Can We Be The Voice Of The Majority.one Day?
AnimalCare 
Apr 24, 2013 
AnimalCare, NGOs 
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With the “mother of all elections” just around the corner, coffee shop talk inevitably leads to elections talk. In one such encounter, I wondered aloud if our constituency can ever (as we’ve proposed 3 years ago) be the first township in the country to implement CNRM on a grand scale (sanctioned and instituted by the local councils). We got talking and this is what I learnt: Simply put, we are a very small minority. And this does not give us any bargaining power.
We need to be the voice of the majority.
Even IF local elections are back in force (which they should be), we still need to be the voice of the majority. One vote for CNRM and nine votes for capture-and-kill isn’t going to get us anywhere.
That’s the bitter truth. That’s reality.
Politicians (are supposed to) serve the people who elected them to power. But the people needs to tell the politicians what they want. And that voice has to be big enough.
Politicians need a mandate from the voters/ratepayers to institute substantive change.
Being a minority, our voice is still very small.
But all is not lost.
Margaret Mead (1901 – 1978) said this: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. In fact, its the only thing that ever has. There is definitely some truth in this statement. However, when politics is concerned and like it or not, our lives are governed by politics, I think we have to add that this minority group of committed citizens who want to change things would have to slowly but surely garner enough support to form the majority. Without the majority, without the power of the vote, we aren’t going to get anywhere at all if we are looking at instituting change on a bigger scale.
So, what do we need to do?
1. Spread the message of kindness to animals as far and as widely as we can. Start with the young; they are our future. That’s what my books are for. They are available to you free of charge, just reimburse us for postage:http://myanimalcare.org/free-books/. Education is the key to change.
2. Lead by example. Show what kindness to animals really means. Feed the strays in a responsible manner. Get them neutered. Look after and manage community animals responsibly without incurring the wrath of those who are not sympathetic. Do not get into quarrels with those who are not on our side. We are not here to make enemies but to garner more support for our cause. It’s all for the animals. Grin and bear it, if you have to. If we make enemies, the animals will suffer in our absence. They are defenseless. Please remember this. Innocent animals have been poisoned and abused by angry humans. We certainly do not want angry humans on “the other side”. Win them over with kindness, not by force.
“Yes, but it’s easier said than done”, I often hear this. That’s true. But it isn’t impossible. It will take a long time for us to become the majority, but if we just sit back and lament, complain and adopt a negative mindset, truly, NOTHING will change.
Negativity does not get us anywhere. It just makes us more miserable and even angry. And that’s not very wise, is it?
Be hopeful, stay positive but expect nothing. That way, we will not be disappointed.
At the end of the day, even IF we don’t get what we set out to achieve, we can at least sit back and be happy that we have done our best.
Remember that even if we only save ONE animal in our entire lifetime, even if we have only fed one stray animal, helped to get one neutered or help transport one injured stray animal to the vet’s for treatment, or given just one donation to any animal charity, we have made a significant difference to that ONE animal.
Saving one animal will not change the world, but it would have changed the whole world for that one animal you save.
And if everyone does that, wouldn’t that already collectively make a big difference?
So let’s spread the message of kindness to animals.
Lead by example.
We abhor racism and sexism.
We should abhor speciesism too.
Source: http://myanimalcare.org/2013/04/24/can-we-be-the-voice-of-the-majority-one-day/
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