James_Bach comments on Stop Voting For Nincompoops - Less Wrong

38 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 02 January 2008 06:00PM

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Comment author: James_Bach 03 January 2008 09:29:06PM 8 points [-]

Forget voting. Here's how to make a big difference in society: at least once a month, do something amazingly kind for a perfect stranger. My preference is leaving $100 tips for waitresses or hotel maids, because I'm basically lazy.

Also, raise your kids with kindness.

Practice showing courage in challenging situations.

Don't instigate a lawsuit unless it's reaaaaaally important.

What's great about America is not democracy, but the sense we have that we can travel almost anywhere here and other people will smile with us, do business with us, and not hate us. There are still many places and people within America for which and whom this is not true (or not true enough). But let's keep working toward that idea with our daily actions. No amount of voting will solve that problem.

Comment author: Error 05 October 2012 02:56:28PM 1 point [-]

Upvoted because this really deserves more than one upvote, even if it's four years too late. And for the sake of amusement I'm going to generalize from fictional evidence -- Good Omens -- and note the potential magnified effects of minor nuisances or elimination thereof, as when creating a traffic jam or sterilizing a telemarketer office.