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Chapter 12: The Quest to Confront the System

Chapter 12: The Quest to Confront the System

Last updated on: July 21, 2026 at 3:01 pm by Dorian Scott Cole

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Chapter 12: The Quest to Confront the System 2026-07-21T15:01:09-06:00 Dorian Scott Cole

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Open and Relational Theology & Social Psychology

The Quest So Far: Making meaningful change is a gauntlet. Throughout this series, we are tracking the specific, frustrating obstacles that derail well-intentioned movements and learning how to break through them.

If you are new to this quest series, you can begin the quest with Chapter 2: The Stress Test.

The 60-Second Read
The Art of the Small Lever

In Chapter 12, the students face the daunting task of engaging Mayor John Lawrence. As they approach City Hall, the weight of their mission creates palpable tension driven by a fear of personal and institutional reprisal. Professor Torn intervenes, reframing their anxiety by introducing the physics of “small levers.” He teaches them that real power in a system isn’t found in brute force but in finding the hinges upon which the status quo is balanced.

Moving from a “war” mindset to a “reconciliation” mindset, the group adopts a strategy of integration rather than accusation. They realize that to move the mayor, they must provide him with a “golden parachute”—a way to solve his political deficit while saving face. By organizing a broad coalition—churches, business leaders, and the unemployed—they create a visual groundswell that transforms the mayor’s resistance into an opportunity for leadership.

The Insight: Structural change is rarely won by direct confrontation, which only triggers the system’s defensive antibodies. Success comes from engineering a mechanical advantage: providing the gatekeeper a face-saving, politically viable exit ramp from their current dead-end position.

The Action: When faced with a rigid power structure, stop pushing on the wall. Find the “hinge”—the point of least resistance where a small, well-placed action can swing the heavy door of governance. Build a coalition that makes the cost of inaction higher than the cost of change.

Themes: Mechanical Advantage, Reconciliation vs. Force, and the Engineering of Political Exit Ramps.

The Series:

The Group. Gemini Generated Image

Chapter 12: The Quest to Confront the System

The group considered the reasons why Mayor John Lawrence might not be cooperating at all. They weighed three specific strategic approaches:

Social Justification Theory: The recognition that due to the perceived cost of change, people remain anchored to the status quo and inaction unless stimulated by a clear moral imperative.
The Golden Parachute: Giving the Mayor an easy, face-saving direction to move in.
Applying Pressure: Increasing incentives by raising the political cost of inaction.

Loki joined the group’s discussion, his presence always shifting the energy.

Professor Torn noticed as the graduate students and Loki entered the Vault and took their seats that they were a little tense from the idea of pressuring a power infrastructure. They knew people who try to create change often face personal and collective reprisal. The university could suffer, as could they. This class could be closed down by political pressure. How might he relax them?

“The door you came through to enter this building weighs 300 pounds,” Torn said. “It’s massive. To open it, three of you together could rush it, hit it with your shoulders, and make it open. That’s raw force. Anyone want to try that?”

The group was perplexed and stayed silent.

“But just one of you can push it with one finger to open it. It’s perfectly balanced on its hinges. The mayor is in a state of perfect balance—a state of equilibrium that represents the status quo. He’s happy with that status. But remember what we’ve learned: a small leverage can make massive doors swing on their hinges.”

“Yes,” Gerard replied, “but if the wind blows, the door can gain opposite momentum and slam shut, knocking people down. That’s what we’re looking at. The political wind can blow against us and cause harm to us and the university. How do we guard against that?”

“You’re right. And this is a difficult decision. You’re balancing public value against your and the university’s safety. Threatening your safety is what some opposing forces do, and this is a critical moment in not just your academic life but in your future endeavors. What you decide here will remain with you through most of your life and alter what you do and the outcomes. What do you think about continuing?”

