An interesting take on activism

~ Jason Schwartz

 

There’s been an explosion of recovery activism over the last decade. Here’s the perspective of another kind of activist.

Sister Simone Campbell, a social justice activist, on the role of activism for individualsraisedfist1:

SR. SIMONE: Whatever our part is. Just do one thing. That’s all we have to do. But the guilt of the — or the curse of the progressive, the liberal, the whatever is that we think we have to do it all. And then we get overwhelmed. And I get all those solicitations in the mail. And I can’t do everything. And so I don’t do anything. But that’s the mistake. Community is about just doing my part. I — oh, can I?

MS. TIPPETT: No, go on, yes.

SR. SIMONE: Can I tell you? I decided — you know how in the scripture it — Paul says how we’re one body? Not everybody is an ear, not everybody is an eye. So one day I was meditating, and I was trying to figure out what part of the Body of Christ I am. So I came up with this insight that I think I’m stomach acid, I think that’s my job.

[laughter]

It’s really important for metabolizing food.

MS. TIPPETT: Yes.

SR. SIMONE: And it can — not — you don’t need a large quantity of it. And it needs to be contained.

[laughter]

And if it runs amok, that’s called illness.

[laughter]

But, see, it’s doing…

MS. TIPPETT: It’s a great analogy for lobbying — the whole lobbying industry [laughs].

SR. SIMONE: Exactly, exactly. It generates energy and heat. And it does all kinds of good stuff, but it’s a very specific small piece that depends on a whole system to be healthy and effective. We all have a piece of it. And we can do this.

Published by Jason Schwartz

I have been an addiction professional and social worker since 1994. I started blogging in 2005 as the Clinical Director at Dawn Farm. I no longer work at Dawn Farm and am now the Director of Behavioral Medicine at a community hospital, and a lecturer at Eastern Michigan University’s School of Social Work. Views expressed here are my own. Keep in mind that the field, the contexts in which the field operates, and my views have changed over time.