Stardate 20010616.0832 (On Screen): One of the more obnoxious new age beliefs is the one that says that if enough people just
want something, and think hard enough about it, then it will happen without anyone actually having to get their ass in gear and actually do something about it. This is the lazy man's activism; activism through mystic forces. (Or maybe it's agnostic prayer.)
Unfortunately, at least in politics there's some truth to it, though there isn't in any other aspect of life. The reason is opinion polls. If enough people do think something, the pollsters will usually pick it up and communicate it to the elected leaders. I'm not sure I think this is a good thing, because in this as in anything else the attitude encourages passivity. If they'll come to you to find out what you want, then it relieves you of the responsibility of going to them to tell them what you want. So this simply encourages political apathy: not only does it seem to be useless to be politically active, but it is also unnecessary. (discuss)
