energy to help uplift the human condition, and will probably never become an activist; and society will probably never have any use for him either.

·        THIRD: The activist acts. He does not simply wring his hands in anguish over corruption in government and rising unemployment, and he does not simply offer novenas for the Supreme Court to strike down the Anti-Cybercrime Law. He writes, he teaches and lectures, he emails, tweets, and shares in FB, he attends meetings, joins organizations and forms organizations, and in general, actually intervenes in social reality. And because such social action is most potent if undertaken by many people moving in the same direction at the same time, the true activist is almost always an organized activist.

·        FOURTH: The activist is instinctively normative, forward-looking, modernist, and progressive, dedicated to moving things in society from what they are to what they ought to be. A person who is committed to the preservation of existing social structures, no matter how moribund, is a reactionary, and a reactionary can never be a true activist.

·        FIFTH: In seeking to change society, the true activist has no choice but to try to understand the nature of his society, its afflictions, the roots of these afflictions that often lie deep in history, the strengths and weaknesses of his people and their culture, and the experiences of other societies, other cultures, other histories. Then he will have to define what human society should be in the future, figure out what he wants for his people generations from now. And finally, he will have to clarify his activism’s line of march and define his route from what is to what may be.

This means the true activist can also be “an observer and a philosopher, a theorist and a thinker”. Aquino said that if an activist strives to attain these “by reading, listening, studying, and learning”.

He added: “To be sure, the activist should never lose the capacity to be outraged by what is outrageous, but as important as the fires of emotion is the certitude that one is on the right side of history – and this certitude is attainable only through intellectual struggle. Passionate buffoons will never make good activists”.

Conclusion

Thus, an activist is someone who works tirelessly to make the world better. Whether through protests, policy changes, or educational campaigns, activists are at the forefront of societal change. While their methods may vary, their dedication to justice and progress remains a constant force shaping the world around us.

Ref: News & Blog - Samasa Alumni