You change society by changing the wind. Change the wind, transform the debate, recast the discussion, alter the context in which political discussions are being made, and you will change the outcomes... You will be surprised at how fast the politicians adjust to the change in the wind.
Interpretation
Changing the dynamics of society requires altering the foundational conversations and contexts within it.
This quote emphasizes the importance of influencing the underlying discussions that shape societal norms and political outcomes. Jim Wallis suggests that by changing the metaphorical 'wind'—the context and environment of discourse—one can guide politicians and society towards meaningful transformation. The assertion is that those in power are responsive to shifts in public sentiment and dialogue.
In practice
In a speech advocating for climate change action, one might say, 'As Jim Wallis reminds us, you change society by changing the wind.'
Trade is now clearly designed to favor the wealthiest and most powerful corporations at the expense of the rest of us. The three wealthiest people on earth now control more assets than the combined incomes of 600 million people in the world's 48 poorest countries.
Last year, Americans spent $450 billion on Christmas. Clean water for the whole world, including every poor person on the planet would cost about $20 billion. Let's just call that what it is: A material blasphemy of the Christmas season.
Healthcare should be a human right and not a commodity for sale.
Sometimes it takes a natural disaster to reveal a social disaster.
At times I think the truest image of God today is a black inner-city grandmother in the United States or a mother of the disappeared in Argentina or the women who wake up early to make tortillas in refugee camps. They all weep for their children, and in their compassionate tears arises the political action that changes the world. The mothers show us that it is the experience of touching the pain of others that is the key to change.
To change bad habits, we must study the habits of successful role models.
Revolution is the most dramatic appearance of a conscious people.
Here's where redesign begins in earnest, where we stop trying to be less bad and we start figuring out how to be good.
If there is anything that is important to America, it is that you are not a prisoner of the past.
The horizon leans forward, offering you space to place new steps of change.
In a word, the free trade system hastens the social revolution. It is in this revolutionary sense alone, gentlemen, that I vote in favor of free trade.
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