digg

Join DiggAbout

Digg Townhall now online!
Check out the latest Digg Townhall, where Kevin and Jay answered the top questions from the Digg Community!

The Outsized Power of Young People to Change The World

21st-century-citizen.com — Individuals can change the world, and for us to change the course that society is on it will be individuals that will have to lead the changes. It ’s only individual people who have the ability to change the world when it comes to environmental issues. And young people have a dramatically out-sized ability to change the world...

show profanity settings
expand all
  • socialpyramid, on 10/10/2007, -2/+11"In a recent poll on this site, 45% felt that their personal actions “make no difference” with respect to Global Warming."

    Isn't that roughly the same number of people who don't vote?
    • kingofthegreens, on 10/10/2007, -5/+7New report shows 69% of statistics are made up on the spot...
    • flygirl62, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Yes... to change things you do have to TRY to change things.
      This whole thing reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:
      "Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." — Margaret Mead
    • jimmiss, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3I care deeply about the environment. However I have no qualms about throwing ***** out my window because at this point, were just "polishing the brass on the titanic".
      • vanlawrence, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Dugg because I love Fight Club too! on another note...I really wish people would STOP trying to change the world. For every hero that *made* a difference there are hundred megalomaniacal freaks that are *trying* to *Make a Difference*. The people who change the world for the better are seldom the ones who were trying to. People who make a positive difference for us all are usually only trying to make life easier for themselves. MLK made things better for African Americans...just *happened* to be African American. Ghandi made things better for Indians; just *happened* to be Indian. Bill Gates got stinking rich and made life better for himself and (arguably) the rest of the World. Get over yourselves kids! How did you become so WISE that you know what is best for the rest of the world? Maybe what is best...is creating a MASTER RACE or WAR ON TERROR (/sarcasm). Terrible things happen when you presume to know...funny how it's usually the youngest people who do this...the young ones who want to make a *difference*. This isn't specifically targeted at you JIMMISS...I'd like to see more people my age being more concerned with changing their perceptions of the world instead of (rather arrogantly) trying to force it to become the way they want.
        • Dasmitch, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The pessimism is strong with this one...
          • vanlawrence, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1The fact that you view basic adult responsibility for one's own being (and perception) as pessimism, shows an *incredible* lack of maturity. Maybe you should try reading it again S-L-O-W-L-Y this time? Particularly the last line...in fact I am quite optimistic in my view of the world....I like it and I don't think it's so crap that I should be running around trying to make everyone see or do things my way; or lamenting suffering, or just generally complaining. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL. Bottom Line: - quit your whining kiddies!
    • Altotus, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2If the people that don't vote did, would they vote any different than those that do? A lot of people vote, so how are we to conclude that it's not a statistically valid sampling?
      It's not relelvent anyway. You don't get the opportunity to vote for or against a policy in any way shape or form. You can try to vote for someone that bloviates about topics that might lead you to conclude they might act somehwat as you would when setting policies, but you don't have to be around politics very long to know that your vote isn't going to buy representation of your position or sensibilities. The closest you can get in the USA is literally buying the influence and being willing to pay more than the next guy. It's called lobbying, and outright bribery (refer to the not-so-distinguished gentlemen of Alaska and Louisiana).
      That your vote doesn't count for much isn't a question. The reason you vote is because if you don't, people will start to forget that your vote is SUPPOSED to count for something. When that happens, the competition for influence will wane and a someone will obtain a monopoly on it. That's why you vote.
    • vikingcoder, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0The question was explicit about personal actions. A single person's actions make no difference with respect to AGW in the same fashion that no single rain drop causes a flood.
  • jakebouma, on 10/10/2007, -5/+3Not only do they have an "out-sized ability" to change the world, there is a rich legacy of young people who have dramatically affected the course of history for the better. And I'm not talking 20-somethings here... King Tut took the throne at age 8.
    • saintdesy, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Just exactly how did King Tut change the world for the better? Other than dying and not having his tomb looted until an archaeologist came along? If that treasure wasn't found, no one except some Egyptology professors would know of his existence.
    • gwhardyiv, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Yeah, but back then, you only lived to be 12. 8 was ripe for a mid-life crisis.
  • postalblowfish7, on 10/10/2007, -4/+5inaccurate. according to hari seldon, individuals CAN'T change the world.



