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Philip Goetz's avatar

Wow. You're probably right that most people would have more impact focusing on local issues. Yet I don't care. The idea of going door-to-door campaigning for, I don't know, bicycle paths in Fairfax county, repels me. I don't want to admit that my life is so small and insignificant that that might be a good use of my time.

Perhaps engaging in national politics is like playing the lottery. It's a tiny chance to have a big impact. Or perhaps it's a very large chance of having an outcome which I can mentally claim an outsized portion of responsibility for.

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Stephen Diamond's avatar

I’d admire you much more if you acted like this> I’d admire you much more if you acted like this...

I don't think you're credible here: you singled out Edward Snowden (who acted on an international scale) for praise as a hero.

The heroine of this piece (who goes unnamed--less acclaimed), having been unsuccessful, doesn't help your case for localism. Most problems can't be solved at the local level, as even the problem with doctors washing their hands proved unsolvable at that level.

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