[media-credit name=’ERIN KEEFFE/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Author Paul Rogat Loeb urged students and citizens to take responsibility and stand up to make a difference on national issues at the Mills Auditorium Thursday evening.
In the United States, a large amount of people do not vote in elections because of the fact that they do not think they will be heard, Loeb said. Another factor holding citizens back from voting is that they do not believe they know enough about issues to be able to stand up for a cause, he added.
According to Loeb, people can learn as they go and do not need to know everything before acting on a belief. However, motivating citizens to get involved is a step-by-step process.
“We’re taught as if change comes out of nowhere,” Loeb said to the audience.
Every major movement in history began with the public being unaware of facts on controversial issues, such as war and civil rights, Loeb said. People are inspired and motivated by others around them, and there is almost always a plan of action. People do not step onto the stage of history out of nowhere — there is inspiration from behind, he added.
Loeb delivered the message that citizens have power, despite how powerless they may feel as individuals.
According to University of Wisconsin junior Adam Diederich, Loeb’s lecture was one of the more distinguished on campus.
“We have had a lot of good speakers this year, but his message was the most powerful,” said Diederich, the director of the Wisconsin Union Directorate Distinguished Lecture Series.
Loeb spoke about Rosa Parks’ role in the civil rights movement, specifically how she acted with a cause and with a strategy despite being unsure of what the outcome would be.
“There’s a leap of faith, but there’s also intentionality,” Loeb said.
People are not taught the history of American culture accurately, he added, saying Americans learn events, but, in the end, have no sense of history. Instead, Americans learn conclusions, but not the process of movements shaping the country.
Loeb also touched on recent movements such as trying to stop the war in Iraq and the 2004 election between President George W. Bush and Democratic Sen. John Kerry.
The election was successful in that it pushed some to register voters or make one step toward making a difference in the future, according to Loeb.
“If you think of it that way, part of what we are trying to do — maybe much of what we are trying to do — is draw people in to social involvement, and there’s no telling where that can take us,” Loeb said. “This can be hard work sometimes, but it can also be rich and fruitful.”