Participatory in Feeling?

Spectator sports have rarely held much interest for me for a variety of reasons. But recently I came across this concept that may explain why: “Participatory in feeling. Passive in outcome.”

Sports fans will often say something like “We beat the Patriots” or “We’re Number One.” Of course, the fan was usually just sitting on a couch watching TV.

While leading a hike recently, two women let me know they were in a rush to get back to watch a basketball game on TV, which diminished the actual participatory experience of our outing.

But it also affirmed the idea that sports fans get some kind of participatory feeling when they know they are watching the event live, rooting for their team. Watching a recorded version later loses that feeling, even though the team cannot possibly know you are rooting for them while watching them on TV.

Many aspects of life can feel similar. Elections give us only one chance to vote. We can knock on doors, make calls or donate money. But for a national election our individual impact feels minimal.

I have felt the same frustration while watching Putin’s brutal attack on Ukraine. I can send money to Ukrainian support organizations, but it feels inadequate. Meanwhile, I eagerly watch the news to see how “we” are doing. But that “we” is largely an illusion. They are fighting, suffering and dying. I am just watching.

Television seems like the ultimate form of this experience. We watch passively, while feeling that we somehow influence the outcome. The outcome of a TV drama is more fixed than a sports outcome, yet it draws us in.

Social media seems to offer an alternative where we are participating and not just passively observing. But this is often an illusion; which explains why people often feel frustration and emptiness after spending too much time there. Huge corporations design the algorithms that determine whether anyone even sees your post.

You feel like you have made the perfect argument, yet there is no guarantee any minds will have been influenced.

In dreams we often switch between watching, narrating and participating in the dream experience. In real life we are usually just a spectator.

I think we can be more effective in our lives if we notice this distinction. Some people solve this through what feels like direct action. They might volunteer in a soup kitchen or build houses with Habitat for Humanity. Which does little to solve root problems.

Working for policy change to make the world better can feel ineffective. But this is also a mistaken view. Unlike the case of watching sports on TV, our small actions can make a difference. As long as they are coordinated in concert with others who share our vision and goals.

Yes, I will bring this back to the Climate Crisis. If we are honest, we feel 1) Responsibility. 2) Urgency. 3) Lack of control. The result: Climate anxiety. Young people especially feel this.

We feel that our actions have small effects. And the effects and feedback are separated by years from our actions.

Many people solve this by denying the reality. Others admit the reality but just disengage. They switch to caring about something that seems more solvable. Or they turn to sports or TV where sides and outcomes are clear.

One solution: Break the problem into solvable units. Build one local solar project. Elect one good candidate. But this may not add up to what is needed globally.

Another solution: Switch from outcome control to role fulfillment. Think of World War II. Everyone did their part. Gandhi said, “Whatever you do in life will be insignificant but it is very important that you do it.”

Recognize that while we can’t control the outcome, we can control our participation. The question is no longer “Did I produce the result?” but “Did I play my part well within my sphere?” It locates responsibility where it can truly be exercised. In a world where we feel participatory in feeling but passive in outcome, the measure of agency isn’t the scale of our impact, but the quality of our contribution.