If a person wants to live in a good world, he should ACTIVELY do things to make the world better.

First, I want to apologize for posting this so late. This past weekend has been busier than usual for me, and so I didn't have time to respond as quickly as I should have.In Round 3, my opponent's argument can be summed up in the following:"I am a young lad of not quite 15...I have zero influence on anything. I still try to change the world for the better, but all I can do is spout optimistic nonsense."Plus:"When I reach 18, I'll...VOTE! Yes, I'll vote! I'll vote for the guy who supports my values! Mine! Forget everyone else!Voting will do nothing."Plus:"If it is up to each individual to encourage societal improvement, then we're screwed...You say you don't want to live in a vitriolic, biggoted world. Then move to Mars. Humans wont become nice and loving just because we want them to. You can promote all those things you...promote. I don't care. Or rather, 6,800,000,000 don't care. You are a speck of sand on a polluted beach. The catch? Most other grains of sand agree with you. They just can't do anything."My opponent takes the position that we can promote all the things we want to promote, but that we're in fact "screwed". In his words, we have "zero" influence on anything. We live in the world - and we're dictated by it (after all, as he says "the oil companies...the greedy bosses...have an impact", but we - the billions specks of sand - have no impact! We're automatons at the mercy of those with real power and influence, but we have no impact on the world. Yet it's funny, evidence shows we genuinely do have an impact on the world. The "oil companies" have an impact - well, get an electric/hyrbrid car (they're around!). The "greedy bosses" have an impact - well, don't buy their stuff! My opponent argues as if we have no power over our purchases in our culture.Capitalistic theory and the power of the free markets shows us that we do! Take Paula Dean, the women who was recently accused of calling black people who worked under her the n-word. It's quite obvious right now that she's feeling the impact of her attitude, of her un-restrained mouth. She's losing businesses, she's losing sponsors, and she's losing money - and this impact is caused by consumers! It's not caused by oil companies, by the greedy bosses (unless they're bowing to the demands of angry consumers)! We in fact do have an impact.Do we need more evidence of this? Fine.We have no power to change society - except for the fact that we do. Slavery. Slavery. I remember reading about slavery in my U.S. History text as a kid. Where did that go? Oh yeah...a bunch of abolitionists (those offended by the practice) got to together and convinced the 16th President (Abraham Lincoln) to eliminate it should the North win the Civil War against the South. Impact. Abraham Lincoln, who was once willing to continue the practice, ultimately bowed to the abolitionists and set the trend to have it eliminated after the war.Martin Luther King Jr. had an impact when he helped to organize the Million Man March on Washington and when he gave the "I have a dream" speech, which motivated the country into passing Civil Rights Legislation. He had an impact when he marched through Southern cities to stop segretation and to recognize African American rights. Rosa Parks had an impact when she refused to give up her seat to a white person in a city bus. Her courage caused the U.S. congress to act!Cesar Chavez had an impact when he organized boycotts of the fruit industry, to bring attention to the dismal working conditions of farm hands and farm workers. He got the collective hand of the nation to recognize that farm workers deserve better working conditions; by this I mean he had an impact through law.Mahatma Ghandi had an impact when he led India toward National Independence, liberating it for the first time in several hundred years from the grip of the British. He was arrested, inprisoned on several occasions, even while advocating non-violent civil disobedience, but ultimately the British Government acquiesed, giving India her independence. Impact!South African President Nelson Mandela, now 95, had an impact when he and his reform-minded country men convinced the nation to put an end to segregation and the practice of apartheid, giving black Africans (in a majority black nation) the right to vote, the rote to vote for any candidate of any race! The multiracial elections of 1994 occured without a significant act of combativeness or violence, and won the praise of the international community! Like Gandhi, Nelson Mandela held a philosophy of non-violent civil disobedience and was imprisoned for over 20 years for his public anti-apartheid beliefs.Originally this round was going to be dedicated to scientific support for classical conditioning, in defense of my position. But I think this is more appropriate.We have an impact. You have an impact. The question is how will you use it? http://en.wikipedia.org...http://en.wikipedia.org...