link to original reddit post by /u/JobDestroyer
"I think people should wear masks, but I oppose mandates"
"I think people should social distance, but I oppose mandates"
"I think people should get the vaccine, but I oppose mandates"
How many people here are of this mind? Unfortunately, you've made a mistake in your understanding of how the world works. Your thoughts are insignificant and are unimportant unless paired with actions. You can't count yourself as a member of "The Good Guys" simply by having the correct opinions. You need to actually engage in purposeful behavior.
In this world, there are stated preferences, and the stated preferences are total bullshit. It's easy to say anything you want, it takes barely any effort to say, "I oppose lockdowns".
But you know what does require effort? Going to the Dollar Tree. Getting some poster board. Buying a fat Sharpie. Writing something witty on the poster board. Taping the poster board to a stick or something. Driving to the protest. Standing around with other people and demanding change.
You know what else requires effort? Deciding to do something about injustice. Contacting people who are interested. Organizing with other members of your community. Planning a course of action. Following through with the action despite misgivings because it is the right thing to do.
Hell, you know what requires effort? Picking up the phone. Looking up the phone number of your state representative. Telling them you will support their opposition in the primary if they vote in favor of X, Y, Z.
This is the part where I talk about Nazis.
Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania. He issued thousands of transit visas to Jews so they could travel through Japanese occupied territories in order to escape the Holocaust. In doing so, he saved the lives of countless people fleeing certain death.
He did something, and is remembered as a hero, because he is a hero. He saw what was happening, and did something about it. History will remember him for a very long time into the future, and he deserves it.
In the town of Oświęcim, Poland, there were likely thousands of people who lived in the city. Many of them likely disagreed with Hitler and the Nazis. They probably disagreed with what they saw happen to their Jewish neighbors. They probably smelled what Auschwitz smelt like and many probably had a general idea of what was going on there, and thought it was bad.
You know why you don't know their names? Because they didn't actually oppose anything. They merely disagreed. Therefore, as far as history is concerned, they're nobody. They're nothing. They are part of a population statistic for a town during a particular time-period, if that.
We're now in the midst of one of the greatest evils that has been inflicted on the western world since the Nazis. Entire populations are being made prisoner in their own homes. Human beings are being made into guinea pigs for corporate pharmaceutical conglomerates based on lies. Liberty herself is being raped by the very same type of people who allowed Hitler to take power (Normal, everyday people who mind their own business and don't bother taking a stand).
Are you going to be the person going, "Well, of course I think that people should take the vaccine, but I don't think they should be forced", and use that as an excuse to do nothing at all? Are you going to be the person who is content merely thinking the right thoughts, but too lazy, and to scared, to actually do something about it? Are you going to be one of the millions of people who purport to love liberty, that should be leading the charge against statism and oppression, but aren't even motivated enough to be a follower, let alone a leader?
Want to know why socialists are having such a major impact on policy recently? Because they actually do work.
Want to know why libertarians in New Hampshire are having such a major impact on policy recently? Because the libertarians that are motivated enough to move to New Hampshire are motivated enough to actually do something when shit starts rolling downhill.
Want to know why liberty isn't winning where you are?
Take a wild guess.
But it's not too late to change. I don't care if you're effective or not, sucking at something is the first step at being good at something. I don't care if you actually accomplish your goals, so long as you have goals and actually work toward them. But for Christs' sake, go do something instead of doing nothing.
Actions speak louder than words. Words are wind. Revealed preferences trump stated preferences. You'll be surprised what you can accomplish if you put your mind, and your labor, to it.