Blog Action Day "Power of We"

Individuals form groups and "I" becomes "We" in a common goal and activity.  There is 'strength in unity' as the Aesop fable wisely advises in the 'Father and His Sons' using a bundle of sticks to show that they are harder to break than a single stick on its own; the sons represented by the sticks would be stronger together than apart.  There is usually a common goal that can be the basic reason for forming such groups as:  associations, unions, charities, organizations, teams, neighbourhoods, companies, etc.  Any goal that could benefit individuals in a group can unify that group in accomplishing it together.  There are groups with the insiders and groups which include the outsiders to accomplish their goals.  Most individual insiders who join a group usually do so from this basic benefit, wherein all benefit from the goal and activity, such as with unions, associations and companies.  Members join for that purpose that they all benefit together. But sometimes insiders include outsiders for support because their goal has some benefit to society at large, such as with charities and non-profit organizations that fundraise for donations to help homeless, poor, and hungry.  Although the generous outsiders will not benefit from helping, the insiders and their beneficiaries will gain from the outsiders donations.  The helpless beneficiaries are unable to do it for themselves, to solve their own problems, so often a charity will have to do the work with a few paid staff and many volunteers.  Some examples of groups of insiders which gain together:  the People Power EDSA Revolution in the Philippines in 1986 when millions of Filipinos went to the streets for the common goal of achieving democracy by ousting the dictatorship of President Marcos who had used martial law to control political power, the Arab Spring movement in Muslim countries with people going against their dictatorship governments to gain democracy for their countries, and online groups such as Meetups and Poetry.com where in members meet and share a common activity they are interested in.  Examples of groups of insiders which include outsiders to help beneficiaries:  Avaaz which promotes global awareness of issues and problems by online campaigns and fundraising to the general public and emailing world leaders for support, Greenpeace which campaigns for environmental protection, Amnesty International which supports freedoms and helps imprisoned advocates who criticize governments of corruption and dictatorship, and Gawad Kalinga which fundraises to build houses for the poor and homeless in the Philippines.  However, not all groups have good goals in mind, and the tragic death of Aesop at the hands of furious Delphians who forced him off a cliff due to argument over gold, shows that a group can also use its strength for evil.

Groups and Networks with Common Goals I Joined:

Philippine Press Club Ontario

Poetry.com

Meetups

Avaaz
Greenpeace
Amnesty International

Westcoast Domestic Workers Association

Refer to Blog Action Day
Refer to Aesop's Fables
The Father and His Sons or Bundle of Sticks 
Woodcut of Death of Aesop (Wikipedia)
Refer to EDSA People Power Revolution
Refer to Arab Spring
Refer to Gawad Kalinga




From Woodcut of Death of Aesop