The difference you make, every day

Today, the Long View is thinking about the passing of politician and legend, Christina McKelvie MSP, as well as the personal loss of a beloved family member, earlier this year.

Christina was an extraordinary woman, and she lived a daring, brilliant and authentic life – somehow managing to navigate politics and stand up for values and causes that mattered to her.

I’m glad that, in Scotland, my children have grown up in a place where funny, generous and open-hearted people like Christina can win political campaigns, and run a government.

This week, I visited the Scottish Parliament, with my family and afterwards we went for dinner to talk about what we’d seen – a handful of politicians working late in the parliamentary chamber, to comment on, engage with, and hold government to account on making things better for a group who is among our most disenfranchised, discriminated against, impoverished and exploited: migrants in Scotland, particularly those who are racialised, with no recourse to public funds or undocumented.

“It was more interesting than I thought it would be, actually.”

“They brought so much passion into the debate.”

“I just didn’t know how hard politicians actually work.”

Article content — Christina McKelvie MSP | Photo credit: christina-mckelvie.org

The difference we all make ✨

For this final Long View of the year, I wanted to return to a thread that I’m sure I’ve picked up before: the importance of believing that you can, and do, make a difference.

For people who are interested in social justice, and campaigning for change, the question of whether we’re ✨making a difference ✨ is usually a source of both motivation and dread.

We hope that our actions will create change, and we fear that they will not.

And when we head to the streets, or into online digital communities, to encourage and inspire members of the public to take action, any campaigner knows that the threshold question we must be able to answer is:

Why should I believe that anything I do – just me, alone – will make any difference?

Perhaps you’ve had this conversation, at home, at school or out with friends:

♻️ “It makes no difference if I recycle this one bottle or not, because I’m not going to save the planet.”

🗳️”My vote doesn’t matter, it never has, and it never will.”

⚙️”The system is rigged; nothing is ever going to change it.”

Personally, I’ve always been a passionate believer that people do make a difference, and easily frustrated with people who complain about stuff without actually doing something.

But I like to think that as I’ve grown older, I’ve come to understand that people have different capabilities, experiences and vulnerabilities – and (I hope) I have become a lot less judgmental about opinionated people on the sidelines, and those who feel left behind – and a lot more curious about what can be done to change those beliefs, and restore a sense of agency and ownership about our collective destiny.

How to keep making a difference ✨

So, in honour of Christina McKelvie, and my beloved cousin, Rob, here are a few things I see in their legacies – and that I try to return to, when I (or the people around me) feel doubtful, or fearful, that we are not making a difference:

💪🏽 Find and honour your motivation – We all do things for a reason, and acknowledging and embracing your core motivation is probably the single best way to keep yourself going, even in the face of hardship and failure.

Find and surround yourself with people who honour, respect and support your efforts – and who can help bring you back to your core when your resolve falters.

❤️ Focus on values and process, over outcome – Hold fast to your values (like kindness, equality, humanity) and prioritise process-oriented goals (like consistency, balance, efficiency) over outcome-oriented goals. You can’t control any outcome that is affected by external variables beyond your control – that is true of all social justice issues.

Define personal success every day as showing up and being the best you, nothing more and nothing less.

🫂 Trust (and forgive) yourself and accept comfort from others – People who live daring, brilliant and authentic lives are going to experience hardship and pain, like everyone else. And maybe also a larger-than-usual helping of public criticism, humiliation or ridicule because they have chosen to stick out, or try something different.

The people I know who keep at it, and stay true to themselves, have a confidence and groundedness that can only come from knowing and trusting yourself.

Learn to trust (and forgive) yourself first, and then how to accept comfort from others – remember that allowing others to help you is not a burden, but a gift.

🎁 Thanks again, folks, for reading The Long View again this week, and for being here to mark a whole entire year of writing and reflecting together.

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And, as always, a little recommendation to brighten your Friday, this short poem “how do you do it?” from poet, playwright and activist Lemn Sissay, featured in his most recent collection ☀️let the light pour in ☀️