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 be anti-racist you have to be actively a part of dismantling the systems that surround you and the systems that you benefit from.
One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight, for a very long time, of the shore.
Procrastinatio n will delay your change!!! Today is a very good day to change; don't let YOU stop yourself from growing!
While I understand the passions and the anger that arise over the death of Michael Brown, giving into that anger by looting or carrying guns, and even attacking the police, only serves to raise tensions and stir chaos.
If you're in space on the way to Mars, and a conflict develops... you can't turn around and go back, because Earth is already gone on its orbit.
I thank God that I've lived long enough to see what I have seen, and I pray that people will continue to do better. We are doing better, it may not seem so, but there was a time when people were lynched in the middle of the street and it was not against the law. We are doing better, but we have so much more to do.
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