Making a difference

If you think that the only way to make a difference is through politics, then you're sorely mistaken. More and more I have realized that real change happens outside of the realm of politicking, red tape, and schmoozing. The real work is happening locally, in communities, with everyday people like me and you.

I'm preaching to myself here as much as anyone. For so long, I was convinced that people who really cared about positively changing the world went into politics. Boy was I ever wrong! In fact, much of the reason that I studied and started a career in politics is because I saw it as the vessel for changing the world. Why?...because politicians often talk about the problems plaguing our culture and atleast claim to be trying to fix them. Working in this field for a year I have realized that legislators are unequipped to fix problems in the way that average citizens can. I can elaborate on this point at a later date, but admittedly politicians-and even lobbyists- are often extremely detached from the world that they represent. They have people sitting behind desks all day crunching numbers and doing research but they have few of their own people in the field really touching the community...i find this really interesting and also somewhat disheartening.

Surprise, surprise, this post will be short. These are my current thoughts and i'm excited at the possibility of having a career doing something cool like making good food, or putting together cool outfits, or teaching kids about urban agriculture to make a positive difference in our world. Such work is good and fruitful and pleasing, when done with the right intentions.

things that have significantly interested me recently:
1) rooftop gardening
2) demystifying the word "green"
3) measures that enable people to experience/appreciate art
4) sustainable architecture

thoughts/observations?