How can I effect positive change in society?
From WhyNotWiki
Aliases: Populism (not really identical)
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/populism.
(philosophy) A political doctrine or philosophy that proposes that the rights and powers of ordinary people are exploited by a privileged elite, and supports their struggle to overcome this.
[edit] Effecting change through politics
As much as I would rather not be "political", I'm afraid that politics might be one of the main ways one can effect positive change.
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[edit] Teaching people to think intelligently
— Tyler (2006-04-26)
What is my goal? To convince everyone that I am right and they are wrong? No, not really. Rather, I want to teach people to think, intelligently. To not live in ignorance. To make the best possible, wisest decisions based on the available information. To trust research and not misinformation. To be skeptical of those who would benefit monetarily from you believing them. To learn that not all policies are based on what is best for the people; to know of the frightening power money has on people.
How can this best be accomplished? By talking to people one at a time face-to-face? By lobbying (What is lobbying?) congressmen to introduce better legislation? By standing on a street corner with a sign? By writing a book? By sending mass e-mails to everyone you know? By writing letters and signing each of them with your own signature? By putting some provocative statement or call to action in your e-mail signature block?
I can imagine how difficult it might be to convince someone of your opinion even if you have the luxury of talking with them face-to-face. Even if you have a huge book with you chock-full of evidence to support your claim, they might not be interested in hearing the truth. Their minds may already be made up. They may not understand the value of science / empirical evidence. Their upbringing and cultural biases may have already predetermined what they'll believe their entire lives.
