If you’ve been to a public talk about a pressing issue, be it the war in Darfur, climate change or something else, you know that inevitably someone in the audience will ask “What can I do?” But the question is flawed at its root.
Social change does not happen by the actions of an individual, it happens because of the actions of groups and governments. An individual who cares about an issue needs to join groups that share their goals and needs to work to elect politicians and make policy changes. Most people who attend public lectures simply aren’t willing to put in that kind of time or effort.
What the questioner often really means is “What very small change can I make in my life, such as throwing my refuse into a recycling bin rather than a garbage can, or donating twenty dollars to a charity?”
People who want to know what they can do need to decide whether they really care about the issue, or simply think that it’s probably important to some other people. In the first case, they need to really become engaged by joining forces with others and by affecting politics. In the second case, people shouldn’t feel ashamed, instead they should focus on what they do care about, and get engaged on that.
It’s a world full of issues that ask for our attention. Instead of feeling bad that we can’t care about all of them, each of us needs to focus on what we do care about and join up with others who share our concerns. Think “What can we do?” rather than “What can I do?”
