A week ago I heard social theory big wigs Malcolm Gladwell and Mark Kingwell speak at Convocation Hall in Toronto in “an evening of dialogue on social change.” For an excellent summation of the key points, check out the prototype blog.
While it was exciting and meaningful for me to be part of the sea of people assembled to listen and think about such important issues of our times, the “‘Well boys,” as Massey College Master John Fraser calls them, came up short.
The most disappointing moment of the evening for me was when Gladwell, taking justifiable aim at how we , as a society, have come to fetishize awareness at the expense of action, left us all with a line to the effect that “somebody ought to do something.”
‘Well’, duh.
Given Gladwell’s connection to vast social and political networks, why did he not take the opportunity to get more specific? In the mere three examples he gave of action, why did seatbelt laws from the ’70s figure so prominently; are there not more current, practical examples of social and environmental action that ARE working?
Gladwell went on about how the environmental problems of our age could be, and in fact are being addressed by more specialized minds than his — but WHO, Malcolm. Site Cases. Name Names. The audience was hungry for anything original and real Gladwell could have served up. Why did HE pass up the opportunity to act?
For more, see the youtube clip of the evening, or check out the Canuckflack post on the event.
