9-21-10 What starts social change?

Today in class this was one of my group's questions. When we answered it in class, I think we did a poor job of actually answering this first key question. What starts a social change. I think the answer is ultimately necessity. For example, after the first world war, the woman's rights movement started. Well what really started that? The fact was that during the First World War women, for the first time in US history, were needed for jobs that were previously the mens' jobs. However, they were mostly over in Europe fighting in the war. So as a necessity, when life returned to normal, women realized how much of a disadvantage they were now at in the workplace. Granted, the real movement was just beginning, but like I said before it was out of necessity of equal pay, equal conditions, etc. to a man in the workplace that I believe it began.

Another big thing we talked about, and that I find very important, is that change is a progressive thing. Basically, we agree that women are equal, however when we wake up tomorrow, men are still going to be a little "more equal" than woman. It's not going to be an overnight change. The same was evident in the freeing of slaves after and during the civil war. For example, we view President Lincoln as being pro-African American and anti-slavery and a super progressive person for his time. In his time he was. However, when you look at some of his quotes such as, "though I don't believe in slavery, I can never see a black man being equal to a white man," you realize that by today's standard, he's nowhere close to what most people view him in terms of progressiveness. So I believe that time is the only thing that really can facilitate true change.