DeChristopher, T. (2019). A Concerned Citizen: Civics in Action Bo Boudart Producer and Director. Solutions 10(3): 55-56. https://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/article/a-concerned-citizen:-civics-in-action-bo-boudart-producer-and-director
Reviews Book Review there is much to learn about wholesystems design from other cultures and in other times. Fifth, design is a systems revolution which is the art of seeing things whole and regarding our actions together with their likely consequences. Given the complexity of all systems and our inescapable ignorance, a systems perspective requires humility and precaution. It means working at a smaller scale, say, the neighbourhood, the farm, the factory, before generalizing to systems at a larger scale. Changing the scale also changes the system and so on. Thinking in systems over longer periods of time is the revolution of our time. All of our new gadgetry and inventions pale in comparison. We are, as Wahl ably describes, parts of larger wholes, no one and no organization can be an island complete in itself. The upshot is that systems thinking moves us toward enlightened self-interest by which we understand that our
wellbeing and human flourishing is collective, not individual; long-term, not short-term. Sixth, whether acknowledged or not, systems thinking is kin to the core meaning of religion—‘to bind together’ in Latin. We, living in a secular culture, tend not to see the connection, but it is nonetheless inescapable. Aldo Leopold’s ‘land ethic’ and the rules of decent behaviour prescribed in each of the Axial religions bear more than a coincidental similarity to the rules of enlightened design. We are our brother’s keeper and also that of the bears, whales, birds, soils, trees, lands and waters; and they ours. The entire system is mindful, shot through with consideration. The word ‘regenerative’ in the title of this book signifies a commitment to the life processes inherent in ecological design. That, too, is reciprocal, mutual and inescapable. It also carries the command of the writer of
Deuteronomy to “choose life” [30:19] Whether from self-interest or duty, the command requires that we comprehend and value life and life processes, become ecologically competent stewards of land, wildlife, soils, waters, and that we care. Daniel Wahl has compiled a great deal of useful information in a masterful synthesis. That alone is a significant accomplishment, but he’s given us more than that. Designing Regenerative Cultures describes the doorway to a possible, indeed, necessary future. We are not fated to the dystopia in prospect. We have, as he writes, the capacity to design and to organize our societies to protect, enhance and celebrate life. The blueprint was there all along. The awareness of our possibilities is growing. The art and sciences of ecological design are flourishing. The choice, as always, is ours and that of those who will follow.
keep digging, keeping learning, and keep organizing. Her work provides a powerful illustration of what happens when someone begins down a path towards justice and refuses to relent. Now Bo Boudart has produced a short and accessible documentary called “A Concerned Citizen” to introduce audiences to Ott’s 30 years of fighting for a livable and just world. Riki Ott was launched into activism when the Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil near her fishing community in Cordova, Alaska. Her journey toward justice for that disaster led her not only to work on the frontlines of the Deepwater
Horizon and Kalamazoo River spills, but also to examining the structure of corporate personhood that allows oil companies to destroy ecosystems with impunity. In all of her work to defend communities from the oil industry, she kept running into the obstacle of the corporate control of government, so she tackled that too. In 2009, with the Citizens United decision on the horizon, Ott co-founded Move to Amend to launch the movement to amend the constitution to clarify that corporations are not people and money is not speech. This relentlessness and willingness to expand her struggle are some of Riki Ott’s defining gifts. Lots of citizens are
Media Review A Concerned Citizen: Civics in Action Bo Boudart Producer and Director Bullfrogfilms.com (2019) by Tim DeChristopher “What can I do? What can I do?” That is the question constantly asked of Riki Ott, and not only does she have an answer, she has a whole curriculum about what citizens can do and have done to exercise their power to shape their own society. But equally instructive is the lived example of Riki herself, who demonstrates that what one can do is keep pushing,
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Reviews Media Review concerned about something, but when they figure out that the battle is bigger than expected, most people back down and accept the status quo as inevitable. This process of digging deeper and addressing one obstacle to justice after another has the potential to be frustrating or even demoralizing for an activist. If you start trying to protect clean water in your backyard, but run into all the ways that government and industry has rigged the system against your community, you might soon find yourself ten steps away from your initial target, struggling against immense institutions. But the truly inspiring thing about Riki’s journey up the chain of power is that she ends up at the grassroots, educating citizens about their power and responsibilities. When she found that the solutions needed to fix the systemic problems with our government were hindered by the lack of public understanding of the role of citizens, Riki created a civics education curriculum called “Activating My Democracy.” That civics education course has become one more tool that Riki uses to help communities across the country in their struggle against the interconnected crises of our time. So when Riki says, “I feel like we are on the cusp of a serious revolution where people wake up and take back their power,” we know that prophecy is rooted in real-world connection with frontline communities. Because it comes from someone who has spent a lifetime ploughing the ground and planting the seeds of that revolution, this is not a prediction to be dismissed as a naive wish. While the film fails to provide much background into Riki’s personal life and the presumed sacrifices involved in her activism, it also steers clear of the hero culture and “tireless activist” tropes that can befall activist
documentaries. Calling activists “tireless” relieves us of the responsibility to join them by pretending that they possess some superhuman ability to not get tired. But the film presents Riki’s progression as simply the result of continuing to take the next logical steps necessary to protect her community. While she certainly got tired in her 30 years of that journey, she was
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relentless. She continued to take the next step, even if it involved the enormously daunting task of amending the constitution or the slow and mundane task of teaching civics to kids. And by framing her as a “Citizen,” the film suggests that the wide range of Riki’s activism, from the local and personal to the systemic and revolutionary, is the responsibility of all of us.