Making the Impossible Possible
“Strong emotions and motivations can often overcome a lack of resources […]”(James Jasper, The Art of Moral Protest, 292).
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While working with Canal Alliance this semester, I have undergone many new experiences. I have never worked with a non-profit organization of any type nor have I worked with teenagers before. Also, I have never participated in an organization focused on improving their community. As a result, my time at Canal Alliance has literally been a learning experience, exposing me to realities that I was not aware of before. Indeed, I have undergone, as Jasper and other theorists of protest may refer to as, an expansion of consciousness. One way in which my awareness has been increased is by becoming more knowledgeable of the nature of organizations in general. As the above quote states, I have become more aware of how small organizations can still mobilize through “strong emotions and motivations” despite their lack of resources.
I have seen this first hand in Canal Alliance. For, I do not need to have access to their finances to know that they do not have an overabundance of resources. A simple tour of their facilities illustrates that their resources are not endless but limited. However, those involved are highly motivated to overcome this and to improve the lives of those in the canal, especially the youth. Indeed, every time I go to work with the high school students, Vanessa, the leader of this group, reminds and tells these students that they are going to college. With such people keeping Canal Alliance going, from its after-school program for students from kindergarten to high school to its classes for adults wishing to improve their English or computer skills, Canal Alliance is up and running, thriving even.
Yet, it does not have a fancy building of its own out of which to operate nor an endless source of money and other resources it needs to keep going. The only resource that seems to be constant is the strong desire and commitment of its leaders and participants. It is precisely this motivation that has allowed Canal Alliance to flourish despite a lack of resources. The fact that a community organization can operate without many resources to draw from has changed my thinking when it comes to protest. For, I now know from my time at Canal Alliance that one does not need to have many resources to bring about change. I now know that, as the Beatles have sung and as corny as this sounds, sometimes “all you need is love.” Love of one’s cause, community, etc. can give one the motivation they need to make the impossible possible.