What (if anything) do you do to make a difference?

[Dekker]

Hi everyone, as is often discussed and debated on this forum, there is a lot of ugliness that goes on in the world, whether it's Synagogue shootings, Rohingya genocide, systematic child abuse in Nauru, Catholic Church cover-ups, the destruction of our environment for profit, and on and on. It's overwhelming to think about, which is why many people (though not you esteemed Off-Topicer's) don't and instead we mostly distract ourselves with entertainment media and of course the daily struggles of our own everyday lives. What I am wondering is, what can we really do about it? And I'm not asking rhetorically - for someone (of normal means like most of us here) who wants to contribute a little more on this planet than just consuming and being entertained and providing for themselves and their family, what can they actually do? What actually helps? Is donating to charities worth it? I know places like Charity Intelligence provides some good insight on how far your dollar goes with some organizations, but I would love to hear your thoughts on the value they provide. And finally, to help give me some ideas of how I can start leading a less selfish life, if you would like I would love to hear some of what you guys do to make that tiny bit of difference we can. I'm trying not to let cynicism turn me into a misanthrope!

 

[Narz]

I give .5% of my Amazon purchases to Survival International and in general try to treat the people I interact with well & cheer them up even if I am grouchy & anxious myself.

This world (the actual physical world that sustains human existence) is pretty f-ed as far as we're concerned, if I could figure out some sort of job to save the ocean or the rainforest I'd jump on it. We need heros, especially in Brazil right now, looks like we got another psycho world leader. If I were braver and not a father maybe I'd go be some guerrilla warrior sabotaging efforts to destroy the lungs of the Earth.

 

[Dekker]

I give .5% of my Amazon purchases to Survival International and in general try to treat the people I interact with well & cheer them up even if I am grouchy & anxious myself.

This world (the actual physical world that sustains human existence) is pretty f-ed as far as we're concerned, if I could figure out some sort of job to save the ocean or the rainforest I'd jump on it. We need heros, especially in Brazil right now, looks like we got another psycho world leader. If I were braver and not a father maybe I'd go be some guerrilla warrior sabotaging efforts to destroy the lungs of the Earth.

Being a decent human is definitely one of the best things we can do. As a parent I can imagine the crap that goes on weighs even more heavily, and big companies destroying the rainforest or fracking in the tar sands or drilling in the Great Australian Bight and beyond making the damage to our ecosystems more irreversible is a terrible world to raise someone in. Seeing authoritarian psycho's riding the waves of populism and being embraced as the answer to a lot of these problems doesn't bode well for humanity now does it.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Welcome to CFC Off topic Dekker!

Be grateful
Show good manners: please and thank you
Be kinder

 

[Berzerker]

dont vote for corporate politicians

 

[Ryika]

I'm nice to the people around me, most of the time. That's very much against my nature and I have to put actual effort into doing it, so that certainly counts, no matter what you think about it. I pretend not to see homeless people in the inner city, instead of glaring at them like I've seen some people do. I always subtly push the people around me towards not just blindly believing the things that people tell them, whether that be right wing populists or the mainstream media. Not sure if people really take that in though. And I help people to become better versions of themselves by arguing with them and pointing out the errors of their thinking. Seems like a lost cause sometimes, but hey... if I don't try, who else will?

 

[Narz]

And I help people to become better versions of themselves by arguing with them and pointing out the errors of their thinking. Seems like a lost cause sometimes, but hey... if I don't try, who else will?

Everyone else on the Internet?

 

[Birdjaguar]

And I help people to become better versions of themselves by arguing with them and pointing out the errors of their thinking. Seems like a lost cause sometimes, but hey... if I don't try, who else will?

That is a pretty interesting statement.

 

[El_Machinae]

This is one of my favorite topics.

A few things that I currently follow: it matters less how you make your money, and it more matters how you spend your money. Everyone needs a job and savings and a retirement plan, and we do what we do to make money based on what other people are willing to pay us to do. If the job pays well, someone will do it.

It's your spending that does good or ill. There are a few things I do on this front. Firstly, I believe in iterative wisdom. So, if I figure out something I think is 'good' to do, and I'm wrong, I do something else. If I donate to a charity, and find a better charity, I donate to the new charity instead.

