Month: May 2025

What Can I Do?

When events are chaotic, or things change very rapidly, oftentimes people ask the question: “What can I do?”

It is only natural to want to take control of a situation that feels out of control. In order to do that, we want to take action, even if it is not clear what that action should be.

Take a moment to consider what action is appropriate. It may also help to consider what is possible. Where those two things overlap, meaningful steps can be taken.

For example, let’s consider someone who is having trouble at work. Feeling it necessary to do something, they might, say, perform a deep clean of their home. Cleaning feels like progress, and while having a clean home is a good thing, it doesn’t have any impact on the actual problem. The action is possible, but not appropriate.

A lot of people are feeling helpless or powerless right now. In reality, each person has more power and more control than they realize.

So how do you tap into that? What can I do in order to make a difference? How can we overcome the despair that tells us the situation is out of our hands?

Related questions: How much power does an individual have? How can you help? How can we turn ideas into actions? How can we turn sadness into constructive action?

News Or Propaganda?

Do you think your media diet is mostly news, or mostly propaganda? Would you know if you were being given propaganda? How can you tell the difference?

Share why if you wish.

News Or Propaganda?
Results

Are You A Nerd?

The term “nerd” has evolved from it’s original definition. Now, you can be a word nerd, a music nerd, a comic book nerd, and so on. Do you consider yourself a nerd of any kind?

Share why if you wish.

What Does The Government Do That Wouldn’t Be Done Otherwise?

Governments can be slow, inefficient, and wasteful. Despite this, are there things that only a government can accomplish?

The government of a country behaves differently than an individual or a for-profit company. As a result, there are things that a government can do that would be too expensive, take too long, or otherwise be problematic for someone else.

Private companies are subject to different motivations. A company has an incentive to offer a product or a service at the highest quality and lowest price that it can. Otherwise, a competitor might steal away customers.

However, there are no competitors for a government. The incentives are different, and that might mean proliferation of waste or fraud, which many people are concerned about. There have been many efforts over the years to reduce fraud and abuse, with varying levels of success.

Still, there are some things that a government can do that private enterprise cannot or will not. One of the more common examples is the postal system. To send a letter via the postal service, cost might be around a dollar or so. You could send that same letter via a commercial shipping company (like UPS or FedEx), but it would be much more expensive.

In part, that’s because the goal of the two is different. The company’s goal is to make a profit. The government’s goal is to deliver the public’s mail — even if it is done at a loss.

Can you think of other examples of projects that have to be done by a government, or they would be more expensive or wouldn’t get done at all?

Related questions: What role should the government play in our lives? What are our responsibilities to others? How much power does an individual have? Where does authority come from?

Planes Or Boats?

On a vacation, do you prefer planes or boats? Some like cruises; others don’t. Planes are fast, but don’t allow appreciation for the trip.

Share why if you wish.

Planes Or Boats?
Results