“I have a lot to lose,” Zaid said. “I’m a citizen of Morocco, not the US, and I’m here on the goodwill of this nation. If the political leaders here turn against me, instead of going for my doctorate, I will be going back to Morocco to work. I don’t know, maybe I could do my doctorate in France. But I speak very little French. This is a huge decision for me. I have so much to lose.”

Chaac nodded in agreement. Even Jared and Madison, who had less to lose, nodded.

“That goes for me, too,” Tane said with a worried look on her face. “I really want to do my doctorate work in social psychology in the US. But I would also like to see this course through so I can fully understand the process; we’ve made a huge amount of progress. Still, I’m not sure. If the climate here becomes repressive, how well will I be able to do my doctoral work? What if someone doesn’t like what I’m researching and takes away my visa? This is a nightmare in a supposedly free country.”

“I don’t think anyone would think less of you for reducing your risk at this point,” Torn said. “As far as I’m concerned, you’ve earned a high grade on the course.”

Everyone looked at each other.

“When I think about the homeless, I just can’t turn away,” Madison said. “Maybe one or two of us could go forward with this. But maybe the university should have some input, too. They’re a major stakeholder. As well as you with this class, Professor Torn. No one wants to see a political bomb set off here.”

Torn nodded in appreciation. “In six previous summers I’ve led this course, we’ve never faced so much political backlash. But I’ll survive and go on to do other summer student-initiated projects. They’re valuable.”

Torn looked around at the group. “You can take a day to think about it, or we can vote now.”

Madison held up her hand. “I want to go ahead with this. As a classicist, knowing history, movements great and small are led by brave people with a mission, often against great odds. I think it’s worth it. I want to be on that historical list of people who made change for the better.”

Gerard held up his hand and nodded affirmative.

Tane slowly, tentatively, held up her hand.

Torn responded to Tane, “Don’t anyone feel like they have to go with the crowd. Do what’s best for you at this point.”

Tane’s hand stayed up. Zaid and Chaac followed.

“Somehow I’m feeling brave today,” Chaac said. “Maybe I’m inspired by the women in the group who are fearlessly moving ahead.”

Everyone laughed.

“Torn stood up and walked toward the center of the room. “Then let’s think about where we are and what tools we have. First, I think I should say this: Jesus’s teaching in the Beatitudes was a direct, subversive act against both the Roman and Jewish positions. When he said, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,’ he wasn’t suggesting people should be passive; he was redefining the very definition of power. The Romans thought peace was the exercising of power to suppress resistance. That’s the general mood today. Jesus thought peace was the presence of reconciliation. You aren’t here to act like an insurgent, which is just another flavor of Empire and force. You’re here to act like the Body of Jesus to bring reconciliation for peace. Don’t fight the mayor; make him see that the system he serves is failing to do what it was designed for: to provide dignity to us all—not just for a few wealthy, but for everyone. Let’s find ways to reconcile and bring peace. Be sly as serpents and harmless as doves.”

The group nodded and smiled, feeling inspired.

Tane offered, “You already mentioned the mayor facing the cost and staying with the status quo. Social Justification Theory says because of the cost, people stay with the status quo. Inaction. And only a moral imperative stimulates action.”

“Haven’t we already given the mayor a moral imperative?” Madison asked.

“It has to be powerful,” Tane said. “It has to overcome the desire for order, structure, and certainty; and overcome the need to feel safe, secure, and in control of one’s environment; and overcome the desire to share reality and coordinate social relationships with others.”

“Lots of ‘ands’ in there. Maybe we could refine that a little with public sentiment,” Loki said. “For some people, morality is a relative thing and has more to do with what others think. Like you said, social relationships. In politics, relationships are very important to success.”

“Good one, Loki,” Zaid said. “I think public opinion is exactly what would drive change.”

“What if we get the homeless to picket in front of city hall,” Loki said. “Make some very motivational signs for them to carry.”

“David could organize that. And the business students have a good idea where they are. He could work with them.”

