Originally Posted by
Happy Feet
I think you want good things as we all do but often find it hard to cut through the ideological verbiage to see what the nuts and bolts issues are. We can discuss and help each other solve practical issues or even form different perspectives but we aren't going to create sweeping socio economic change on this forum. In fact, I would say most here have/would already buy into a lower car use philosophy if the practical concerns could be addressed.
In the end, I can only really change me and apparently, that's a full time job
I try to share that experience so that, if someone else also wants to change, they might find something useful.
I don't look at change vs. status quo as a black and white thing. Everything has multiple causes and contingencies and it's interesting to examine and analyze all the factors, possibilities, and the ways that potential futures are impeded by everything from norms to negativity to 'realism' in perspective and assumption.
There's no real difference between changing yourself and changing others because people identify with other people and see what they do. So when you are changing yourself, you're exploring what is possible for anyone, as well as what difficulties would be encountered by anyone trying what you're trying. By gaining experience, you gain the ability to share information about your experience, as well as your thoughts, and that amounts to zealotry, if you like to use such a negative term. I just think of it is as open-communication, i.e. discussion; hence my participation in online
discussion forums.