The Effectiveness of Self Work

“It is not a man’s duty, as a matter of course, to devote himself to the eradication of any, even to the most enormous, wrong; he may still properly have other concerns to engage him; but it is his duty, at least, to wash his hands of it, and, if he gives it no thought longer.” Like Thoreau, I do not have the responsibility to change anything in the world. The world is not mine; I only live in it. However, this world is not a utopia. There are many evils that roam freely around the surface, and causes chaos to some degree. I do not consider myself an influential person. I currently do not have enough power to change the world. However, many of the evils that walk around the world do affect me. Like the pollution of rivers and oceans. My food and water comes from these places. But, I do not have the power to close down all the factories. I do not have the power to clean all the pollutants from my food and water.

Even faced with all these obstacles, I do have one method of changing the world. Like Thoreau said in the quote above, I can wash my hands of the evil and eradicate the evil from my mind. There is a method of social change called self work. It involves taking a look at yourself and see what is wrong with yourself first. Once you know what you problems are, you are taking the first step to creating change. By correcting you mistakes, you are making the world a better place because you are a better person.

I see many injustices in this world, and I highly condemn these injustices. Like the so-called Coalition of the Willing’s liberation of Iraq and the exploitation of third world countries by global profit corporations. I am only an individual in the US, part of the minority population. Therefore the amount of power I possesses is limited. I cannot create stop a war or bankrupt global corporations. But one thing I am capable of doing is self-work. I need to look at myself and see what is wrong with me.

Many times, people say they are against this and that. Even though they might be part of this organization or that protest to show their opinion, the evil system can still cast its influence on them. An anti-war activist might participate in the anti-war protests, but he is still paying taxes. The money that creates the bombs comes from his tax money. An animal rights activist might be a member of PETA, but she is still using soaps and lotions that are from the companies that does animal testing. One cannot create social change if one is part of the problem.

We often identify a problem, and we attempt change it. But we are not changing anything if we continue to contribute to the evil. We cannot stop ice cubes from melting if we hold it in our hands. Thoreau said, “…perhaps you may consider whether the remedy will not be worse than the evil, but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.” We often indirectly support the evil we despise. If we don’t know exactly how to correct that evil, the best thing to do is to start correcting yourself first. See if you are lending yourself to the wrong which you condemn. If you stop being part of the problem, you are helping to solve the problem.

A problem that affects me is the degeneration of the mind brought forth by American popular culture. When I turn on the television, I see shows about violence and discrimination. I see advertisements that tell you to consume endlessly. I see rich and beautiful people, which are supposed to make you feel like you are not worth anything because you are not rich or beautiful. When I turn on the radio, I hear sounds signifying the same things: The latest rapper rapping about how is life is so exciting because he carries a gun in his belt and snorts coke; an empty conversation debating who should be the next American Idol or who should be eliminated from Top Model. When I walk on the street, I see people trying to be like the people they see and hear. They bend their mouths a certain way so they can talk like some person they admire on television. Men “sag” their pants to their knees and women wear clothes containing little cloth. They think that conforming to popular culture is the best route to take.

American popular culture is a form of hegemony. It controls its subjects to be like zombies that does whatever they are told. When popular culture tells them to go with certain trends those zombies follow; when it tells them what is right or wrong, those zombies follow. I have realized this fact for sometime. I remember in middle school, there was a very popular television show. Along with the television show came collectible cards that have the characters printed on them. At that moment, popular culture is telling me to watch the shows and collect the cards, because you will not have any fun in school. I was like the hundreds of zombies in my school - I followed. I spent money buying those cards, my grades plummeted because I was too busy watching that show. Then I realized how stupid I was to follow such an asinine trend.

Now that I have more knowledge about the harms of American popular culture, I begin working on myself. I cannot stop the programming stations to broadcast that shyt all around me, but I can stop receiving the shyt they send me.

So about a year ago, I stopped watching American television. I only watched the news and weather in the morning. I stopped listening radio music stations. Even though this is a small step in solving the problem, I have detached myself from the problem. “For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once well done is done forever.” (Thoreau) Even though the effort is a small one, it is very effective for me to create change in myself. I think this is a very good choice. Ever since I stop receive shyt, I notice I have a clearer mind. Instead of storing the titles of the latest songs and movies, I now have more mind power to think about other things, like my education or the condition of my family.

Compared to being nice, self-work as a way to create social change is more effective. By just being nice, I am not creating much of a solution; I am just helping other people. Most people will just forget what I did, or they will not have time to do the same to others because they are too concerned about themselves. Self-work is a way to completely cut yourself away from the evil. By not being part of the problem, you are taking your first step to finding a solution. Thoreau said, “A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority.” I will always be the problem if I contribute to it. I cannot actually change anything if I am resisting the change.

Like the being nice method, the only restraint to the self work method is the number of participants. Thoreau said, “If a thousand men were not to pay their tax bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood.” If one person did not pay taxes to support the war in Iraq, then that would not make a big deal because one person’s tax is only a couple of dollars compared to the war budget. But if those dollars are multiplied by a larger number, then it starts to matter.

Detach yourself from the evil. Escape the grasp of the power.