feeling politically powerless - what do you do?

Slater · 08-27-2013, 09:35 PM

I have a few disjointed thoughts on this.

Occupy Wallstreet was, at least initially, a solid protest effort. It devolved into something else eventually though, at least in Seattle. But I think perhaps it suffered from having too big a target and too broad a message. People had trouble absorbing it all and tuned it out after awhile.

Social media kind of fills the "feel like your doing something" void for people. Retweeting or reposting something has come to feel like involvement and action. And I think it certainly can be, if you are disseminating information, or sharing a targeted call to action (e.g. school X won't allow their lesbian valedictorian to give the commencement address, write to the principal to protest). But often it is just a generic "awareness" message that doesn't accomplish much beyond making the people who share it feel like they have done something.

I wonder, do we feel more powerless than we felt 20 or 30 or 40 years ago? Or do people always feel like this, just form different reasons. 30 years ago it was the chewy nougat of nuclear annihilation at the center of the Cold War that made people feel powerless. Now, I think it's a combination of technology shrinking the world so that all of the bad stuff that happens everywhere feels close at hand, and so much wealth, and so much power, is being concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. And the fact remains that a strong federal government is the only bulwark an average citizen has against power like that. So here we are caught between a government we don't trust and huge multinational corporations we shouldn't trust.

08-27-2013, 09:35 PM	#6
Slater Member How Do You Identify?: Butch Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Seattle area Posts: 147 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 41 Thanked 793 Times in 129 Posts Rep Power: 14631970	I have a few disjointed thoughts on this. Occupy Wallstreet was, at least initially, a solid protest effort. It devolved into something else eventually though, at least in Seattle. But I think perhaps it suffered from having too big a target and too broad a message. People had trouble absorbing it all and tuned it out after awhile. Social media kind of fills the "feel like your doing something" void for people. Retweeting or reposting something has come to feel like involvement and action. And I think it certainly can be, if you are disseminating information, or sharing a targeted call to action (e.g. school X won't allow their lesbian valedictorian to give the commencement address, write to the principal to protest). But often it is just a generic "awareness" message that doesn't accomplish much beyond making the people who share it feel like they have done something. I wonder, do we feel more powerless than we felt 20 or 30 or 40 years ago? Or do people always feel like this, just form different reasons. 30 years ago it was the chewy nougat of nuclear annihilation at the center of the Cold War that made people feel powerless. Now, I think it's a combination of technology shrinking the world so that all of the bad stuff that happens everywhere feels close at hand, and so much wealth, and so much power, is being concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. And the fact remains that a strong federal government is the only bulwark an average citizen has against power like that. So here we are caught between a government we don't trust and huge multinational corporations we shouldn't trust.