(Welcome to Part II of Systemic Rethinking. To find your way around, visit the project outline.)

This is only the first step. Most people I talk to about this sort of thing stop after airing their grievances. They never seem to give solving the problem mindful consideration. They believe that spreading awareness is enough and that it’s impossible for us to fix, anyway.

“‘Impossible’ is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it.” — Muhammad Ali

Before a big problem can be solved it must be noticed by someone, brought to the attention of others, and discussed. This is fundamental, and probably goes without saying. However, it means that those who never move past this phase are either complaining for the sake of it (pretty unhelpful) or are putting the burden of solving the problem on someone else.

Expecting another person to be motivated enough to come up with a solution for you is an easy way to not solve the problem. Moreover being unwilling to give a solution your own best shot is not doing your frustrations justice.

Picking a place to start

I live in the United States, which will be my main focus and point of reference for these posts, but I am sure that whatever solutions we come up with together can apply to elsewhere in the world and I also hope to discuss international relations and other global systems eventually, so feedback from readers in other countries will be immeasurably helpful.

I. Our government doesn’t represent us

A. Parties
— With only two main parties to choose from, voting has become picking the lesser of two evils.
— There is no space for moderate candidates who might be willing to compromise and work with people on both sides of the aisle.
B. Elections
— Not enough people vote, and even fewer make educated ballot decisions.
— Campaigns cost too much money, so small parties can’t compete.
C. Corporate Influence
— Candidates accept money from companies during elections, putting them in the companies’ pockets for future legislation.
— Large companies have enough money and other resources to bully government into doing what they want.

II. Our schools are failing our kids

A. Grades and grades
— Age is not a valid predictor of learning ability, so students are often either limited in potential or stretched so thin they cannot succeed.
— Both students and teachers are too preoccupied with test scores and grades.
B. Teaching to the class, not the students
— The way we teach is too close to the assembly-line ideology from the industrial revolution. Students are not all the same and cannot learn well in this cookie-cutter environment.

III. The media is failing everyone

A. Virality over value
— The news is too sensationalized, using horrible events to draw attention and hold interest through duller material.
— The goal is to get likes, shares, and advertising revenue, not to educate people.
B. What do the facts say?
— Too much false and worthless reporting enters the public eye in the name of being first to break a story.
— On both sides of the political spectrum facts are ignored in order to propagate an ideology instead of report what actually happened.

IV. Nothing is private anymore

A. In the name of national security
— Phone taps, cell phone tracking, internet monitoring, and other examples of government infringing upon personal privacy are becoming scarily prevalent.
B. Corporate greed
— Companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Google sell our information to advertisers and anyone else with enough money.

Looking ahead

Other topics such as paying our labor forces, caring for the sick and injured, reeducating criminals, our relationship with the environment, and many more are on the horizon, but first I need to finalize my organization and get a feel for how much I have already started.

Please feel free to suggest things for me to add!