[ViktorRay]

“It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.”

The above quote is from a character from one of JRR Tolkien’s books. (Gandalf from Return of the King.)

Tolkien fought in the Battle of the Somme which was one of the most destructive battles in human history. So I think his views have some weight here.

Bad things have always happened in the world. Despair is a useless emotion that just precludes action that can better the world or even better a single other’s person’s life. For each person belongs to the world and by improving one life you improve the world. This cannot be accomplished through despair but through joy.

If Mahatma Gandhi had lived in despair over the horrible things the British were doing to the Indians, would he have been able to help anyone? It was through joyous resistance that he managed to inspire a movement to defeat them.

[Eddy_Viscosity2]

Another way of saying that is "be the change you want to see in the world". That's all anyone can do. In that you can't do more than that, by definition. But you can do less. Positive change comes only from those who make the choice to do what they can, however small and local that may be.