It’s a system problem, not an individual problem
Another reaction I got to my speech this summer was that it’s not worth doing because it’s a system problem. This comment was made by a Palestinian refugee, who certainly has experienced system problems!
And there is some truth to the claim. It is a system problem, and any one person can’t do anything much to change it.
But, I also see some problems with looking at it that way. Systems run as they do at least partially because people have internalized them. People don’t even realize that they have internalized it. When people start waking up and not automatically acting the normal way, systems do change. Systems don’t change when it’s one person, but a group of people can make changes. If we throw up our hands and say we can’t change the system problem, nothing will ever change.
Another issue is that this perspective paralyzes you. That’s depressing. It allows the system to continually perpetuate itself because it seems so overwhelming that no one does anything. If you do something, you reclaim your agency!
On this issue, conservatives and liberals tend to look at the world in a different way. Liberals focus on the system and how the system has to change, and conservatives focus on individual responsibility. (A friend of mine challenged this, she claimed that liberals focus on policy changes - similar to the system needing to change - but she argued that conservatives focus on cultural changes that are needed.)
But this dichotomy is an example of how each side only has part of the story. Both of these views have some validity. Systems are tough to change, but if we don’t take individual action, they will run over everyone in their way. Systems only change when people take individual action. On the other side, we also have to be careful not to take responsibility for system problems. An example of this problem is someone who loses a job because of a recession and then blames herself when she can’t get another one.
I heard a podcast by some liberal women talking about their frustrations about a book that suggested taking personal responsibility when they ran into system problems. What I felt was missing from their discussion (and perhaps from the book) is that you need to identify what you can change and what you can’t. We need to accept the things we cannot change, but change the things we can — even if it’s a big job and may take a long time.
I’m just one woman trying to pass along a message, and I get discouraged sometimes. But then I look at the subscribers to this list and the various other people I’ve discovered who have similar messages and that gives me hope. I’ve been creating a list of people and organizations that are also working to solve this problem. This list can be found on my website. We are starting to create a movement!
Please pass this message along to one other person who might want to join in this movement.