I don’t know how to put this succinctly, but I read recently about someone feeling like they’re an outsider looking into the world of “normal” people. I feel a bit of the opposite, like I’m a “normal” person just realizing how shit it is to be part of the problems in our world right now-I’d much rather be an outsider to all of it so I couldn’t accept responsibility. I’m just as much of a contributor to everything bad as any other peer in the world. It’s not like I can pinpoint one certain thing I do that makes me feel that way, but I realize how often I judge other people for thinking they’re the perpetrators in everything wrong with society, when I’m not doing anything that differently from the rest of them. It goes the opposite way in that no matter how helpful I think I’m being to contribute to some “greater good,” I still feel I’m doing the bare minimum, and feel culpable in my smallness and ability to enact long lasting in the way I’d like to see the world.
I limit my driving, try to limit my plastic consumption, and try to push our household into energy-saving appliances. We plant native plants, and do a ton of research when voting, and encourage others to vote.
At the end of the day, most stuff is going to be best directed from the top-down, such as switching from methane “natural gas” to renewable baseload power, like advanced nuclear, geothermal, hydro, etc. or preserving democracy so we can make these decisions instead of the red menace currently in charge.
Getting people to vote for democracy and climate policy has an outsized impact over my personal choices and habits, regardless of how good or bad they are.