How to turn protest into powerful change - Eric Liu

Kako da pretvorite protest u moćnu promenu - Erik Lu

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

We live in an age of protest.

Živimo u dobu protesta.

On campuses and public squares,

Na kampusima i javnim trgovima,

on streets and social media,

na ulicama i društvenim medijima,

protesters around the world are challenging the status quo.

demonstranti širom sveta suprotstavljaju se statusu kvo.

Protest can thrust issues onto the national or global agenda,

Protest može da pogura pitanja na nacionalni ili globalni dnevni red,

it can force out tyrants,

može da zbaci tirane,

it can activate people who have long been on the sidelines of civic life.

može da angažuje ljude koji su se dugo držali postrani od građanskog života.

While protest is often necessary, is it sufficient?

Iako je protest često neophodan, da li je dovoljan?

Consider the Arab Spring.

Uzmite u obzir Arapsko proleće.

All across the Middle East,

Duž Srednjeg istoka,

citizen protesters were able to topple dictators.

građani demonstranti su bili u stanju da obore diktatore.

Afterwards, though,

Posle toga, pak,

the vacuum was too often filled by the most militant and violent.

vakuum je prečesto popunjavan najmilitantnijim i najnasilinijim.

Protest can generate lasting positive change

Protesti mogu da stvore trajne pozitivne promene

when it's followed by an equally passionate effort

kad su praćeni jednako strasnim naporima

to mobilize voters,

da se pokrenu glasači,

to cast ballots,

da glasaju,

to understand government,

da razumeju vladu

and to make it more inclusive.

i da ona postane inkluzivnija.

So here are three core strategies for peacefully turning awareness into action

Stoga evo tri ključne strategije da se svesnost mirno pretvori u delanje,

and protest into durable political power.

a protesti u trajnu političku moć.

First, expand the frame of the possible,

Prvo: proširite okvir mogućeg;

second, choose a defining fight,

drugo: odaberite određujuću borbu,

and third, find an early win.

i treće: otkrijte ranu pobedu.

Let's start with expanding the frame of the possible.

Počnimo proširivanjem okvira mogućeg.

How often have you heard in response to a policy idea,

Koliko ste često čuli reakciju na političku ideju:

"That's just never going to happen"?

"To se prosto nikad neće desiti"?

When you hear someone say that,

Kad čujete da neko tako govori,

they're trying to define the boundaries of your civic imagination.

pokušavaju da odrede granice vaše građanske imaginacije.

The powerful citizen works to push those boundaries outward,

Moćan građanin radi na pomeranju tih granica ka spolja,

to ask what if -

na pitanju šta ako -

what if it were possible?

šta ako je to moguće?

What if enough forms of power -

Šta ako se mnoštvo oblika moći -

people power, ideas, money, social norms -

moć ljudi, ideja, novca, društvenih normi -

were aligned to make it happen?

sklope i to omoguće?

Simply asking that question

Prosto postavljanje tog pitanja

and not taken as given all the givens of conventional politics

i neuzimanje za date sve datosti konvencionalne politike

is the first step in converting protest to power.

je prvi korak u pretvaranju protesta u moć.

But this requires concreteness about what it would look like to have, say,

Ali ovo zahteva konkretnost u vezi s tim kako bi izgledala, recimo,

a radically smaller national government,

radikalno manja nacionalna vlada

or, by contrast, a big single-payer healthcare system,

ili, nasuprot tome, veći jednouplatni zdravstveni sistem,

a way to hold corporations accountable for their misdeeds,

način da se korporacije smatraju odgovornim za nedela

or, instead, a way to free them from onerous regulations.

ili, umesto toga, način da se oslobode od tegobnih regulacija.

This brings us to the second strategy, choosing a defining fight.

Ovo nas dovodi do druge strategije, odabira određujuće borbe.

All politics is about contrasts.

Sva politika se svodi na suprotnosti.

Few of us think about civic life in the abstract.

Malo nas apstraktno razmišlja o građanskom životu.

