Change : Must It Come Through Negativity?

Negative, negative, NEGATIVE! It is all too easy to get caught in the trap without realizing it, but it is a worthy topic of discussion none-the-less. Are you a Negaholic? Even in disguise? Negativity is addictive, and can present itself in so many ways. Perhaps you are already aware of it, the first step, and now you are looking for a way to release those negative thoughts. Whatever the case, we came here for Change.. so how are the two linked together?

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy

We often want for change to come through negativity; we point fingers, we criticize, complain and so on. This certainly can work, if it is on a large-scale basis, I think here of the protests surrounding Vietnam. But what about on the local level, on the scale that does not involve the entire country, but parts of it spread throughout every community? i.e. Horses.

We are afterall, struggling with a surplus of horses that are filling and overfilling rescues, being turned out loose when the owners give up caring for them, or starve to death at their owner's hands. It used to be that we heard of the struggle to save horses from the meat buyers at auctions, but with the recent outlaw of horse slaughter in the US, that is mostly a distant echo in our not so distant past. We still hear stories of horses being trucked to Canada or Mexico for the same slaughter fate, but less and less as it has become more expensive to haul horses thanks to fuel prices.

How do we create change to affect horse owners and breeders, to impact them on a level that brings about responsible ownership, care, training, retirement of older horses, as well as the knowledgeable insight to breed quality horses vs. large quantities of horses. Can this be a change by only a handful of people?

What if that kind of change were to become a national expectation? What happens when we go to a fancy restaurant? Do we eat with our hands, talk loudly or argue over our meal, wear our pajamas in and bring a child who is not only out of control but has a cold on top of it, evidenced by the green snot half-dried running out of their nose. No. We do what is expected at a fancy/expensive restaurant. We get dressed up and prepare for the evening out, we do our hair, put on make-up, we use formal table manners, and leave the kids with a baby-sitter.

How have we come to the place that our expectations of the kind of care involved with horses, and responsibility, is of such low or non-existent expectation? And how do we change it?

I cannot agree with the means, but one person has taken it upon themselves to bring embarrassing (or abrasive) awareness to people who in her opinion are making dire mistakes. The Fugly Horse Blog has brought about a lot of attention, I think perhaps the most common remark I hear about it is that it is entertaining and funny. Where did I miss the comedy? I can't help but feel that it is a bit like a school teacher who yells at you for getting it wrong and slaps you on the wrists, but never explains how to get it right.. Do you think you are safe from her judgment? Probably not, at least not if you appear online in any way, shape or form. Is it the best way to exact change, or is it simply a compass that point due north? Do we really feel motivated to help make changes after reading all the negative remarks? I certainly don't, I feel like throwing in the towel and walking away.

But how do we bring about change in our own individual ways? Maybe we can learn something from other people who are trying to do just that…