What Turns Outrage Into Change?
Insistent, sustained, clear, and effectively communicated public outrage has always been an essential force behind systemic change in democratic societies. This is not to deny the power of invention—the mobile phone being an obvious example—nor does it downplay the importance of legal and policy decisions.
From seatbelts to tobacco, civil rights to marriage equality, littering to the nuclear freeze—and across the spectrum of water, air, and other environmental protections—insistent, sustained, clear, effective, and repeatedly (!) communicated public outrage has been key.
Without the activating power of public outrage, major social institutions like courts and legislative bodies tend toward the status quo. But when the unbelievable happens every day, how do we express outrage in meaningful ways?
By focusing. Pick one thing that makes you crazy—the thing keeping you up at night, the thing you can’t stop talking about. Write down how you feel. Define the emotion behind it. Unpack that. Read about what others are doing. Do one small thing to lean into your desire to act. Call a friend. Write a letter. Post on social. Go to a meeting. Get started.
It’s all connected, of course, and the barrage is intended to overwhelm and paralyze us. But when we pick something that really touches us, that’s the issue that can sustain our outrage.
Even then, public outrage by itself isn’t enough. Landmark court decisions (Brown v. Board of Education), the passage of key legislation (Civil Rights Act of 1964), revelatory publications (Silent Spring), scientific findings (Hansen’s 1981 paper in ‘Science’), inspiring and courageous leaders (too many), corporate malfeasance (tobacco companies), socially responsible businesses (Patagonia), risk communication (warning labels on cigarettes), voices of morality and religion (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops)—all have been critical pivot points in driving massive social change.
Where and how these waves of change flowed and interacted varied. Yet, the activating power of public outrage was crucial in all cases. In each situation, the facts mattered. But alone, neither were they enough.
Underlying emotions and deeply held values are the fuel that ignites public demands for change—and unites us as well. Remember:
- Continuing to force Black people to sit in the back of the bus became morally abhorrent.
- Smoking shifted from being “cool” to being viewed as dirty and unhealthy.
- Tossing cans out car windows on the highway became embarrassing.
- Not wearing a seatbelt came to be seen as foolish.
Climate is the challenge of our generation. Now is the time for us to write the history of how we too will overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, to secure a stable climate for the future.
Change is inevitable. Having the power to steer it is the challenge. Whoever controls the narrative wins—and effective narratives are grounded in emotions.
Help us change the climate narrative: