The antidote to apathy
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0:00 - 0:02How often do we hear
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0:02 - 0:04that people just don't care?
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0:04 - 0:06How many times have you been told
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0:06 - 0:09that real, substantial change isn't possible
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0:09 - 0:11because most people are too selfish,
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0:11 - 0:13too stupid or too lazy
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0:13 - 0:16to try to make a difference in their community?
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0:16 - 0:19I propose to you today that apathy as we think we know it
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0:19 - 0:21doesn't actually exist,
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0:21 - 0:23but rather, that people do care,
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0:23 - 0:25but that we live in a world
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0:25 - 0:27that actively discourages engagement
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0:27 - 0:30by constantly putting obstacles and barriers in our way.
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0:30 - 0:32And I'll give you some examples of what I mean.
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0:32 - 0:34Let's start with city hall.
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0:34 - 0:36You ever see one of these before?
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0:36 - 0:38This is a newspaper ad.
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0:38 - 0:41It's a notice of a zoning application change for a new office building
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0:41 - 0:43so the neighborhood knows what's happening.
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0:43 - 0:45As you can see, it's impossible to read.
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0:45 - 0:47You need to get halfway down
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0:47 - 0:49to even find out which address they're talking about,
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0:49 - 0:51and then farther down, in tiny 10-point font,
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0:51 - 0:54to find out how to actually get involved.
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0:54 - 0:57Imagine if the private sector advertised in the same way --
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0:57 - 1:00if Nike wanted to sell a pair of shoes
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1:00 - 1:03and put an ad in the paper like that.
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1:03 - 1:06(Applause)
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1:06 - 1:08Now that would never happen.
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1:08 - 1:10You'll never see an ad like that
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1:10 - 1:13because Nike actually wants you to buy their shoes.
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1:13 - 1:15Whereas the city of Toronto
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1:15 - 1:17clearly doesn't want you involved with the planning process,
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1:17 - 1:19otherwise their ads would look something like this --
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1:19 - 1:21with all the information basically laid out clearly.
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1:21 - 1:23As long as the city's putting out notices like this
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1:23 - 1:25to try to get people engaged,
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1:25 - 1:27then of course people aren't going to be engaged.
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1:27 - 1:29But that's not apathy;
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1:29 - 1:32that's intentional exclusion.
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1:32 - 1:34Public space.
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1:34 - 1:36(Applause)
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1:36 - 1:38The manner in which we mistreat our public spaces
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1:38 - 1:40is a huge obstacle
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1:40 - 1:43towards any type of progressive political change
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1:43 - 1:46because we've essentially put a price tag on freedom of expression.
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1:46 - 1:49Whoever has the most money gets the loudest voice,
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1:49 - 1:51dominating the visual and mental environment.
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1:51 - 1:53The problem with this model
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1:53 - 1:55is that there are some amazing messages that need to be said
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1:55 - 1:57that aren't profitable to say.
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1:57 - 2:00So you're never going to see them on a billboard.
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2:00 - 2:02The media plays an important role
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2:02 - 2:05in developing our relationship with political change,
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2:05 - 2:07mainly by ignoring politics
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2:07 - 2:09and focusing on celebrities and scandals,
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2:09 - 2:12but even when they do talk about important political issues,
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2:12 - 2:15they do it in a way that I feel discourages engagement.
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2:15 - 2:17And I'll give you an example: the Now magazine from last week --
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2:17 - 2:19progressive, downtown weekly in Toronto.
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2:19 - 2:21This is the cover story.
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2:21 - 2:24It's an article about a theater performance,
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2:24 - 2:26and it starts with basic information about where it is,
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2:27 - 2:30in case you actually want to go and see it after you've read the article --
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2:30 - 2:32where, the time, the website.
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2:32 - 2:34Same with this -- it's a movie review,
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2:34 - 2:36an art review,
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2:36 - 2:39a book review -- where the reading is in case you want to go.
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2:39 - 2:41A restaurant -- you might not want to just read about it,
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2:41 - 2:43maybe you want to go to the restaurant.
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2:43 - 2:45So they tell you where it is, what the prices are,
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2:45 - 2:47the address, the phone number, etc.
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2:47 - 2:49Then you get to their political articles.
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2:49 - 2:52Here's a great article about an important election race that's happening.
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2:52 - 2:54It talks about the candidates -- written very well --
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2:54 - 2:56but no information, no follow-up,
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2:56 - 2:58no websites for the campaigns,
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2:58 - 3:01no information about when the debates are, where the campaign offices are.
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3:01 - 3:03Here's another good article
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3:03 - 3:06about a new campaign opposing privatization of transit
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3:06 - 3:09without any contact information for the campaign.
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3:09 - 3:11The message seems to be
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3:11 - 3:13that the readers are most likely to want to eat,
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3:13 - 3:16maybe read a book, maybe see a movie, but not be engaged in their community.
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3:16 - 3:18And you might think this is a small thing,
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3:18 - 3:21but I think it's important because it sets a tone
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3:21 - 3:25and it reinforces the dangerous idea
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3:25 - 3:28that politics is a spectator sport.
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3:28 - 3:30Heroes: How do we view leadership?
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3:30 - 3:33Look at these 10 movies. What do they have in common?
