Okay, I know, we all dislike them. Yes, I’m registered to vote. No, I will not sign up to be saved by the grace of God. Better yet, here’s my silent pass-by. You can’t grab my attention if I’m hiding behind this bulky scarf.
For all intents and purposes, I will call them the State Street Solicitors, since they spend their days selling their ideas for a quick glance, an ear to pester and, if they’re lucky, a full-blown conversation.
Seeing as modern society contains some of the most selfish humans to walk this Earth, the only clock we pay attention to is the one we wear in our pockets. Giving up any of that clock’s time is the equivalent of forking over a prized possession. In order to avoid losing any second, we funnel ourselves into an efficient, fast-paced, ignorant path once we pass Humanities and venture onto State. Any speck of patience we had disappears instantaneously when we enter the cacophony of, “Do you have a second to help world hunger?” I think that takes longer than a second, bud.
Yet those State Street Solicitors patrol the area meticulously for hours on end, devoting all of their precious minutes trying to snatch a couple of another’s.
On Tuesday, an advocate of some “Wisconsin Environment” campaign pulled me aside. I made eye contact with him just long enough for it to be considered completely rude to ignore his efforts. So I “listened,” nodding and ‘mhmming’ for a solid five minutes. And the issues did make complete sense: Yes, it would be economically, politically and environmentally sound to use apples from a near-by apple orchard to stock local school cafeterias. Yes, I fully agree, why ship them from New Zealand when local jobs are needed to sustain the deteriorating farming economy?
“And get this! All you have to do is sign up and come out and help us support our cause!” Well shoot, attractive advocate, you just lost me. This is why it is increasingly simple to ignore the State Street Solicitors. They ask and we are unwilling to give, even if it’s simply a listening donation instead of a monetary one.
This was my first stop at one of these stands, so I was oblivious of what to expect. What I found, however, was a sense of commitment, confidence and care that was seemingly unscathed by my resistance to hand over a penny. He was just excited to finally relay his message to another pair of ears. It was after a few blocks off I realized that man was no “Solicitor.” He was a “Societor.”
The State Street Societors are opposite of selfish. They feel for the greater good and see a future many pessimists undermine as false hope. In the face of a society that does not want to hear it, they dedicate their personal time, image and self-esteem to preach something that maintains importance to every person hurriedly walking past. They voice what others harbor inside. They are the brave ones, while the rest of us unquestionably accept the austerities of life.
Although it will take some time for anyone, myself included, to truly appreciate the words these people are saying I think it is time to change the image of these advocates from, “Those annoying liberals/conservatives/Jesus freaks/creepy environmentalists who thrive on lofty ideals,” to, “People who are proud in what they believe and are the initiators of this ‘change’ everyone agrees we need.” Get inspired by their physical acts of voicing their belief. It’s not always about what’s being said—It’s that someone’s finally saying it.
Morgan is a freshman majoring in journalism. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