    • neodorian, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Dugg for the reference.
    • brufleth, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Seldon actually was working on a much larger scale. One individual might make a difference to a world of six billion but not a galaxy of trillions with thousands and perhaps millions of habitable planets. On a single planet scale the mass effects can be swayed relatively easy by one crazy leader.
  • sleepwalkers, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2And unfortunately, many young people are sitting back at a time like this, where so many things are going wrong and the world could use a bit of change.
  • DualCortex, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2The lady who banned plastic bags in her town ranks above Ghandi?
    Obivously not basing her, but ....
  • kxhoopshooter, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I fully support this movement and believe in the potential of today's youth. There is a high probability that the adults of today controlling the world were potheads when they were young. The kids of today are overworked in high school and are just waiting to break out into the real world and create a change. The power to change the world, impact the world for the greater good is there and it's in the youth. This new blog CanTheWorldHearMe details how these three teens want the world to know who they are. Check it out: http://cantheworldhearme.wordpress.com/
  • YoungBrews, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I've heard this crap since I was a kid.
    Nobody listens to you until you're over 30.
    Everybody who says otherwise is blowing smoke up your ass.
    • SheilaNoya, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3*****. I'm 57 years old and I'm counting on the young people in America to get off their ass and VOTE in the next election. If we want any hope of saving this country, then the young people need to stand up and be counted. Since they don't usually bother to vote, we end up having a bunch of crazy evangelicals chose our leaders. Please don't sound so apathetic. Take action instead. We ALL are counting on you guys to save this country now.
  • neodorian, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Hah! Gandhi? The one that said things like:
    "Ours is one continued struggle against degradation sought to be inflicted upon us by the European, who desire to degrade us to the level of the raw Kaffir, whose occupation is hunting and whose sole ambition is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy a wife with, and then pass his life in indolence and nakedness."
    and
    "Why, of all places in Johannesburg, the Indian location should be chosen for dumping down all kaffirs of the town, passes my comprehension.

    Of course, under my suggestion, the Town Council must withdraw the Kaffirs from the Location. About this mixing of the Kaffirs with the Indians I must confess I feel most strongly. I think it is very unfair to the Indian population, and it is an undue tax on even the proverbial patience of my countrymen. "

    Face it. Gandhi fought for apartheid in South Africa and was pissed that the Indian people were being treated like common blacks. In the caste system of India, the darker your skin was, the lower your caste and Gandhi was a big fan of this system.

    I'm not saying he didn't have some good ideas and make some differences but I can't stand when normal people get elevated onto a pedestal when they have the same weaknesses, bigotries, and flaws as any other.
  • Eska, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3First let me say that I am a young person and that I waste very little. I say with certainty that if everyone consumed/wasted as little as me there would be many less resource problems. I enjoy life and respect it, I am even an ovo-lacto vegetarian. I am also a scientific person, something most of you will never understand.
    Now, I see your alls stupidity all around me and I have two options. I can either educate my you with the hope of saving myself, or I can not and just accept my death by your stupidity. I chose the latter. I feel that I have a right to live yes, but I also feel I have the right to not have to babysit everyone else. You, my peers, are all leaches. You want someone else, like me, to find the answers and solve all your problems. You want to continue living in peace because that is what you believe you are entitled to. Am I not entitled to a peaceful life where I do not have to educate you to save myself? Does being smarter than you make me your slave? Should I have to work to save all our asses from people like you? I do not think life at all costs is worth it. I personally would rather die with you than work to save us both. My sympathies go out to any other intelligent people who do not deserve to die.
  • BobsYourUncle, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1It's funny how old people always go on about how young people have the power to change the world. And yet it's the fault of old people that we need help to begin with. Baby boomers are the largest segment of the population. They (and the generation before) are entirely to blame for the problems we have today. They are the ones with 'outsized' power. And there's no ***** way they'll use it. ***** it, it's every man for themselves. That's what 'old' people taught us.
  • MrFunions, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2There is one presidential candidate whom I would like to see change the world.
  • hammerattack, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2It's somewhat disturbing to me that the group that is being pegged as being most capable of effecting change is also the group that (a) is most apathetic to their world, (b) most easily influenced by propaganda and (c) least capable of predicting the unintended consequences of their actions.
  • mahdaeng, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1The problem is that while young people generally rate high on energy and passion, they rate very low on experience and reason.
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.