Your "tilting at the windmill" phrasing is interesting. I don't get the sense from your tone otherwise that you disapprove of it or think it's pointless.
I took it as doing what too many people feels like tilting the windmill. As a society (and frankly in myself on too many issues) I notice way to much "well what can we do" defeatist attitude.
Yeah, def is tiling at windmills, but my point is the same, I took it as them saying the public has taken a defeatist attitude and views it as tilting at windmills but here's a case where it wasn't fruitless effort and we need to view it as inspiration.