| When I was born, on the day of my birth, how much personal responsibility did I have for the state of the USA and the world in general? (None) When did I start to have the even the most basic understanding of what's really going on in the world? At what point did I become culpable? At that point, what power did I have to actually influence anything (given 400+ years of policy, expansion, entrenchment, racism, etc). I agree to an extent that individuals can and should take some personal responsibility, but that doesn't address systemic effects. And the mere notion that we should take some responsibility doesn't lead to an effective course of action. Suggesting that we vote (which someone else suggested).. well, that's almost comical given the premise of the thread, which is that you can't trust politicians, no matter how progressive or sincere they might seem. As much as I do take responsibility (and feel guilty about not doing more), I still haven't figured out how to have any real influence. I've spent plenty of time complaining about other people and their lack of participation too, and I'm not sure what difference that has made. Merely pointing out the problem (or what I perceive the problem to be) doesn't change anything by itself. Edit: Added a word. Formatting. |