“I think we need a poster child to put on the signs,” Gerard said.

“Here’s a thought. What if we put on the signs, ‘David for Mayor,’ with his picture?”

Everyone laughed.

“Yeah, that could actually work,” Chaac said. “Where I come from, it would work.”

“Let’s do it,” Gerard said. “Loki, you’re a genius trickster.”

Madison had a thought. “Let’s expand this. Let’s get church people, and let’s advertise this on social media. People 18 to 30 are really into activism, and they vote. They’ll show up. And also on social media, get people who have become unemployed and lost a lot and give them signs about being unemployed and living on the streets and bringing their kids.”

“Now that’s a picture that shapes public opinion,” Tane said.

“We can let the TV stations know it’s happening,” Gerard said. “I think they would carry it.”

“Not unless it bleeds red blood,” Madison said. “They count the cost as well. If they get political disfavor, sometimes that’s all it takes to stop news directors in their tracks.”

“What are we giving the mayor to move toward? The golden parachute?” Zaid asked. “We don’t want to create a loose cannon. We need to give him something that saves face and helps the homeless and is politically viable.”

“The cost of not changing has to be too high,” Tane said. “I think Loki’s idea of running David for mayor reaches that bar.”

“Let’s build on Tane’s picture idea. We don’t want to make the signs sound like they’re accusing the public. We want to build on a positive message. Maybe something like, ‘Homelessness doesn’t fit in our compassionate community.’”

Torn nodded. “I’m so proud of you guys.”

“This is Monday,” Gerard said. “If we do this late in the week, it will evaporate from the public conscience over the weekend. Let’s do it next Monday. This will give us time to organize, and give it a full week in the public conscience.”

* * *

The group spent the week putting this all together. A huge number of people marched in front of city hall the following Monday. The news services covered the event. The mayor’s office was flooded with calls and emails, mostly supporting the movement.

The mayor talked to his political advisor.

“Look, this thing is hot. I don’t want to touch it. No matter what I do, it’s going to hurt me.”

“If you do nothing positive to pacify them, you may lose the next election. I mean, this David can’t win. But he can take away votes so you lose to the other party.”

“Maybe I could put together a committee to study this and look at, I don’t know, causes—something innocuous that will give me a report that I don’t have to act on. Give this university group time to just go away.”

“And if you do that, they could come back before the election with the same tactics. Same result.”

“I’m screwed. If I move on this, the party will put my head on a pike. You know how vindictive they are to people that don’t stay in line. There must be some way to pass the buck.”

“Isn’t the group calling for a commission of government, industry, and community leaders to find solutions? Go with that. It spreads the blame.”

* * *

The mayor alerted the news, and at the time of the speech, stood outside City Hall on the steps. “Citizens of our community. The university has been kind enough to work on the problem of homelessness, find some temporary solutions, and alert our community to this deep humanitarian need. While it isn’t the place of government to provide endless humanitarian assistance, it is our place to help organize those who can wrestle with such problems and partially support solutions. To that end, I’m announcing that I will host a commission made up of church, community, industry, and other civic leaders, such as Ms. Tane from the university, to find a path forward.” The mayor smiled. “And David, it would help me with my time management if you would stop running for mayor so I can devote more time to this committee. Thank you all for your support.” He headed back inside city hall.

One person in the audience, wearing a dark suit and sunglasses, was not amused. He pulled out his cell phone, turned on his heel, and angrily left. The hot winds of trouble would blow fiercely.

When some shouted to him that he was turning “liberal,” he stopped and came back to the microphone. “I would remind you that New York and L.A. are run by liberals, and they have the biggest problems with homelessness. They have even bigger problems because of the cost of housing. We’ve managed to keep housing prices lower here.”

The crowd hushed, except for a few mocking laughs.

Our answer is God. God’s answer is us. Together we make the world better.

Author’s Website with life and spiritual resources: Dorian Scott Cole .com