Often, when a person argues for social change, they are called “naive.” The exact opposite is the truth. It’s naive to think we as citizens can do nothing, and leave the powerful to do whatever they want, and somehow our attention will survive. There’s nothing naive about believing that concerted democratic campaigning can change the world. As the

In part, they have given rise to watered-down theories of change that are personal, individual, depoliticized, respectful of the status quo and the system, and not in the least bit disruptive. The more genuine criticism is left out and the more sunny, actionable, takeaway-prone ideas are elevated, the

Movements have succeeded in using online tools to spread their messages and cause fleeting disruptions, but those achievements have not translated into lasting democratic blocs that have shifted power in meaningful ways.11

The more the “we” that is subject to it speaks clearly in one voice, a critical public mass agitating for change, demanding an alignment of approaches, the better chance of good outcomes.

The point of Do Something is not that any of these campaigns will accomplish major change around the issues they address, but that taking action on a social issue is a precursor to deeper forms of engagement. Do Something believes it is training a generation of young people, many as young as high school students, to see that it’s possible to