Reclaiming Hope for Top-Down Social Change

I am a vocal advocate for social change, giving talks, using my classroom as a venue for opening eyes and hearts, creating and hosting events like the Venice Harvest Xchange, and trying to live consciously.  These acts have been focused on individual, grassroots movements, or bottom-up social change. While I talk about the possibility of and need for policy-level, top-down change, I'd nearly given up hope.  Like many others, I find it hard to trust politicians.  That said, I thought I would share some recent experiences that have given me a renewed sense of hope.

Last year, I had dinner with Eric Mar while I was working at Yale. He has been a very vocal advocate for change--perhaps most famous for his proposal to ban toys in happy meals, and taking lots of heat for his idea.  Still, he continues to fight.  I told him about the Food and Flowers Freedom Act that Los Angeles passed in 2010, and he expressed his displeasure for the fact that LA was ahead of San Francisco in terms of a progressive food policy.  Not long after, a similar proposal passed in SF.

I met several policy makers during the LA neighborhood and city council convergence last year, where I was given the opportunity to speak about ways to "green" LA.  I chose to focus on improving the quality of our food system, my favorite topic as of recent. More specifically, I spoke about changing an antiquated policy that requires gardeners to purchase an agricultural permit in order to grow food in parkways (the little strip between your sidewalk and the street).  These permits to grow food can cost upwards of $400, but growing grass, trees, shrubs, and flowers requires no permits and costs nothing.  That's just silly.  What's even more silly, is that the law is actually being enforced. Ron Finley, a friend and Andre's neighbor, has been made an example, being cited, fined, and threatened to have the garden that feeds himself and his neighbors cut down.  Many of the neighborhood council members agreed that change was necessary, but they weren't exactly sure how to make that possible.  Thankfully, Ron has now stopped receiving citations, and while is garden is safe for the moment, the laws still need revising.

I think of California as being the leader for change in the country--many things good flow out of the west.  Last night, I found hope outside of California.  Thanks to my friend Denise, I got to have dinner with Congressman Tim Ryan, author of Mindful Nation.  It's been a while since I've felt like positive social change could come from the top-down, so long that I'd almost given up hope.  This fellow Midwesterner promotes the infusion of mindfulness practice in schools, the armed forces, and the workplace.  He seems genuinely interested in creating policies that foster consciousness and community cohesion.  What a light.

Plans for the foraging adventure have primarily been focused around interviewing people who are working around the system, advocating for change from the bottom-up, living as change agents.  Thanks to last night, and the reminder of my recent interactions with public officials, I am filled with a renewed sense of energy and hope for top-down change. I am curious about those who are trying to change the system from within, so please leave a comment if you have any recommendations for people I might like to meet.