Staying Positive and Effective as an Activist

An activist, by definition, is someone who campaigns for some kind of social change. Throughout history we’ve seen thousands, but some have remained so dear to the human race that we continue to honor them today: Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and all those incredible movers and shakers who led their movements, their social changes, and took the world by storm. It always seems that those who wish to change the world are mocked, considered fanatical, and simply disregarded until they do. But activists, for the most part, do not seem to care if we are mocked or considered fanatical; our concern lies with the humans, the animals, the environment, or whatever it is we strive to save from the destruction. We are in it for the greater good and are willing to isolate ourselves, humiliate, and put ourselves on the spot in front of an extremely judgmental world. This constant being out of our own comfort zones gets to us sometimes, and we begin to fall into a downward spiral of negativity. And the activists who do fall into downward spirals take others down with them; they nag each other, argue over who is “doing more” for the cause, and begin to lose faith in the human race entirely. That is a claim that baffles me entirely. How does one lose faith in the entire human race?