Another dialogue exercise beginning with: “You don’t want to live in a society like this, yet you don’t want to do anything about it!”
Where's the Fun?
“You don’t want to live in a society like this, yet you don’t want to do anything about it!”
Andrew wanted me to get out there and be an activist. One of those guys that stood on a speaker’s corner and handed out pamphlet’s about how to change the country. We were retired. My busy world was supposed to be slowing down, and I thought Bill’s was too.
“So, Andrew, tell me what you’re doing. You don’t like this society any better. Lots of talk and you’re not doing anything about it either.”
“Look, Bill, sure I like to talk about it all and it really doesn’t look like I’m doing anything. I get called on this all the time.The stuff I do is really kind of invisible and I’ve gotta tell you, I can’t tell that it will change anything more than my little corner of this world. I’m not letting go of my opinions though.”
“That’s good to hear, but where is the fun in that? You’re not out there making a name for yourself. Now that I think about it, I’ve started to attend community activities. Not all about politics, but just about being a more active member of the community.”
“Yeah. That’s the kind of stuff I do. There is a lot of fun in that. Being part of things that really are fun, or are just plain interesting. Things that make me feel connected and sharing opinions.”
“Are you ready to order another coffee or should we just call it a night?”
“I think we’ve solved all the world’s problems, so call it a night, it is. See you tomorrow at the Community Centre for the speakers on the new high rise going up soon? There’s going to be a couple of councillors on the panel.”
“Sounds perfect. Shall we ask the girls if they want to go out to supper first?”
“Many people are good at talking about what they are doing,
but in fact do little. Others do a lot but don’t talk about it;
they are the ones who make a community live.”
~ Jean Vanier, Community and Growth
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