The antidote to apathy

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I watched the first 30 seconds of this video and I thought this guy's attitude and presentation skills suck, so I stopped watching.

By NewEnglandBob (not verified) on 12 Apr 2011 #permalink

Like I really care or something . . . .

the embedded video player is unwatchable. there's an obnoxious dark square in the middle with a stupid revolving circle in it that doesn't go away.

By pacnw socialist (not verified) on 12 Apr 2011 #permalink

That was a very interesting, given the context of most of the almost four hour conversation I just had with Juniper. Unfortunately, the very nature of the barriers he discusses is a barrier to his solution. I have become far too cynical because of that exact problem - the solutions to a great many problems are rather obvious, it's just that no one believes they are possible. Or at least not enough people believe they are possible.

I used to believe they were possible and the part of me that is still capable of hope, still believes they are. But that is a desperate hope, born of the understanding that if they don't change, we simply won't survive - and my desire to see my children do just that...survive I mean.

What's really funny - in a sad, dark sort of way, is that I am almost certain that the vast majority of us are reasonably cognizant of at least some steps that might bring us back from teh brink. Even people who I mostly disagree with on most things, understand that one fo the biggest barriers we have to engagement (in the U.S.) is political parties. I don't think I know a partisan hack for every twenty people I know definitely aren't. Yet with very few exceptions, all of them faithfully vote for republicrats, because if they don't, their vote won't count.

I have little doubt that if everyone who believes that political parties - or at least the two major parties in the U.S. marginalize them as voters actually stopped fucking voting for them, they would evaporate within a few election cycles, if not immediately. It may well cause a greater diversity of ideas, not necessarily better ideas for teh most part, but it would also mean that actual voters would be represented. But of course, if we don't vote fucking republicrat, our votes don't count...Not that they actually count anyways.

Duwayne, I agree, but there is another alternative at least for short term: Become a party hack, as it were. The system is different in every state, but here in Minnesota I can get thirty people together and virtually guarantee that a resolution to name a street after my Aunt Tillie gets considered at the level of the national party for the Democrats. They will, of course, ignore that. But if my resolution was to form a commission or panel in Congress to come to develop a reasonable white paper on GMOs, there is a reasonable chance that that would be looked at seriously.

Not that I've done that, but i could! If I cared, that is.