Revolutionary vision

My Fellow Americans: A revolution is coming. All the conditions are in place. In 2011, half of all Americans were living in poverty, and by all estimates, this number will continue to increase. An article published in Time magazine declared that “every pillar institution in American society—whether it’s General Motors, Congress, Wall Street, Major League Baseball, the Catholic Church, or the mainstream media—has revealed itself to be corrupt, incompetent, or both.”

Trust in our system of government has never been lower, and for good reason. Unless you are rich, white, male, Christian, and heterosexual, the government does not seem to be particularly concerned with your needs. This is not a partisan matter. Issues like climate change, lack of adequate health care, social and economic injustice, loss of privacy, contamination of food and water, and gun violence affect all of us. “When the rain falls,” sang Bob Marley, “it don’t fall on one man’s house.”

Given the inevitability of the coming revolution, it might as well be effective. In Deep Creativity, I identify vision as one of six qualities that predicts the success of creative endeavors.  Vision is the ability to conceive of new possibilities that lead to new realities. These possibilities tend to exist beyond the scope of most people’s imagination. As Jonathan Swift observed, “Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.”

One of the most articulate and misunderstood revolutionaries of the Twentieth Century, Angela Davis, recognized the importance of vision as a means to enact meaningful, lasting change. In a 1972 interview, she said, “When you talk about a revolution, most people think violence, without realizing that the real content of any kind of revolutionary front lies in the principles and the goals that you’re striving for—not in the way you reach them.”

A revolution can only succeed if it has a substantive core vision. Here are five guidelines for creating such a vision:

1. Make it positive. You may know what you stand against, but do you know what you stand for? Determining the kinds of social, economic, political and environmental conditions that you consider ideal is not easy. Like any other creative task, revolution must be imbued with an element of inspiration. If you are not inspired by your own vision, you will not inspire anyone else. So, ask yourself these questions: What does my utopian society look like? What are its key elements? What safeguards can be put in place to keep the core principles and ideals of this society from ever becoming compromised?
2. Be inclusive. “A dream you dream alone is only a dream,” said John Lennon. “A dream you dream together is reality.” The only way to bring a vision to life is by sharing it. When enough people take ownership of that vision, it builds momentum. One person may get the ball rolling, but it takes many hands to keep it in motion. This can only happen by finding common ground. Certain ideals have mass appeal. Regardless of our political, religious, or ideological differences, we might be able to agree on certain principles: e.g. that nobody should go hungry; that children deserve to be safe from harm; that slavery and oppression cannot be tolerated; and that we have an obligation to future generations. Those shared principles can serve as the basis of an effective revolution. They may not be universally accepted. That is okay. Every revolution has adversaries; otherwise, there would be no struggle. But the more inclusive your vision, the more likely it is to be realized and enacted.
3. Dream big. Virtually every aspect of American life is out of balance. This is the result of social engineering by those who lack the character, foresight, and idealism needed to build a great society. You can do better if you see this imbalance as an opportunity. The entire infrastructure of American society needs reinvention: economics, transportation, family life, community, education, food production, energy systems, and most certainly government. That is exciting! You can either despair, or you can start taking bites out of that elephant. It all begins by seeing the big picture. For instance, corporations will fall one day. You may find that hard to believe, but they are modern dinosaurs that are simply too big to survive. What will replace them? The answer will only come from those who dare to dream big.
4. Walk your talk. It turns out that Gandhi may not have said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” But he most certainly lived it. Gandhi came up with a set of ideals and insisted that everyone involved in his non-violent resistance movement adhere to them, starting with himself. In doing so, he set the bar extremely high for all future revolutionaries. The basic principle that Gandhi embodied is simple: If you want justice, be fair in your dealings. If you want cooperation, be inclusive. If you want peace, be kind. And if you want a more equal distribution of wealth, be generous. A true environmentalist should have a clean home and yard, and a spiritual teacher should be a loving presence in the lives of others. Otherwise, their vision rings hollow and their rhetoric is just lip service.
5. Believe! First, believe that change is not only possible but inevitable. Gandhi did say, “Remember that all through history, there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they seem invincible. But in the end, they always fall. Always.” Then, believe in your own capacity to bring about such change. As Steve Jobs reminded us, “Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you, and you can change it.” Finally, believe in your vision. If you have put in place the four other principles stated here, your vision is destined to succeed.

Every important change requires not only vision but also passion, determination, and concerted effort. You cannot do it by yourself, but you can inspire others with your vision. In fact, nothing is more infectious. Others are waiting to catch hold of your vision and run with it. You can be the visionary that inspires the next great American Revolution. And whenever you are faced with frustration and despair, remember this: What belongs to you will come to you, and nobody can deny you!