The Small Acts of Kindness and Resistance

I want to reiterate what I wrote in 2008 in my The Small Things in Life post, about the small things in life being very important.  Small acts of kindness are the lifeblood of society and really make it work.  Without those acts of kindness, I think things would completely fall apart.  I want to see movements really start to use this hidden power, to do small acts of kindness as a central part of the process of changing society.

The Roman Empire was taken over by the Christians for many reasons, but I think the emphasis of early Christianity on being kind and giving to all was one of the main factors.  They helped plague victims when no one else would.  They lifted up the poor and helped those had lost their livelihoods.  Indeed, they became a poor people's movement and really disrupted the traditional society.  The only way the state could overcome them was to embrace them and set up a strict hierarchy (Constantine... sigh).  

I can only imagine how despairing the situation of early Christians must have seemed.  They were routinely tortured and crucified, killed because they persisted in living a different way.  The Roman Empire spanned the entire world they knew about, and there was no escaping it.  It must have seemed indomitable.  Yet they still continued doing those small acts of kindness and resistance.  The love and kindness they showed to the world was so contrary to the political status quo, and so surprisingly disruptive.  The Roman legal system was focused on property and not on people, prioritizing protection of property.  It was often up to the local authorities whether or not to persecute Christians, and they often did so in response to agitation from the public.  The public did not like the Christian emphasis on personal religion and their boycott of the pagan rituals that the public saw as essential to maintain the order of the universe.  As time went on though, Christians gained a reputation for being kind and giving.  I suspect killing Christians started to cause some cognitive dissonance among the public, should they kill people who act so kindly to strangers?  

Another fascinating aspect of this is how the official punishment was undermined as an effective tool.  Death was the usual punishment for righteous Christians, but more and more kept showing up to be killed.  The Roman magistrates even had to make a distinction between solicited martyrs and persecuted martyrs... they refused to kill solicited martyrs.  Can you imagine our court system refusing to punish people who willingly admit they broke the law?  That would be quite an interesting situation.  I think the number of people who were willing to step up and be killed shows both how powerful the message of kindness and love was and how deeply it was a resistance to the status quo.  Love and anger are the major emotional motivators, and early Christians figured out a way to combine love for each other with resistance to an unjust society.  It is an amazing feat.  They were so effective that they took over the empire.  All from the power of small individual acts and a willingness to suffer for their ideals.    

There is a great power in small acts.  With time they will win over a hostile public, and I can think of no other force that can change the inertia of a society so effectively.  

The Importance of Organization

I have talked some on organization alittle before on this blog. But I want to reiterate how important being organized is.
Maybe I should define what I mean by being organized. To be organized is to do the following:

1. Keeping your word. When you say you will do something, do it. This will give you a good reputation and inherently further your goals.
2. Hard work. Cliche as it is, hard work will get things done. And in the world of activism where it feels like not much gets done, this is a crucial attribute.
3. Coordination. Stay in contact with people and coordinate your efforts. Avoid duplicate tasks and work out a system by which everyone can be working toward a goal, and know what they need to do to make sure the whole group gets it done.
4. Community. Help, protect, care for, and love each other. No other facet of being organized will motivate people more than being a part of a strong caring community. It will also provide an unparalleled sense of security that is very hard to find in life.
5. Courage. Acknowledge and accept your fears, but do not let them interfere with your activities. Change takes the courage to fight (ever non-violently) despite the seemingly insurmountable odds. Of course, courage must be partnered with understanding and vision to prevent brave but pointless acts.
6. Understanding. To be organized, we need to understand the cause and effect relationships or our actions, and how our actions will impact different audiences. Understanding other people, and how they think is also crucial. Also, a general understanding of the world is important. Overall, the more knowledge and problem solving skills you can fit into your brain, the better. It is much better to build a sturdy net to catch fish than to try to catch them with your hands.
7. Mass numbers. To truly be organized, you need lots of people working toward a common goal. They do not necessarily have to all be coordinated, but it helps.
8. Planning. Use all of your understanding to plan a campaign to actually reach the goal. Make contingency plans and make sure everyone knows what the plan is.
9. Love. By far the most important. This one encompasses everything we seek to change in the world. It can remake our entire world if we have the courage to embrace it. Love everyone, and only denounce actions. Forgive and give whenever there is the chance.