We think about things in relief compared to something else.

Razmišljamo o stavrima tako što ih poredimo s nečim drugim.

Powerful citizens set the terms of that contrast.

Moćan građanin postavlja uslove tog kontrasta.

This doesn't mean being uncivil.

To ne znači biti necivilizovan.

It simply means thinking about a debate you want to have on your terms

To prosto znači razmišljanje o debati koju biste želeli da imate na svoj način

over an issue that captures the essence of the change you want.

o problemu koji je suštinski za promenu koju želite.

This is what the activists pushing for a $15 minimum wage in the U.S. have done.

To su uspeli aktivisti koji su se borili u SAD-u za minimalac od 15 dolara.

They don't pretend that $15 by itself can fix inequality,

Nisu se pretvarali da bi 15 dolara samo po sebi ispravilo nejednakost,

but with this ambitious and contentious goal,

ali ovim ambicioznim i spornim ciljem,

which they achieved first in Seattle and then beyond,

koji su prvo ostvarili u Sijetlu, a potom dalje,

they have forced a bigger debate about economic justice and prosperity.

iznudili su širu debatu o ekonomskoj pravdi i prosperitetu.

They've expanded the frame of the possible, strategy one,

Proširili su okvir mogućeg, prva strategija,

and created a sharp emblematic contrast, strategy two.

i stvorili su oštar emblematičan kontrast, druga strategija.

The third key strategy, then, is to seek and achieve an early win.

Potom je treća ključna strategija traženje i postizanje rane pobede.

An early win, even if it's not as ambitious as the ultimate goal,

Rana pobeda, iako nije ambiciozna kao krajnji cilj,

creates momentum,

stvara potisak,

which changes what people think is possible.

koji menja pogled ljudi na moguće.

The solidarity movement,

Pokret solidarnosti,

which organized workers in Cold War Poland emerged just this way,

koji je oragnizovao radnike u Poljskoj tokom Hladnog rata, nastao je ovako;

first, with local shipyard strikes in 1980 that forced concessions,

prvo, uz lokalne brodogradilišne štrajkove 1980. koji su iznudili koncesije,

then, over the next decade,

potom, tokom sledeće decenije,

a nationwide effort that ultimately helped topple

težnje čitave nacije su konačno pomogle da se obori

Poland's communist government.

poljska komunistička vlada.

Getting early wins sets in motion a positive feedback loop,

Rana pobeda pokreće pozitivnu petlju povratnih informacija,

a contagion, a belief, a motivation.

zarazu, veru, motivaciju.

It requires pressuring policymakers,

Zahteva stavljanje pritiska na tvorce politike,

using the media to change narrative,

koristeći medije za izmenu narativa,

making arguments in public,

iznoseći rasprave u javnost,

persuading skeptical neighbors one by one by one.

ubeđujući sumnjičave komšije jednog po jednog po jednog.

None of this is as sexy as a protest,

Ništa od ovoga nije privlačno kao protest,

but this is the history of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement,

ali ovo je istorija Građanskog pokreta za prava u SAD-u,

of Indian Independence,

za nezavisnost Indije,

of Czech self-determination.

za češko samoopredeljenje.

Not the single sudden triumph,

Bez ijednog naglog trijumfa,

but the long, slow slog.

samo dugo, sporo šljakanje.

You don't have to be anyone special to be part of this grind,

Ne morate biti neko poseban da biste bili deo ovog teškog rada,

to expand the frame of the possible,

da biste proširili okvir mogućeg,

to pick a defining fight,

da biste odabrali određujuću bitku

or to secure an early win.

ili da biste osigurali ranu pobedu.

You just have to be a participant and to live like a citizen.

Prosto morate da budete učesnik i da živite kao građanin.

The spirit of protest is powerful.

Duh protesta je moćan.

So is showing up after the protest.

Ali je i pojavljivanje nakon protesta.

You can be the co-creator of what comes next.

Možete da bude saučesnik u stvaranju onoga što sledi.