the antidote to apathy

found via boing boing  - a 7min 38 sec ted talk by dave meslin - from a canadian perspective - my summary is below (using some screen grabs from the filmed talk):


we think people are selfish, stupid, and lazy so that's why we can't get people to care - but what if the culture we live in actively discourages engagement by putting up obstacles and barriers to it


1) local government - notices of planning applications often look like the image on the left - imagine if commercial companies advertised their products in the same way - see image below.    they'd sell nothing - 
its like councils are intentionally trying to exclude us














         2) public space - is mistreated - there is a price tag on freedom of expression - whoever has the most money gets a voice - so advertising gets the voice - and some amazing messages that will never be profitable never get a voice


 3) media – mainly focuses on celebrities and scandals  - but even when it does talk about politics it doesn't have the same type of basic where, when, how go to info it would have for a play at a theatre, or restaurant, or movie - this sets a tone - politics is a spectator sport


4)    heroes – what do the movie heroes on the screen grab to the right have in common?- they all have heroes who were chosen - sends all the wrong messages about leadership – heroic effort is collective, imperfect, voluntary (so uninvited)


5) political parties – should be the entry point  for engagement – but as they use marketing techniques  - to determine what to say to us that we will want to hear - so they are unoriginal - the same - and their approach feeds cynicism


6)  charitable status – are banned from doing certain things (applicable to uk?) so are silenced at election time


7)  elections – how encourage us to vote when it seems our votes don’t count?


conclusion - if we redefine apathy as a complex web of cultural barriers that reinforce obstacles to engagement - then by identifying those barriers  - we can work to dismantle them


as long as we believe our neighbours are not (or have the potential to not be) selfish, stupid or lazy