There’s a proverb you’ve probably heard – the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. It’s been put on enough coffee mugs and desk calendars that it feels trite to repeat, but there is still wisdom in these words.
I think many of us often feel powerless against the vast forces around us; the tides of social upheaval and the perfidious agendas of career politicians and professional agitators. How can we possibly stand against it, what can we do as average people? These are the questions I want to talk about.
Finding the motivation to go out and make a change is a different matter, and I think many of us have that motivation. The problem is often that we don’t even know where to begin. Here are some things, real and concrete, we can do to change the world. They may not have an immediate, massive impact, but if your actions influence even one or two people, they will go out and influence more, and so the ripples spread.
You might doubt the efficacy of this, but ask yourself – how did your opponents become so powerful? How has the world gotten to this state? It certainly wasn’t overnight, it was built, brick upon brick, by people like you and me. If you have other ideas don’t keep them to yourself. Use the comments here and wherever else you talk with your like-minded friends, share what works, what doesn’t, what suggestions you have. Remember, no matter where you go or who you talk to, you are an ambassador for your beliefs, and people will judge them based on your actions and words. No man is an island, and it’s through unity we find strength.
1 – Run for Office
The first item we can discuss is perhaps one of the most powerful, and maybe one of the most intimidating. Whether you have considered becoming an elected official before or not, it may seem at first blush to be an opportunity only for the rich or well-connected. This may be true for certain offices (senators or congressman maybe, or the president, prime minister, etc) but for the majority of elected positions, it is well within the realm of possibility for the average person. Most offices are held at the local level be it state, county, or city, and there are numerous opportunities to make an impact here.
Many local elections are filled by the incumbent candidate running unopposed, and often times local communities will welcome new candidates simply because they offer a fresh perspective and a chance for change. Do you have medical experience? Consider becoming a county coroner. Law enforcement experience? Look up when your next sheriff’s election will be held. There are numerous other opportunities that may stimulate you – clerk, recorder, city council, even mayor.
For local elections such as these, your campaign costs amount to some fliers, renting a soundstage perhaps, or even just getting some friends to go door to door. You may find that not only are such endeavors possible, but that you actually enjoy fulfilling civic virtues, and of course, you are in a better position to promote the values we share. Plus, with small victories such as these, you now have the opportunity to further your experience and promote your values by seeking loftier offices, where you will have a platform to truly help institute the broader change we aspire to create.
2 – Draft and Propose Laws
As you’re well aware, the laws that govern us regardless of where we live don’t simply spring out of the ground. And while we’re not all experts in the legislative system, the good news is that you don’t have to be to have a real, dramatic impact on your community and possibly even your nation.
Many laws that exist have started from the dedicated efforts of a few individuals with a common goal. You’ve no doubt seen the numerous laws and propositions that have been introduced by those ideologically opposed to our shared values and traditions, these all started somewhere, most often with average people who felt passionately about their beliefs.
The efficacy of this approach is manifest around us – many of these laws have been implemented, and even in cases where they weren’t, the very fact that a bill is introduced or debated in your local legislature calls attention to its cause and shows both the lawmakers and populace that there is an active group of people standing in support of it.
We too can use this approach, and it’s time we take up those same tactics that have been used against us. This task may seem daunting, but take inspiration from the knowledge that it works, and even if your bill doesn’t get passed into law you still will have succeeded in drawing attention to your cause and showing that there are those of us willing to take the battle to the opponent.
3 – Volunteer
Volunteering has many benefits – for you personally, for your community, for your beliefs. If you’ve never done it before, I would highly encourage it. Everyone should try it, at least once in their lives. You may find it to be an eye-opening experience, and you’ll derive satisfaction doing something worthwhile and giving back to your neighbors. By doing so, your neighbors will also begin to appreciate your actions, and many will come to see that people of your shared beliefs aren’t the demons the media makes them out to be, but instead the people who actually care and are invested in their communities.
4 – Start a Business
If you follow the news at all, you’ve no doubt seen the outsized impact a few large corporations have on the lives of nearly everyone on this planet. Too often these companies wield power dictatorially, and more frequently than not they do so for political means while hiding behind their mantra “if you don’t like it, but somewhere else.” They know of course that many people don’t have a choice where to buy, where to get their services from, or that the single person has essentially no control over their private data.
Let’s give people those options. We’re starting to see the rise of conservative corporations as a backlash against these de facto rulers of our lives, you can help to continue this movement. Whether your interest is in owning a tech company, a design firm, even something as simple as a franchise or a gas station, stand up and take part.
5 – Create, and Share Your Creation
The importance and influence of art and artistic mediums on our culture and societal values cannot be overstated. It is often said that art imitates life, but so too does life imitate art. Countless people throughout history have made dramatic changes in their lives and the world around them after being inspired by something – a song, a book, a painting, or even a movie, or a video game.
We lament how often degeneracy has infected our culture – through songs, through movies, through all our mediums. We can take this back by creating our own art that glorifies the principles and beliefs we stand behind. When you create something, not only are you contributing to your culture, but the message behind it will be seen by many people, and this is a way to amplify and magnify your voice, to give it longevity that will outlive you and inspire generations of the future.
6 – Disseminate
It seems so obvious I hesitate to mention it, but the importance of speaking about your beliefs and values can’t be overstated. Many of us see a world threatened by encroaching darkness, and the solution of too many people is to bury their heads in the sand. How can we fight ignorance with knowledge?
By being here, a part of this community, you have likely already peeled back the curtain of our society and seen some of what lurks behind it, and know what looming possible futures threaten us all. Unlike many of the blind individuals in society, those that see the dangers of these liberal viewpoints reached their opinions through reading, research, and the relentless pursuit of facts, not feelings.
Ironically it is an openness to new information and tolerance for reasoned political discussion, some of the very things our opposition hypocritically demonizes us for, that lead one to forge their own path that often leads to a worldview similar to that shared by many of us.
In this regard we need not even proselytize our own personal opinions, it is enough to present pure facts and information to our fellow citizens. How many of us reached our beliefs this way – not through heavy-handed cajoling or coercion, but through a perusal of information we had been unaware of? It is in this same way we demonstrate concretely the hypocrisy of our opponents.
They claim to base their beliefs on their intellectual prowess, and yet when seeking new converts they bribe, they plead, and they tug at the heart while simultaneously turning a blind eye to what the mind is telling them. We do not. Information, facts, they are our allies. And so I encourage you; to disseminate information. Not just to friends and family, but to anyone who may be a willing ear.
And it need not be as limited as one-on-one contact either. Consider your options – write an article, a book, or start a blog. If you have a talent for video start a YouTube channel or a podcast. We have a hundred different ways to share information and fight ignorance, let us not restrict ourselves to only a few.