I also believe in just giving. I read somewhere that if we were to focus 2.5% of GDP on fixing some of the world's problems, those problems would get onto the trendline where we're fixing them. I earmark 5 hour's wages per month to the various causes I believe in that I think 'make the world better in the long run'. Sure, this is about 3%, but I'm covering for slacktivists who like posts and do nothing else.

There's also a certain pleasure in asceticism. There are some types of spending that nearly 3 billion people cannot do, because of poverty. If said activity is destructive, I try to refrain from doing it. I am blessed with my luck, but this doesn't mean that I have permission to do things that others cannot. I should be using my wealth for other things. If I realize that they're happy, then maybe I can be happy too. Don't borrow, because then you're giving your money to the bankers. If you don't borrow, you're giving more of your money to people who work for a living. In Canada, this means I am using debit instead of credit, even.

Also, I try to avoid activities that it's best if 3 billion other people not do it.The world is hooped if 3 billion people eat a lot more meat, so maybe I shouldn't be on the 'team' that's ruining things. Heating my house too much. A fancy, expensive car.

Something I realized: lots of us tip generously. So, we're try to be generous. We like it. After that, it's a question of where you're spending your generosity.

It all starts small. One year for New Years, I decided to no longer 'walk past' a gloveless panhandler in the winter. I suffered from that paternalistic 'oh, they'll spend the money on booze' that lots of people fall for. So, I bought new gloves and had them in my pocket. If the panhandler was gloveless, I gave them gloves. It didn't fix their lives, but I think that 'pain mitigation' is an important thing.

I now carry bus tickets. Whenever someone asks for change for the bus, I give them a ticket. If a person needs a bus ticket, I am always happy to give them one. If they want to sell it to someone else who needs a subsidized bus-ride, whatever. I am happy to have them help me find someone.

But 'needing less' is important. Shifting your spending so that you're not buying destructive things is important. Spending less on exotic vacations is important. Eating way less meat is important.

Edit: the trick is to double-punch. Don't just limit your harm, help make the world better. Polio. SETI, Food Bank, it doesn't matter. It's the building that improves things.

 

[Phrossack]

Ultimately we're doomed to worldwide dictatorship, an almost uninhabitable world, and a final mass extinction, almost certainly within my lifetime.

I do a little by eating much less meat than before, not driving, voting responsibly, sometimes trying to encourage the cause of more reasonable and less selfish thinking, and planning to never have children. It's futile at this point, but I'd rather not be part of the problem.

The best thing people can do is to stop having children. It's the only way to break the cycle of wastefulness, suffering, and death resulting from life, and having children at all is very difficult to morally justify, especially nowadays.

The next best thing is probably to stop eating meat. It's been difficult to get myself to try this, and I still buy meat sometimes and eat it if it's free at a party, but there are decent substitutes now and eating meat is also generally difficult to justify.

After that, vote in ways that benefit the world the most, or harm it the least.

 

[dusters]

Teaching kids critical thinking and the ways to obtain more information to make better decisions in their lives.

 

[Snerk]

I try to cheer up Phrossack.

 

[Live trash can]

I give the % which I earn on my bank account to an environmental organization.

What really gives me a good consciousness though is trying to be ascetic in daily life!

Part of that is minimizing carbon emissions. At this point I would think very long before taking a holiday to, say Thailand.

 

[AmazonQueen]

Its easier for me since my children are all grown up and I'm not responsible for providing for anyone but myself.
I work in a low paid job that I feel is useful to society rather than one that exists to make rich people richer. I also do some voluntary work.
I try to buy and live responsibly.

Its not going to save the world, governments would have to take action to do that, but after the Blair years I've lapsed into political inactivity. Still vote but thats it.

 

[Dekker]

This is one of my favorite topics.

A few things that I currently follow: it matters less how you make your money, and it more matters how you spend your money. Everyone needs a job and savings and a retirement plan, and we do what we do to make money based on what other people are willing to pay us to do. If the job pays well, someone will do it.

It's your spending that does good or ill. There are a few things I do on this front. Firstly, I believe in iterative wisdom. So, if I figure out something I think is 'good' to do, and I'm wrong, I do something else. If I donate to a charity, and find a better charity, I donate to the new charity instead.

I also believe in just giving. I read somewhere that if we were to focus 2.5% of GDP on fixing some of the world's problems, those problems would get onto the trendline where we're fixing them. I earmark 5 hour's wages per month to the various causes I believe in that I think 'make the world better in the long run'. Sure, this is about 3%, but I'm covering for slacktivists who like posts and do nothing else.

