Social Movement

Encyclopedia Britannica defines social movement as a loosely organized but sustained campaign in support of a social goal, typically either the implementation or the prevention of a change in society’s structure or values. Although social movements differ in size, they are all essentially collective. That is, they result from the more or less spontaneous coming together of people whose relationships are not defined by rules and procedures but who merely share a common outlook on society. I have always envisioned myself being a part of some type of social movement. I was born in the 1960’s and there was a great amount of movement going on in the world during my early years as a child. As I got older I observed the peace and love of the “hippies” and wished that I could have been older and more involved. I believe the social movement that was going on at that time never really materialized and frankly, I think we still yearn for peace in the world today: at least I know I do. I believe the world is in the midst of many social movements but our nation is full of fear. Fear to believe in the truth instead of the lies we have always been taught and are now ingrained in our belief system. I am talking about war, inequality, power, prejudice, better than and less than, money, health care, religion and the list goes on. The bottom line is our country seems to be based on the outside/the exterior – “how we appear to others” and not on the spirit, our fellow man, unconditional love, acceptance of others, embracing diversity and our general wellness – well-being. The whole “peace” movement of the sixties surrounded the Vietnam War and when the war finally ended it seemed like the movement did too: but was peace really achieved or did the war just end? I would like to be involved in a social movement of this type. I firmly believe that we lack peace in our nation and that this lack of peace and humanity affects us on a huge scale. This is not to imply that there is