Picking up the Trash in Your Path: My Answer to ‘What Aboutism’

Summary

The text advocates for taking small, concrete actions to address global issues, rather than succumbing to inaction due to the overwhelming scale of problems like war, racism, and climate change.

Abstract

The author reflects on the tendency to dismiss small acts of goodwill with "What aboutism," questioning why one would focus on a single issue when there are so many others to address. Despite acknowledging the validity of these concerns, the author argues that it's crucial to act on what one can, even if it's as simple as picking up litter. This personal responsibility and action, no matter how small, can lead to significant collective change. The author shares personal experiences of activism and emphasizes the importance of supporting each other's efforts without expecting perfection, suggesting that this approach can lead to a more effective and compassionate movement for justice, peace, and environmental balance.

Opinions

The author believes that the right wing's growth is partly due to their ability to validate people's negative impulses, whereas the left often makes people feel guilty about their positive actions.
"What aboutism" is seen as a counterproductive tactic that undermines efforts to make positive changes by constantly shifting focus to other issues.
The author has a history of activism, particularly in anti-war efforts, but recognizes the limitations of these endeavors.
Small actions, like picking up trash or helping a few refugees, are valuable and should be encouraged, as they contribute to a larger impact when many people participate.
The author suggests that acknowledging the scale of global issues and allowing oneself to grieve can lead to a renewed sense of purpose and determination to act.
Encouragement and support within movements can inspire more significant action and change, as opposed to criticism and perfectionism.
The author posits that overcoming the sense of hopelessness and despair is essential to transform the world, even if it's done one small action at a time.

Picking up the Trash in Your Path: My Answer to ‘What Aboutism’

I sometimes think that the reason the right wing is growing so rapidly is that they are experts at making people feel good about their worst impulses, while the left is extremely skilled at making people feel bad about their best impulses.

One of our most annoying collective habits is ‘What aboutism’: challenging every effort to do some good thing, however small, by saying “What about that instead?” Opposing the Russian invasion of Ukraine? What about Yemen and Gaza? What about the US bombing Iraq, Afghanistan? Why not work to end all war?

It’s not that those concerns aren’t valid. Horrible wars rage all over the world, and we should end them all. As I look back on my life, I have been personally trying to end some war or another, without notable success, since I first got arrested when I was fifteen with Santa Claus in Beverly Hills at Christmastime for passing out balloons that said, “Peace on Earth: Stop the War in Vietnam.”

But if every time someone says, “I’m doing something,” we respond with a chorus, “What about something else? Why aren’t you doing everything?” we discourage our friends and allies from doing anything,

Today we face so many problems that seem overwhelming. War, racism, inequality, climate change, so many ingrained systems of injustice! Life rarely offers us the opportunity to fix any of them in one, sweeping act.

But life offers us many, many opportunities to do what we can, to take many smaller actions that together may add up to big changes.

Many decades ago, I took a hike with my friend Mary out in the hills of Los Angeles. The trees were beautiful, but the ground was filthy, full of discarded wrappers, cigarette butts and beer cans. Mary handed us each a plastic bag.

“I know I can’t completely clean the place up,” she said. “But every time I come, I pick up the garbage in my path.”

I’ve never forgotten that lesson. How do we live with integrity in a trashed world? How do we face the overwhelm of what needs so badly to be changed?

We do what we can. We pick up the trash in our path. And we support all those who do.

I haven’t succeeded yet in stopping all war. Believe me, I would if I could. What I can do is to help with fundraising efforts by a group I know and trust to send first aid supplies to Ukraine, to help resettle refugees in ecovillages. I can’t open all borders and provide homes for all refugees, but I can use my contacts to find a welcoming spot for a few human rights workers from Afghanistan and help raise funds for their legal fees and resettlement. I can’t end climate change, but I can show up at pipeline protest, offer a course on permaculture solutions, and join my community each weekend to thin brush and create shaded fuel breaks and make our roads a little bit safer.

What would our movement look like — and by ‘our movement’ I mean all the many interlinked movements for justice, peace and environmental balance — if we stopped berating one another for the imperfections of our efforts and instead, cheered each other on? How would it feel if we encouraged even our imperfect efforts? Wouldn’t that inspire us to do more? Might not those small things grow, to eventually create big changes?

Underlying the constant ‘What about? What about?” lies a deep sense of hopelessness and despair. We can’t do everything, so our efforts are worth nothing,

Maybe what we can do, at minimum, is to acknowledge the overwhelm, to face our own sense of helplessness instead of berating others, to let ourselves fully grieve the trashed state of the world. Grief, fully felt, can lead to strength and determination. We can fill that bag with what lies at our feet as we walk our paths through this world, and leave a clean trail behind us. And as we do, we may inspire others to do the same, until slowly, one can at a time, we transform the world.