#Collective Agency

Our Power To Begin The World Anew

Yet with such sweeping power comes a corresponding responsibility. If we truly can reset the terms of our common life, then we are answerable for the world we create. History shows that revolutions can liberate, as in the abolition of slavery, but also betray their ideals, as in the descent into terror during the French Revolution. Paine’s optimism therefore invites a sober question: what principles will guide our new beginnings? The promise of starting over becomes meaningful only when anchored in justice, humility, and a commitment to learn from the very past we refuse to be ruled by. [...]

Becoming the Change We Have Been Awaiting

Finally, education ties the arc together. Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970) argues that people become subjects of history through dialogic learning; Boggs extended this idea into neighborhood classrooms, garden beds, and maker spaces. When youth document oral histories or rebuild a corner store as a cooperative, they encounter knowledge as something made, not given. Thus the quote becomes a pedagogy: by practicing responsibility together, we discover that the leaders we awaited were the selves we are still becoming. [...]

Change Will Not Come If We Wait For Some Other Person Or Some Other Time. We Are The Ones We've Been Waiting For. — Barack Obama

Spoken during a period of political and economic uncertainty (2008), Obama's phrase aimed to inspire hope and activate the American public in crafting a better future. It reinvigorates the notion, rooted in American history, that progress stems from active participation rather than passive hope. [...]

Recognizing Our Power to Change the World - Barack Obama

As a prominent leader, Barack Obama embodies the spirit of this message. His presidency was characterized by efforts to inspire individuals to believe in their ability to create change and to engage in civic participation. [...]