Apathy for change

[Reikikuro]

It seems every time I have tried to encourage people to take more political action or promote change for the better, for the moment they want to take action. A week later however, they didn't do anything and they no longer care.
I have gotten into very intimate discussions on the Big brother concept, and the like many times, but it seems that no one wants to be part of anything unless they don't actually have to do anything. I have talked many times about the world ending in four years based on the myan calander and nostradamus where no one actually believes it is going to happen, yet they act like they do.
I'm not pointing the finger at everybody, although it seems that way, I just want to know who is actually willing to do something about the many issues we face today. I have many Ideas and I'm looking to find more and unite people somewhat like what happened in the sixties and the seventies concerning the major political changes that took place.

Whats your input?

[LaBelleDameSansMerci]

People are, by nature, greedy and lazy. If it takes work and doesn't produce fairly immediate or concrete gains, they're not likely to do anything.
People are also quick to sign up for a cause. However, that's usually about all they'll do.

And.... I'm not discounting myself from those statements.

[ThreeEyesOni]

Originally Posted by Reikikuro

I have many Ideas and I'm looking to find more and unite people somewhat like what happened in the sixties and the seventies concerning the major political changes that took place.

Kind of an aside but... is that supposed to be a successful example?

[Godslayer Jillian]

It's a nice example. The idea of bringing back the sixties is one I mention a lot. The sixties were too short-sighted and naive, but the passion was there. Combine it with the grassroots focus and direct action of the turn of the century and we'd have an awesome movement.
I understand what you mean. Emma Goldman describes society as a child; only interested in shiny toys.

[HumanePain]

Reikikuro: you must be speaking of people in the United States, yes?

Although there are many issues that need to be addressed, most Americans are either too content with the way things are going to want to change anything (look at the voter turnout statistics), or they are too busy struggling to survive to have time for anything else.

Going back to my observations on voting: I do see that my older friends (people my age or older) think that because they vote, they are involved in making change and leave it at that. This is true, however only a small number get involved in getting something to be put on the ballot in the first place (requires more involvement like getting signatures and going to weeknight or weekend town hall meetings etc).

One example: Rising costs have brought my local homeowners community of about 2,500 homes to the point where we may need to cut off water and let the landscaping surrounding our homes turn brown and die or turn it over to the city and accept annual increases in per home fees that could double in five years, when in the past eight years fees only rose two percent but will keep all the greenbelts and parks green and pretty, thus protecting home values.

Yet only 20 people showed up at the town hall meetings (including myself), and we decided among ourselves to move forward with getting the signatures required to bring it to a vote.

Now similar sized activities have managed to pass changes in our homeowner contracts with only 671 votes out of the 2,500 homes, with a winning margin of only 7 votes!

So in other words, only 671 people cared enough to navigate the direction, with 339 people (13%) ultimately deciding for 2,500 what would happen! We expect the same thing on the landscaping water issue.

Although flyers are put out to every single home, 1829 homes thought that it was ok to leave the decisions to the rest of us.

It takes an event like 9/11 to unify and galvanize people. That is why the media is so important to get people involved on the large scale that you seek.
Television has the reach, and when it appears on television, people assume it is a large issue.

[Drake Dun]

Another factor is disenfranchisement. When you don't think you can make a difference no matter what you do, it's hard to get up the will to try.

[Reikikuro]

Originally Posted by HumanePain

It takes an event like 9/11 to unify and galvanize people. That is why the media is so important to get people involved on the large scale that you seek.
Television has the reach, and when it appears on television, people assume it is a large issue.

The media is actually a weapon used by the government to manipulate and distract society from the actual important issues. 9/11 didn't really unite anyone for more than a week or a month at max. Like I discuss most of the time is that big brother has already started to happen but people refuse to want to do anything about it.

Another pressing issue is the ever growing gap between the wealthy and the poor. The rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer. change can happen only if the people want to make it happen. the only thing is by the time everyone wants to do something about it, We will all be monitered 24/7 and being accused of thought crime while new speak gets developed behind our backs.

[Godslayer Jillian]

I don't agree that Big Brother is happening. The real Orwellian evil that just freaks the shit out of me is doublethink.
Not that's something that's happening. Case in point: Linking Saddam Hussein with Al Qaeda when they hate Hussein for his secularism, and Americans buy it. Or even better, a fact mentioned in the appropriately named documentary "Orwell Is Rolling in His Grave", more than half of Americans in the months after 9/11 believed Hussein was directly responsible for it.

[Wormboy]

Changing the way of government works is not a revolution, it's a triviality. It's like changing from a Ford to a Honda, improvement but the same principle. A revolution is changing the way people think. That is the difficulty.
You say you'll change the constitution
Well, you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well, you know
You better free you mind instead

[Reikikuro]

Thats a very interesting comment. you are right. Now how does one start?

[Godslayer Jillian]

A revolution on the fringes.
It's nice to be a reformist; it is practical because people think it's more realistic. But don't stop at reformation; also work on a little revolution. Teach people how to reduce their expenses by avoiding the capitalist game; try to make it popular to be anti-consumerist among teens; increase the autonomy of the people by starting direct action methods such as community gardens.

