This OTYCD entry originally posted in December 2017.

 

Imagine an Olympic-size swimming pool, and imagine you’re the only person in it.

 

Swim to the pool’s edge. Start doing laps around the pool by following the edge. One lap is one complete rectangle. Ready? Go.

 

One lap.

Two laps.

Three laps.

Take as much time as you want. It’s not a race.

Five laps.

Seven laps.

Ten.

Ok, stop swimming.

 

See what’s happening?

 

Your limbs are still, but you’re moving forward on the momentum of the current that you created. Keep swimming, and the current will get stronger, and it will float you forward when you need to rest.

 

Now imagine that you invite more people to join you in the pool. They file in behind you, and they follow you in swimming laps around the edge.

 

What happens? The current grows stronger, faster.

 

This is what political action can be. If it’s just you swimming, it’ll take a while to get some momentum going, but once it’s going, you’re good, and you can even rest every now and again. If you can recruit people to swim with you, you can build momentum even faster, and you can rest reliably, safe in the knowledge that the flow won’t stop.

 

Ok, yes, let’s admit it–we’re sharing the pool with folks who are trying to swim in the opposite direction, and some of those folks have no interest in playing fair. But never forget–there are more of us than there are of them.

 

If we work together and we just keep swimming, our momentum will be unstoppable.

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the blue button on the upper right or checking the About & Subscribe page. And tell your friends about the blog!