There was a time when the streets resounded with protests and the squares filled with hope. Today, in an era of apparent apathy, activism struggles, too much, to take on new forms. It is time to rediscover the power of the collective voice.
The hum of silence
Raise your hand if you remember the last time you saw an organized, compact, continuous and non-violent mass protest. No, it's not the one you saw on TikTok. I'm talking about the real ones, with people shouting slogans and waving handmade signs.
Weird, isn't it? The world is going to pieces, but it seems like fewer and fewer people want to raise their voices, and those fewer and fewer people are getting agitated too much and badly to gain attention. Maybe we're just whispering into our digital echo chambers.
Activism in slippers
Welcome to the age of click-tivism. Where saving the world is as easy as clicking a like. Convenient, right? You can start a revolution while you're on the couch in your pajamas. There's just one tiny problem: confusing digital noise with real action. Kind of like thinking you're an athlete because you downloaded a fitness app.
Climate change is simmering us, AI is threatening to steal our jobs, freedom of expression is under attack, there is no place on Earth where there is no display of intolerance, war, and contempt for human dignity, and what do we do? Let's discuss which emoji to use to express outrage. But hey, at least we are multitasking in our battles, right? We fight on all fronts: environmental, social, economic, scientific. Too bad we often do it only with words. But perhaps not all is lost.
The Awakening of the Sleepers
Every now and then, like a bear coming out of hibernation, the collective consciousness awakens. I think of movements like Fridays for Future: things that remind us of what we undervalue. Yes, young people know how to do more than dance on TikTok. Who would have thought? So why are there so few of them?
Because we have been raised to be perfect consumers. From my Generazione x then it all became buy, use, throw away, repeat. A perfect cycle… to destroy the planet. How about trying something new? Like, I don't know, think before you buy? Heroic, I know.
Epoure, we don't have to wait for superheroes. Well, thank goodness, because last time I checked, Spider-Man wasn't available to save the planet. It's up to us, mere mortals. How about becoming a part-time activist? Between aperitifs, you might as well save the world.
The future of activism is… well, complicated
Are we at the beginning of the greatest upheaval in human history? Maybe. Or maybe it's just Sunday. But instead of waiting for someone else to solve the problems, how about we get busy? The activism of the future could be just that: millions of people doing small things every day. A kind of giant flashmob to save the planet.
The world will not save itself. And no, it is not enough to change your Facebook profile picture. I am not saying, as someone much wiser than me once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” But at least let’s stop being part of the problem.
The future of activism is in our hands. Literally. You’re probably reading this on a smartphone, ready to scroll. The question is: will you use this device to make a difference or to watch yet another cat video?
