Before every rally, no matter the cause, we end up having this discussion (one that personally irritates me a lot): "do rallies actually achieve anything," "what changed after the last rally," "so people stood around and went home — what next," "how long can people keep rallying?"
What I want to say is that we hardly rally at all, when in fact we should be doing it much more often — and rallies (demonstrations, marches) are, generally speaking, a sign of a mature political culture.
We’re being sold this nonsense that political rallies are, 99% of the time, something that happens in unstable countries when people rise up against the regime. In fact, that’s exactly where no rallies happen at all. Dictators and autocrats ban them, and what we see on television is what happens when the pressure finally bursts and it turns into a revolution. In ordinary life, there’s nothing like that there. They’re not allowed (just like here), and people don’t believe in them (just like here).
The truth is that rallies happen most often in developed countries. People rally in Europe. In the United States and Canada. I doubt there are statistics on rallies per capita, but it’s obvious that far more of them take place in developed democracies than anywhere else.
Taking to the streets as a sign of solidarity, grief, support, or protest — to stand alongside people like yourself — is one of the most important political traditions there is.
In a European country, there’s no censorship, the courts are fair, elected representatives are accountable, access to elections exists, and there’s no vote-rigging. So from the point of view of the dilemma that keeps so many of us up at night — "what do rallies actually accomplish?" — the answer is: absolutely nothing. There are a million more effective ways to influence those in power.
So why do people go out, then? Empathy. Emotional intelligence, as people like to say these days. They simply understand that this is a moment when it’s appropriate to come out and stand together with everyone else, so they do. You know what you’re supposed to say when someone tells you a person close to them has died or a child has been born. In the same way, developed, complex societies understand that there are different moments when people should take to the streets.
Out of joy and out of grief, out of anger and out of elation. At moments like these, people want to be with others like themselves — and so they come out of their apartments and into the street.
This is something we need to learn, something we shouldn’t be ashamed of, and we definitely shouldn’t torment ourselves with the foolish line of thinking that says, "well, we went out and nothing changed." And what exactly does make things change? The price of oil? It fell, and nothing changed. Food prices? They rose, and nothing changed. The dollar? Mortgages?
No one knows for sure what causes change. No one can predict it: maybe a rally, maybe a candlestick to the head, maybe Watergate.
Of course, we go out demanding change, but if change doesn’t happen, does that mean we shouldn’t go out at all? Of course not.
A rally or a march is not a magic button that produces change when you press it. It is part of the political toolkit of a politically mature person — just like voting, reading a newspaper, writing a Facebook post, or watching debates on television.
Suppose Putin and the rest were carried off to Mars by aliens. Russia is now a democracy. Should there be fewer rallies? Of course not — there should be more of them. Society, families, and individuals constantly face new challenges. Going to a rally where people share your point of view is part of the search for an adequate response. Speak, listen — listen, speak.
Today I wrote about the Kashin case. The response to something like this in a politically developed society is a huge march of 300,000 people. Because of empathy, compassion, and a concern for the future (we don’t want anything like this to happen again). The response in a politically underdeveloped society is to come up with a thousand and one reasons why everything is pointless.
The result: not only are there no positive changes, but we all feel awful and ashamed, as if our silence makes us complicit with the thugs.
Because even if it’s useless in terms of getting Governor Turchak (a Russian regional governor) arrested immediately, it is still useful for us ourselves, isn’t it? As a reminder, for the historical record. If you feel it — go out and speak. If you didn’t get what you wanted — go out and speak. This process is not supposed to have an end, just as there is no such thing as a final political victory.
In short, if we want to be part of Europe, then let’s adopt European political culture here as well. Let’s take to the streets when we feel that it would be right for people to take to the streets.
And here’s an image for you as well, in case you’re going to the September 20 rally in support of the peaceful transfer of power. It would be good to post it on social media. It would also be great to share the rally page on Facebook.
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