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3:33 - 3:35Anyone?
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3:35 - 3:37They all have heroes who were chosen.
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3:37 - 3:40Someone came up to them and said, "You're the chosen one.
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3:40 - 3:42There's a prophesy. You have to save the world."
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3:42 - 3:45And then someone goes off and saves the world because they've been told to,
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3:45 - 3:47with a few people tagging along.
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3:47 - 3:49This helps me understand
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3:49 - 3:52why a lot of people have trouble seeing themselves as leaders
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3:52 - 3:55because it sends all the wrong messages about what leadership is about.
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3:55 - 3:57A heroic effort is a collective effort,
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3:57 - 3:59number one.
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3:59 - 4:02Number two, it's imperfect; it's not very glamorous,
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4:02 - 4:04and it doesn't suddenly start and suddenly end.
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4:04 - 4:06It's an ongoing process your whole life.
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4:06 - 4:08But most importantly, it's voluntary.
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4:08 - 4:10It's voluntary.
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4:10 - 4:13As long as we're teaching our kids
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4:13 - 4:16that heroism starts when someone scratches a mark on your forehead,
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4:16 - 4:18or someone tells you that you're part of a prophecy,
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4:18 - 4:21they're missing the most important characteristic of leadership,
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4:21 - 4:23which is that it comes from within.
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4:23 - 4:25It's about following your own dreams --
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4:25 - 4:27uninvited, uninvited --
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4:27 - 4:30and then working with others to make those dreams come true.
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4:30 - 4:32Political parties: oh boy.
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4:32 - 4:35Political parties could and should be
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4:35 - 4:37one of the basic entry points
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4:37 - 4:39for people to get engaged in politics.
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4:39 - 4:41Instead, they've become, sadly,
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4:41 - 4:44uninspiring and uncreative organizations
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4:44 - 4:46that rely so heavily on market research
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4:46 - 4:48and polling and focus groups
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4:48 - 4:50that they end up all saying the same thing,
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4:50 - 4:53pretty much regurgitating back to us what we already want to hear
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4:53 - 4:56at the expense of putting forward bold and creative ideas.
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4:56 - 4:59And people can smell that, and it feeds cynicism.
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4:59 - 5:05(Applause)
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5:05 - 5:07Charitable status:
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5:07 - 5:10Groups who have charitable status in Canada aren't allowed to do advocacy.
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5:10 - 5:13This is a huge problem and a huge obstacle to change
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5:13 - 5:16because it means that some of the most passionate and informed voices
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5:16 - 5:19are completely silenced, especially during election time.
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5:19 - 5:21Which leads us to the last one,
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5:21 - 5:23which is our elections.
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5:23 - 5:26As you may have noticed, our elections in Canada are a complete joke.
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5:26 - 5:28We use out-of-date systems
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5:28 - 5:30that are unfair and create random results.
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5:30 - 5:32Canada's currently led by a party
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5:32 - 5:35that most Canadians didn't actually want.
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5:35 - 5:38How can we honestly and genuinely encourage more people to vote
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5:38 - 5:40when votes don't count in Canada?
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5:40 - 5:42You add all this up together
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5:42 - 5:44and of course people are apathetic.
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5:44 - 5:46It's like trying to run into a brick wall.
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5:46 - 5:48Now I'm not trying to be negative
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5:48 - 5:50by throwing all these obstacles out and explaining what's in our way.
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5:50 - 5:53Quite the opposite: I actually think people are amazing and smart
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5:53 - 5:56and that they do care.
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5:56 - 5:59But that, as I said, we live in this environment
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5:59 - 6:03where all these obstacles are being put in our way.
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6:03 - 6:06As long as we believe that people, our own neighbors,
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6:06 - 6:10are selfish, stupid or lazy,
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6:10 - 6:12then there's no hope.
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6:12 - 6:14But we can change all those things I mentioned.
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6:14 - 6:16We can open up city hall.
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6:16 - 6:18We can reform our electoral systems.
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6:18 - 6:20We can democratize our public spaces.
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6:20 - 6:22My main message is,
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6:22 - 6:24if we can redefine apathy,
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6:24 - 6:26not as some kind of internal syndrome,
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6:26 - 6:28but as a complex web of cultural barriers
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6:28 - 6:31that reinforces disengagement,
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6:31 - 6:34and if we can clearly define, we can clearly identify,
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6:34 - 6:36what those obstacles are,
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6:36 - 6:39and then if we can work together collectively to dismantle those obstacles,
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6:39 - 6:41then anything is possible.
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6:41 - 6:43Thank you.
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6:43 - 6:45(Applause)
- Title:
- The antidote to apathy
- Speaker:
- Dave Meslin
- Description:
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Local politics -- schools, zoning, council elections -- hit us where we live. So why don't more of us actually get involved? Is it apathy? Dave Meslin says no. He identifies 7 barriers that keep us from taking part in our communities, even when we truly care.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 06:45
Krystian Aparta commented on English subtitles for The antidote to apathy | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for The antidote to apathy | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for The antidote to apathy | ||
TED edited English subtitles for The antidote to apathy | ||
TED added a translation |
Krystian Aparta
The English transcript was updated on 12/12/2016.