Duck and Cover

Duck and Cover was one of the winning stories performed by the wonderful Lin Sagovsky at the 'Women and Girls' Liars League event on August 11th.

Read it or listen to it here or watch 👇

Be the Change: Personal and Social

'Be the Change You Want to See in the World'

This quote has been attributed to Gandhi and in essence what he believed, however as Brian Morton of the New York Times (2011) points out, there is 'no reliable documentary evidence' that he said it, whereas the following is verifiable:

'If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him.
... We need not wait to see what others do.' 

Plaque outside Gandhi's house in Mumbai, India 2011

As Morton contends, Gandhi is saying 'that personal and social transformation go hand in hand, but there is no suggestion in his words that personal transformation is enough.' 

I visited his home in Mumbai and was easily able to imagine, amongst the few possessions he owned and the simple life he led, why he believed in satyagraha - holding with the truth, a way of life to be developed, habits to be adapted, practises to be changed and virtues to be cultivated (as Joseph Geraci, from the Satyagraha Foundation for Nonviolence Studies, would put it)

Morton, N. (2011) 'Falser Words Were Never Spoken', New York Times, August 29, 2011

Do the Most Good Thing: A Most Violent Year

Abel Morales tries, in A Most Violent Year, when the paths fork, to 'do the most good thing'. We should not be surprised when his name is a play on the words able and morals. It is a tense thriller with violence and the constant threat of violence and we wait on tenterhooks to see if he will give in. Will he take, what some call, the 'easy' route? The path of least resistance for everyone else .Everyone around him wants him to fight violence with violence. Will he? How far will he go? We wonder,  what we would do in his situation?

A brilliant examination of the morals of business in New York in one of its most violent years, 1981. It would be interesting to see how Abel Morales would apply the Theory of Change to achieving his goals. Does he heed Gandhi's plea to:

'Be the Change You Want to See in the World'

...or does the world change him instead?

Other posts on doing the right thing...

• Morals & Ethics: How to Live Well
• Doing the Right Thing
• Doing the Right Thing Right