The ability of private citizens to make an impact on our politics. We like to talk about our legislatures or Congress in the abstract, but the reality is you as

The ability of private citizens to make an impact on our politics. We like to talk about our legislatures or Congress in the abstract, but the reality is you as a citizen can get things moved in the direction you want, and you don’t have to be wealthy to make it happen. It’s not easy, it takes a ton of time, but if you get involved, good things can happen. I want to believe in upward mobility; that someone born with limited opportunity in the US can get ahead. I shift my feelings on this almost weekly. The importance of software. Thirty years ago I believed that technology would change our world in positive ways. Now, I’m less certain that software is in many cases necessarily, useful, or beneficial. Personal responsibility. I’ll counter some of the posts in this thread. Yes, personal responsibility is critical, but there are so many systems working against the average person over which they have no control. You can work hard, get an education, stay off vice, save for a rainy day - and still end up penniless in a gutter, if the wrong hand gets dealt to you. And the system doesn’t give a shit, and your neighbors will spit on you and say you should have taken more personal responsibility for your actions.