Social change will only be successful if communities unite to form a larger force. During a time of social action, a message can be spread to a larger audience if the group supporting the cause is interconnected. Massive groups are more successful at taking action. In Bill Mckibben’s documentary, “Do the Math”, he explains that a social movement can win “if we act as a community”. He continues to discuss that we must “build and knit [a] community together in a way that allows it to take powerful action” (14). McKibben stresses the importance of working together as a team in order to build a forceful group. If small groups or single people try to take action with no support behind them, then no change will take place. This idea of community parallels Charles Duhigg’s ideas of social ties in his essay, “From Civil Rights to Megachurches”. Duhigg discusses how a social movement will take hold when there is an over lap of strong and weak social ties within in a community. He writes, “But when the strong ties of friendship and the weak ties of peer pressure merge, they create incredible momentum” (92). Friendship and peer pressure help push groups of people into fighting towards a goal. If a person will most likely act if a loved one is directly affected. They may also take action, or succumb to peer pressure, if they are concerned about their social reputation and image. While McKibben stresses the importance of team work and Duhigg claims that social ties can influence peoples’ decisions, both suggest that a large, passionate community will ignite the flame for wide spread social change.
Meghan Hamilton
Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.
