People Grassroots Community Efforts Things Live Fight Change

In the United States, people who are dissatisfied with the "status quo" (the way things are) have three options: they can ask their "elected representatives" (the people who were voted into positions to represent others in the government) to "address" (deal with) the issue, they can "learn to live with it" (become accustomed to the unpleasant way things are), or they can fight for change. People who fight for change often turn to "community organizing" and "grassroots efforts," or loosely organized groups of ordinary people who feel "passionately" (very strongly) about a particular "cause" (a movement; something that needs to change) and spend a lot of time and energy promoting that cause.

Community activists and grassroots leaders face great "obstacles" (things that make it difficult to achieve one's goals), but they are "persistent" (don't stop trying). They often "cite" (repeat words said by someone else) Margaret Mead, an author who said, ""Never 'doubt' (thinking that something might not be true) that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

Most grassroots efforts begin at the local level, sometimes even focusing on a particular building, such as when the "tenants" (renters; people who live in a building owned by someone else) of an apartment building organize themselves to demand repairs or better living conditions. But other groups have a much larger "scope" (the topics and area one wants to cover) and "end up" (eventually; in the end) becoming national movements, such as the "civil rights movement" (efforts to ensure that all people are treated fairly) and "anti-war movements" (efforts to prevent and/or end wars).