User:W.A.STOFER

Taking Up The Cause

The inevitable question always comes up. “But i am not an activist! What do I do?” At this point I have to assume that you are really interested in activism to some degree, or you would not be reading this. So lets assume you want to find a cause or causes that you can get behind and make a difference. As a Creativist this may be the best way for you to support a cause by using you talents in the most effective way to benefit the cause or event. Fortunately there is no shortage of things that need to be addressed in our society, and many causes have a local face as well. Environmentalism can be a huge canvas for you to address, and always has a local group that is bringing attention to a need in your city, state, region, etc. Now I must make this clear Creativism is not a crutch! You have to be genuinely concerned about the issues you take up, and believe it or not you may have to do some real work from time to time. Know your cause inside and out, make it a quest to achieve the goals of the group, follow their lead on who they are targeting for awareness, and possibly achieving their financial goals. (Fund raising) Remember you can be their spokesman, and this is why they like your work. Many creative artists support more than one cause, and this expands your reach and appeal. The downside is your time, and you have to pace yourself, or you will burnout quickly. For me the transition to this style of art and writing was easy. I have always been an activist, and created art as a hobby. The marriage came by accident when I had to write about my diabetes, and the cure was highly regulated and the cause is heavily protected. Creativism was born! As I spoke out on this particular subject, many people asked if I had written on my experience, and what I recommended. So my first little book was launched, and I was not trying to write the next best thriller, it was just an account of what I had gone through, and the quest for the cure. After I wrote the first book, I jumped on the activist wagon, and told other activist about my experience. Now in this case I was going to speaking engagements, and fighting government all at the same time. This wore me out, so this is what I meant about pacing yourself. My recommendation is start local, this allows you to get to know your cause and the people associated with it. Listen to what they say, ask questions, tell them what you do, and how could you put your talents to good use. Getting feedback from this group of friends allows you to refine your Creativism, so you can work your way up to the larger audience, and show others you know your stuff, and are passionate about the movement. Some activist back into Creativism by being a long time participant in a movement then writing memoirs, and this is one way this has been done in the past. In my opinion this can sometimes hurt a cause unless it is upbeat and contains humor, and not coming off as lugubrious. With that being said, I am really talking about the activist work in progress, and maybe later a poem or novel about the whole experience of the creative activist journey.