There's also a certain pleasure in asceticism. There are some types of spending that nearly 3 billion people cannot do, because of poverty. If said activity is destructive, I try to refrain from doing it. I am blessed with my luck, but this doesn't mean that I have permission to do things that others cannot. I should be using my wealth for other things. If I realize that they're happy, then maybe I can be happy too. Don't borrow, because then you're giving your money to the bankers. If you don't borrow, you're giving more of your money to people who work for a living. In Canada, this means I am using debit instead of credit, even.

Also, I try to avoid activities that it's best if 3 billion other people not do it.The world is hooped if 3 billion people eat a lot more meat, so maybe I shouldn't be on the 'team' that's ruining things. Heating my house too much. A fancy, expensive car.

Something I realized: lots of us tip generously. So, we're try to be generous. We like it. After that, it's a question of where you're spending your generosity.

It all starts small. One year for New Years, I decided to no longer 'walk past' a gloveless panhandler in the winter. I suffered from that paternalistic 'oh, they'll spend the money on booze' that lots of people fall for. So, I bought new gloves and had them in my pocket. If the panhandler was gloveless, I gave them gloves. It didn't fix their lives, but I think that 'pain mitigation' is an important thing.

I now carry bus tickets. Whenever someone asks for change for the bus, I give them a ticket. If a person needs a bus ticket, I am always happy to give them one. If they want to sell it to someone else who needs a subsidized bus-ride, whatever. I am happy to have them help me find someone.

But 'needing less' is important. Shifting your spending so that you're not buying destructive things is important. Spending less on exotic vacations is important. Eating way less meat is important.

Edit: the trick is to double-punch. Don't just limit your harm, help make the world better. Polio. SETI, Food Bank, it doesn't matter. It's the building that improves things.

Thanks for the thoughtful and detailed reply! Maybe thinking closer to home where I can do more matters rather than looking at all the world's problems. A few of you guys bring up not eating meat, I never really considered the impacts of that, food for thought thanks (pun almost not intended)

 

[El_Machinae]

Acting closer to home is easier for some people. In my studies of economics, I've learned that there is a way to be more efficient with my giving. And sometimes, that means giving to people who are far away.

I also think that the damage that I caused, environmentally, is most damaging to the desperately poor. So by giving some of my money in that direction, I'm hoping to buy off some of the damage that I've done.

But it's not just about limiting the damage that you do! If we all huddle in huts, shivering and living on our own garden, the world doesn't become better. It only degrades more slowly. It's why being proactive is so emotionally important.

I like to earmark a portion of my paycheck, if people can regularly afford Netflix, or to see a movie, or to tip their waitress, I figure I can earmark a portion of my paycheck to creating the social goods that I want to see created faster.

I've also seen other people donate less, but they spend time canvassing. And that has an incredible level of Leverage. Just for funsies, one of my friends canvassed for my favorite charity for my birthday. And she brought in more money , just by asking, than I donate on my own. Incredible Leverage.

5 hours wages per month. Eat less meat. Vacation close. And remember to save, instead of buying things that most people go without

 

[AppleDumplingHead]

If you even can brag about the good things you do, it means it's probably not very much and you probably explicitly do it to make yourself feel better about yourself instead of "because it's correct".

 

[Hygro]

Five years ago I tried getting super extra real and that was okay but meant turning into a plant which isn’t going to work because at the end of the day humans are glory seekers and celebrators and if you want people to change you have to be better than they are at the things they value so I’ll have done my part when I’m rich and then living a more optimistic phrossack and El mac approach of being the change you wish to see.

 

[Hygro]

If you even can brag about the good things you do, it means it's probably not very much and you probably explicitly do it to make yourself feel better about yourself instead of "because it's correct".

if you believe real problems are consequential then the good deed and its exposure far outweighs any impurity of an attached ego gratification.

 

[El_Machinae]

If you even can brag about the good things you do, it means it's probably not very much and you probably explicitly do it to make yourself feel better about yourself instead of "because it's correct".

It depends or whether or not you're trying to lead by example, or if you've been asked for your advice, or if you're just mentioning it.

You're not psychic. To assume that you have psychological insight into the majority of humankind is a heck of a piece of hubris