Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The Real Beginning of Freedom

I had the wonderful opportunity on Saturday night to be at the closing ceremonies of the Freedom Relay Canada (www.freedomrelaycanada.com). Heather Clark and her dance troop presented an amazing production on 146 (the story of a young trafficked girl). All were moved and deeply impacted by the idea that freedom comes at a cost. And I think it's important to keep some things in tension. This is something I've been learning for years now in justice work:

1. Hope and easy engagement. People are not motivated by hopelessness - so every justice campaign that has any long-term possibilities of actual change needs to be motivated by hope and everyone gets to start somewhere. Easy engagement (the idea that anyone can be part of a movement to end injustice) is a key ingredient to allow people to hear and then join in the great and beautiful call to live another way!

2. Reality and Slogan Busting. Now, the hard-core justice folks know better than to believe a fancy website with some cool slogans. If we are honest the reality of trying to get girls/women out of the sex trade, healed and helped and living whole lives is a heck of a long road and difficult journey. This is not going to happen with a bumper sticker and a hopeful ideal.

So hope and easy engagement can easily collide with reality and slogan busting and make justice even harder than it is already - but I think we can hold these things in tension in a way that keeps the long road to freedom in touch with the hopeful folks who are just beginning the journey - perhaps offering injections of much needed hopeful, less cynical and more idealistic notions of freedom and possibilities and those who are just beginning get the long-term view, wisdom and experience of the tired but committed crew of justice fighters.

In other words - this could be really good news for everybody. :-)
Let's do more things together for the long haul towards freedom.

If you haven't' been involved in the Freedom Relay - you should start training for next year - we are only picking up momentum at the very beginning of a long journey - and it's going to be worth it!!

Check out Stop The Traffik while you are at it to join another campaign that is happening right now - changing the world through hopeful ideas and radical living.
Join the revolution.