Such is true: every action comes with an opposite reaction, but unlike in physics – in regards to people – they do not always respond with an equal reaction. Behavior in people and children is partially modified this way: when a baby is young, it will cry when it is hungry, when it is lonely, when it is cold or sleepy and parents will wake up in the middle of the night because the crying is so annoying (or heartbreaking) that they will do what they can to get the crying to stop.

Thus, the behavior of the parents is modified to suit the demands of the baby.

When children exhibit negative or harmful behaviors, a consequence must follow to be impactful enough to strongly encourage them to shift gears and avoid repeating the behavior. If the consequence isn’t good enough or regular enough, the child will likely re-offend.

But what about politicians?

Ha! Boy, wouldn’t being in charge of modifying the behavior of politicians be something? Or even voters who exist on the perceptually wrong side of the aisle?

Did the nearly one-million-strong protesters who took to the streets in Serbia last week fix what they intended to fix – corruption? So, the behavior they saw was corruption, and they thought to themselves that standing in the streets was a particularly effective way to end corruption in their post-Soviet Union state? Let’s bring it back to Omaha: At 72nd and Dodge most of us have likely seen or heard the pro-Palestine protestors with their loudspeakers and signs.

There will be those who pass by who honk their horn in solidarity, those who pass by annoyed, and those who drive by uncaring and apathetic. As a practice of exercising their free speech, I applaud them; I love our constitution. However, it must be asked: If they are trying for change in the status quo or the momentum of the era, what is the reaction they are expecting? What is the change they hope to see?

More people standing up in agreement doesn’t seem to be the right answer, as we saw in Serbia, or even Hong Kong when those pre-COVID riots were going on, only for the riots to be dispersed entirely by COVID itself. So are the protests simply reactionary and a waste of energy?

If a protestor stands on the side of the street and gets no attention, perhaps like some previous events, they will head into the street to block traffic.

“Perhaps now people will see and listen."

But what behavior have you modified in your audience? Like children and adults: if the consequence of an action isn’t strong enough, then behavior won't be changed. Likewise: block the streets with a protest and then the response will merely be that the driver will take a different route to work the next day. The protestor had succeeded in modifying the behavior of the passerby, but in a fractional way, and the modification had no impact on “liberating Palestine."

I’m not saying not to protest, hardly that. This essay is however an urge to consider what is needed to change people's behavior. Most of us understand that we have to share this space-rock for all the rest of our lives, and, some radical groups like ISIS believe that they can kill their way to a world with just them left.

As such with the aim to change the world, ask yourself: how can I modify the behavior of the people around me? AND: am I willing to go the distance?

If you enter into a debate intent on changing the other person's opinion with half a heart – you will lose by merit of wasting your time which you could have spent doing something with a full heart. And if you enter a debate believing the other person is unable to comprehend what you have to offer then surely, they will feel the disrespect in your eyes and in your voice and you will have yet again wasted your time. Just your heart will hurt, and you will have aged worse for the stress it has caused you.

Then to “go the distance,” means that:

When you punch – you follow through.

When you debate – you do so with all your love and patience.

When you run – you do it without the thought of ever stopping because then you will unduly slow down when the end becomes nearer, for like modifying the behavior of a child with the regular and precise application of consequences it will require a tremendous amount of thought and energy and dedication to modify the behavior of your fellow man.

Back in the sixties and seventies, when people fought for the just and true equal rights between all people of all skin color, there were people then too who wanted to change the status quo, and those who fought against the civil rights activists with courts and laws and even unchecked violence. 

Director James Mangold of the recent Bob Dylan biopic: “A Complete Unknown,” came upon a real letter in his research between two true American Heroes who both had true grit and were often in the crosshairs of those who would purport to claim to be protectors of propriety:

Johnny Cash wrote to Bob Dylan:

“Bob, go track mud on someone's carpet."

 People back then did not like the reflection that Bob Dylan forced upon them with his words, and he often made people uncomfortable. Keep people safe in your attempts to change the behavior of the world, but always do it with a focused heart.

Austin Petak is an aspiring novelist and freelance journalist who loves seeking stories and the quiet passions of the soul. If you are interested in reaching out to him to cover a story, you may find him at austinpetak@gmail.com.

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