THE STORY OF CHANGE
fyi, this video is 6:29. A transcript follows.
This is an unofficial, independent, voluntarily produced transcript. All emphases added.
{ } contain transcriber comments
In Season One of The Story of Stuff, we looked at a system that creates way too much stuff and way too little of what we really want. Now we're gonna start looking at the stories behind The Story of Stuff. That's where we'll find ways to turn this situation around.
Welcome to Season Two:
The Story of Change
Why Citizens (Not Shoppers) Hold the Key to a Better World.
{Enter Annie Leonard}
Ever since I learned where our stuff really comes from and how this system is trashing people and the planet, I've been trying to figure out how we can change it. I've read a lot of these {books}. A 100 Ways to Save the Planet Without Leaving Your House. 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth. The Little Green Book of Shopping.
I thought these {tip books} might have the answers. But their tips all start here (Distribution: Big Box Mart}, with buying better stuff. And they end here, with recycling all that stuff when I'm done with it. But when it comes to making change, this story of going green {picture of book: $hop Your Way to A Green Planet}, even though we see it everywhere, has some serious shortcomings.
It says that if I become a smarter shopper {fluorescent light bulbs} and tell all my friends to do the same {fair trade coffee}, I've done my part. And if I don't buy all this green stuff, then it's my fault the planet's being destroyed.
Wait a minute! My fault?
I didn't choose to put toxic products on the shelves or allow slave labor in factories around the world.
I didn't choose to fill stores with electronics that can't be repaired and have to be thrown away.
I didn't choose a world in which some people can afford to live green, leaving the rest of us to be irresponsible planet wreckers!
Of course, when we do shop we should buy the least toxic and most fair products we can. But it's not bad shoppers here {distribution} who are the source of the problem. It's bad policies and bad business practices here {the government and the corporation}. And that's why the solutions we really need are not for sale at the supermarket.
If we actually want to change the world, we can't talk only about consumers voting with our dollars. Real change happens when citizens come together to demand rules that work {rally, sign: No Toxics In Our Products}.
Look, it is important to try to live green. As Gandhi said, "be the change." Living our values in small ways shows ourselves and others that we care. So it is a great place to start. But it is a terrible place to stop.
After all, would we even know who Gandhi was if he just sewed his own clothes and then sat back, waiting for the British to leave India?
So how do we make big change?
To answer that question, I went backed and looked at Gandhi, the Anti-Aparthied Movement in South Africa, the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, and the environmental victories here in the 1970's. They didn't just nag people to perfect their day-to-day choices, they changed the rules of the game.
It turns out there are three things you find whenever people get together and actually change the world.
FIRST, they share a big idea for how things could be better. Not just a little better for a few people {20% less segregation by 1970}. A whole lot better for everyone. And they don't just tinker around the edges. They go right to the heart of the problem {No segregation}. Even when it means changing systems that don't want to be changed. And that can be scary.
Hey, millions of us already share a big idea for how things could be better. Instead of this dinosaur economy {linear, non-sustainable materials economy} that focuses only on profits, we want a new economy, that puts safe products, healthy people, and a healthy planet first {closed loop production, sustainable economy}.
Duh.
Isn't that what an economy should be for?
Trying to live eco-perfectly in today's system is like trying to swim upstream, when the current is pushing us all the other way. But by changing what our economy prioritizes, we can change that current so that the right things become the easiest things to do.
SECOND, the millions of ordinary people who made these extraordinary changes didn't try to do it alone. They didn't just say "I will be more responsible." They said "WE will work together until the problem is solved."
Today it's easier than ever to work together. Can you imagine how hard it was to get a message across India in 1930? We can do it now in less than a second.
FINALLY, these movements succeeded in creating change because they took their big idea and their commitment to work together and then they took action.
Did you know that when Martin Luther King, Jr., organized his march on Washington, less than a quarter of Americans {23%} supported him? But that was enough to make change because those supporters took action. They did stuff.
Today,
74% of Americans support tougher laws on toxic chemicals.
83% want clean energy laws.
85% think corporations should have less influence in government.
We've got the big idea and the commitment, we just haven't turned it all into massive action yet. And this is our only missing piece.
So let's do it!
{rally, signs: "Corporations Are Not People, 99%, We're Not Broke}
Making real change takes all kinds of citizens, not just protesters. When you realize what you're good at, and what you like to do, plugging in doesn't seem so hard {someone making food for the protesters}. Whatever you have to offer, a better future needs it.
So ask yourself, what kind of changemaker am I?
We need investigators, communicators, builders, resisters, nurturers, and networkers.
At the thestoryofstuff.org, you can explore these types of change-makers, and find your first or your next step to take action.
{Link to take the change-maker quiz and/or learn about change-makers.}
Being a responsible citizen starts with voting. That's one of those basic things that everyone's just got to do. But it gets way more exciting and fun when we put our unique skills and interests to work alongside thousands of others.
I know that changing a whole economic system is a huge challenge. It's not easy to see a clear path from where we are today to where we need to go. And there's no ten simple things we can do without leaving our couches.
But the path didn't start out clear to all these guys either {Environmental Movement, Civil Rights Movement, Anti-Apartheid Movement}.
Dr. King said,
faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase
They -
Worked hard to get organized.
Practiced the small acts that built their citizen muscles.
Kept their focus on their big idea.
And when the time was right, they were ready.
It's time for us to get ready too. Ready to make change and write the next chapter in The Story of Stuff.
Read More