If we look at corporations, who have a massive amount of power in our society, we see that they are very very well organized. However, they concentrate on only: understanding, hard work, coordination, planning and keeping your word. Because they have mastered these 5 skills, the relatively few people under any given corporations employ have managed to affect the other 6.5 billion people and often not in a good way. However, their lack of concern about mass numbers, community, courage, and love leaves them vulnerable. An organization that embraced the vision of organization I have laid out here would easily out-power them and be able to wield the fiery-sword of influence to truly slay the injustice that wreaks havoc in the hearts of so many.

There is a strength to this outline that may not be obvious at first. It will bring people in by the droves. Having an effective and loving group actively seeking change, one that fulfills its members deep need to care for each other will be an earth-shaking movement that will fundamentally remake civilization. I have tried to outline my view on organizing, that couples the "professionalism" of corporate America with the love, courage and community that I have found to be amazingly effective at motivating and improving people.

I hope to see a movement that embraces all 9 factors, because, I believe, if I do see it, then we will be able to heal the world.

The Small Things in Life

It is my sincere belief that everything, and I do mean everything, is interconnected. I have come to the conclusion that whatever I do, even if I do nothing, it will affect the way the world is, even if it is a very small affect. Still, I think people underestimate the importance of the small things in life. One of my favorite quotes from Gandhi was "It is always the small things that catch your breath." Looking at my life, I can see the wisdom of his statement. There may be a few major things that have affected me, but more often it is the accumulation of small experiences that build into something more. I have hundreds of memories of small things that people did which have had an incredible impact on me and my thinking. I remember someone making this statement expressing sadness over a relative's actions, "The greatest sin is to intentionally hurt someone else." Now, if I was to venture a guess, the person who said this probably completely forgets saying it, and doesn't realize the incredible impact it has had on me. There have also been a few times in my past when I have been walking around, feeling kind of down for whatever reason, and someone I am walking by smiles at me. It is amazing how such a simple act can raise my spirits. I doubt they would remember smiling at a stranger, but I certainly remember their kindness. In fact, these small acts have had a lasting impact on who I am.
If I universalize this principle (i.e. assume that people would react the same way I do when confronted with similar circumstances), then I am struck by the impact that the smallest action can have one others. Doing small, seemingly unimportant things may not give one the sense of accomplishment or appear on the surface to be important , but I think they are actually more important than the large things we do in life. It is, of course, wonderful to make a point of doing something good for others, like volunteering or giving a donation... but I put more stock in how people act towards others on a daily basis. That is a much more effective way to improve the world, since it is, afterall, becoming the change you wish to see. So, don't underestimate the impact your smallest actions can have on the lives of others. I remember one part of the 6th book of Harry Potter, where Dumbledore was trying to explain to Harry why he had the choice to fight Voldemort or not. He was saying that despite the prophecy, it was always his choice. Harry likened it to having the choice between being dragged into a gladiatorial arena to fight, or walking with your head high into the arena. Many people would not believe there was much difference, and that there was no real choice since you have to fight whoever or whatever is in that arena. But, there is a choice. We have a choice about how we confront the obstacles life throws at us, and how we chose to deal with them does, in Harry's words "make all the difference."

I have also noticed that small things have a way of coming back to you. Since they can have such a large impact on others, they can reverberate through social networks like a wave. Making people feel better makes them more likely to make others feel better, and that makes others more likely to make others feel better... which means that you will inevitably be hit by successive waves of small things that make you feel good if you do good things. Of course, anger and hatred work the same way. Being mean to someone can reverberate through the community just as easily, and come back to bite you. Atleast, that has been my experience, and the findings of my countless observations of those around me.
This brings me back to everything being interconnected. It is an inescapable and omnipresent fact of reality... atleast reality as I have observed it. This is not only true of our actions, but our ideas and mindset are just as interconnected. That is one reason that I am not especially fond of single-issue advocacy groups. Social problems are all connected, you can't fight poverty without fighting environmental destruction. You can't fight for democracy without fighting to stop racism, sexism, and other prejudices. You can't fight for peace without fighting for democracy. And so on and so forth.

My excessive amounts of contemplation on these theoretical issues have provided some practical value. I not longer take it for granted that what I do does not matter, and I have tried to become constantly conscious of how my actions can impact others.