[Wormboy]

Reforms are very nice, but they're not permanent solutions. As for changing people's minds, that's tricky. You need a few things:

- A doctrine that is drastic yet not drastic to the point of scaring people off
- Literature, somewhere for people to read all your thoughts, books help
- Media coverage, get it out into the public
- A charismatic figure head to lead the public side
- Publicized debates in which you contest anything you dislike in a way that not only makes you seem nice, but likable
- Patience most of all, as this takes lots of time

[insolitus_noir]

Originally Posted by HumanePain

...or they are too busy struggling to survive to have time for anything else.

I think this is a point worth developing. Granted, greed and laziness may explain some of the apparent apathy, but I think people are not so generally bad. When people work at least 40 hours a week, raise a family, and so on, there isn't much time left for the due diligence necessary for informed civic participation. The intentions might be there; the means are not.

The problem, in part, is that we live in an information overloaded society. Just to make an informed decision in regards to economic policies, or foreign policy, or what have you takes a lot of research and effort. It's made more complicated by the fact that not only do we have local issues to worry about, but also state and federal. To make matters even worse, the corrupt media has much more noise than signal, which means that we not only have to gather information, we have to make sure we're gathering GOOD information. The sad fact is that things are so complicated that if you don't have a degree in rocket science, you need to do a lot of reading and thinking to make up for it.

To make matters even more complicated, there is an overload in terms of causes to get involved in. Do we save the whales? Clean the beaches? Fight for electoral reform? Cut greenhouse emissions? Raise money to cure AIDS? Campaign for gay marriage? There are so many issues out there, all of them critical but all quite difficult for any one individual to address simultaneously, that I think the ordinary citizen is overwhelmed. Given too many choices, the only choice that maintains any semblance of sanity is to do nothing and chug along as best as possible.

[CptSternn]

Americans are apathetic. They could care less about most things. They are forced into lifestyles where they have to worry about their kids, home, and job to the point they really can't be bothered with politics.

As long as they are making their house payment and their kids are making it to and from soccer practice, they really could care less about whats happening outside their small bubble.

Until their little world is rocked by some sort of tragedy, they won't be active in anything other than their own lives.

[Catch]

There is a guy, David Sirota who wrote "the Uprising." The book largely deals with the younger generation becoming politically vital again. I haven't read it but he was on the Colbert Report. If you have Comedy Central, you might be able to watch the show. He looks like is under thirty years old.

I blog on the show. Not that it offers any significant information, it is funny.

http://www.printnpost.com/blogs/4249...nd-Review.html

[Rammsteinpoet]

Like many have previously mentioned, much of the apathy in America has been due to the daily "how will I pay my bills today" rat race. Another contribution to the apathy, I believe, is the declining quality of education. In public schools, students are not being taught about the constitution the same way students were taught about it a generation ago. The old constitution test students took in the eighth grade is no more. Even in college, I read this study where college graduates from Stanford were given a basic civics test. Only 30% of them passed it. Also, constitutional rights attorneys are often not required to even read or study the constitution. Now how can you defend something you've studied or even read? So as a result of all this, many young people who could have the energy and less committments than older people to carry on movements similar to the 60's movements, have little understanding as to how vital it is to protect the consitution by any means necessary. Nor do they understand how much power their rights as American citizens gives them. And as for older Americans, like I said before, they've been caught up in the struggle for everyday survival due to a weakening economy and all around frightening times. Because of all this, there's an overwhelming apathy, and that is exactly what the government wants. The more complacent Americans become, the easier they become to take over.
With all that being said, there are many people out there taking action against this, me included. In my state, I have been working with a state senator to reinstate a constitution test into the state's education curriculum, which will motivate schools to focus more energy on civics education. If it works well in my state, it may possibly to others until it becomes national. This doesn't sound like much, but in the long run, it may be. It's very true that knowledge is power. If upcoming students have more knowledge of the constituion, they may learn to appreciate it. And if they appreciate it, they'll do what they can to protect it. And if they strive to protect it, they'll take action against anything that threatens it through petitioning, demonstrating, and the voting booths.
My other project is a revolution movement I've put together that is slowly growing in numbers. It is a peaceful, not a violent revolution that will fight the battle through the voting booth. That's all I will say about the movement in this post, if you wish to know more, feel free to ask me.....
Anyways, I've gone on long enough here, so I'll step off my soap box!

[HumanePain]

Originally Posted by Reikikuro

The media is actually a weapon used by the government to manipulate and distract society from the actual important issues.

That may have been true at one time (during World War II the media was asked not to show photos of many dead bodies of soldiers on the battlefield). But during the 60's the media brought Vietnam into our living rooms, and so began the protest movement. As the press starting printing the weekly death count (over 500 a week) the protest became strong enough to change the level of involvement, and to help us realize we were losing the war and should pull out.

Later, the press was a weapon against the executive government sufficient to force the legislative branch to force Nixon to resign.

A free press is one of the checks and balances of American government. We do not elect the press, but they are a check none the less.

[blackwater1110]

Originally Posted by Catch

There is a guy, David Sirota who wrote "the Uprising." The book largely deals with the younger generation becoming politically vital again. I haven't read it but he was on the Colbert Report. If you have Comedy Central, you might be able to watch the show. He looks like is under thirty years old.

I blog on the show. Not that it offers any significant information, it is funny.

http://www.printnpost.com/blogs/4249...nd-Review.html

A couple of times you used "insight" when you meant to say "instigate." Also, it's "piqued my interest' instead of 'peaked my interest.'

Good review, I'll have to go check out that episode since I missed it. You know that they're all on the web now, right?