Historian Heather Cox Richardson shows us what it takes to resist, and that we are actually very good at it.
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a CRACK, a CRACK in everything
That's how the light gets in -- Leonard Cohen
Erica Chenoweth opens the introduction to her book, Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know with those four lines from the chorus to Cohen's Anthem. She then defines Civil Resistance as
"a form of collective action that seeks to affect the political, social, or economic status quo without using violence or the threat of violence against people to do so. It is organized, public and explicitly nonviolent in its means and ends." (page 1)
Civil resistance can be and often IS incredibly disruptive and confrontational. Chenoweth explains that people and institutions targeted often feel deeply threatened because civil resistance jeopardizes their power and status.
- It is a method of conflict
- It is waged by unarmed civilians without directly harming the opponent
- It involves coordinating a diverse set of methods
- It is deliberately disobedient
- The goal is to impact the status quo
