Getting involved in a cause or movement might take a personal experience or knowing someone that has experienced something. When issues become personal, it seems that it is easier for a person to give of their time to a cause that benefits them or others in need, and maybe a movement that opposes the opposition.
A simple and maybe silly example would be a person that happened to be walking outside a baseball park and player hits either a foul ball or homerun, and the ball unintentionally strikes that person in the head causing them injury. This person that got hit in the head could go two ways with this scenario. One direction to take would be to forgive the baseball player and realize that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and not paying attention to the game. The other direction would be to realize that there is a danger of getting hit with a baseball while walking outside a baseball park and try to stop what happened to you from happening to others. Maybe they would raise money to put up nets or higher fences around the baseball fields in their community, or Maybe they would go as far as trying to have a law passed banning baseball in public areas.
A great example of getting involved is that of the Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico. The people involved were the descendants of the indigenous people of the Sierra Madre mountains in the state of Chiapas. Their leader sparked a rebellion in the mid and late 1990's that requested that their rights as indigenous dwellers be restored. They were and still are fighting to protect their rights to their land and the right to live as free human beings. According to Harper and Leicht peasant revolts, "are common in traditional agrarian societies, yet they are usually short-lived. Rural revolts are rarely caused by frustrated rising expectations, but rather to defend or restore their customary rights from the pressure of increasing rents and taxation (which enrich landlords or raise revenues for state projects). Peasant revolts are more about local issues than broad ideological concerns, and they dissipate when traditional rights and privileges are restored. Whether peasants can sustain continued rebellion depends on (1) whether they have communal traditions of solidarity and self-government, (2) whether they have the economic or organizations resources to do so, and (3) whether landlords have the coercive power to control their behavior or suppress uprisings" (Harper & Leicht, 2007, p. 195). The people of Chiapas obviously joined the Zapatista movement because they were affected by the repercussions of the NAFTA treaty and the negligence of their own government. The people of Chiapas became involved because it was the only chance they had at making a difference in the way that they lived their lives in Chiapas. Marcos and the Zapatista fighters were the only ones trying to make a difference, and that push and motivation was all they needed to hop on the bandwagon.
I was asked to become a missionary for my church in 2000, I accepted and was called to serve in La Paz, Bolivia for two years. I chose to join this cause because I believe what the church teaches to be true. As far as there being barriers to my participation in this religious movement there were many. I had to adhere to the churches moral standards, I had to go through language and gospel training, I had to raise money to support myself during my two year stay, I had to get immunization shots, I had to adhere to specific rules that the mission had in effect. There were numerous barriers to my participation, but none of them were large enough to discourage me from going to and serving the people of Bolivia.
According to Kathryn Kish Sclar and Thomas Dublin, "Movements are something that people create to press for social change. They are spaces that are made by people to allow relationships between them that can challenge power". They go on to say that "American sociologists in the early- to mid-twentieth century characterized movements as being on a continuum of innovative collective behavior" (Kish Sclar & Dublin, p. 1) No matter what the cause, a movement has the power to instill change in societies. The right movement connected with the right people and behaviors, will certainly make a little change, if not great change. Being involved in a cause gives us something to work for, it gives us something to live for. Without causes or passions, what would life be like? I know that without my passion to be successful, I would be one sorry excuse for a human being. Giving of our time and money to causes may be seen as a waste to some people, but personally it could mean the world to someone, and sometimes all we need is a push from somebody or a small personal experience to light the fire underneath us.
References
Dublin, Kish Sclar. Women and social movements in the United States. What are social movements and what is gendered about women's participation in social movements? Retrieved April 19, 2010, from http://womhist.alexanderstreet.com/socm/intro.htm
Harper, C.L. & Leicht, K.L. (2007). Exploring social change: America and the world (5th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ
