Do you ever get sick of all the talk?

I’m in class, and the discussion turns to the world and all it’s problems. It finally ends, either by the clock, or by a mutual “well, that sucks. Oh well.”

I’m walking down a street in my neighborhood, hearing snipets of conversations as I pass by people. “Yes, that’s what’s wrong, that’s it exactly. Oh well.”

My parents are raising me, telling me of all the problems in the world, and the broken parts in the systems. Then when I get to the age to go out in all of that, it’s “why aren’t you just playing the game? Just play the game. It could be worse. Oh well.”

What’s the point of free speech if all it ever is, is speech? Are people just excercising their right to say things are wrong?

I feel almost like the ability to speak our minds is the biggest joke there is. Don’t get me wrong. The freedom is great. But how much does it really matter? Everyone saying anything they can, and everything kind of blurs and muddies together.
It’s not truly free speech, there are still limitations on it. Protests have to get permits or you wind up in jail—which seems rather odd, no? “Fighting” words, and things that lead to “imminent violence” aren’t allowed.
But at the same time—(in the US, I’m mostly talking about the US, I guess, since I live here) it’s almost like the illegality is what makes things powerful. When flag burning was illegal, people used it frequently as a political protest. When it was decided that it was protected symbolic speech, the practice burnt up into smoke and dissipated, because who cared anymore.

It takes serious unity from serious frustration, like the turmoil (terrible that it’s happening, that it has to happen) in Egypt and Libya, for change to really start to emerge. And even though those people don’t have it yet, they’re going to make it happen.

It’s like our ability to speak our minds just lets off the steam that fuels us? Like the best thing a government can do is say, “say whatever you want” and then let all the conflicting and unsynchronized and unfunded views of the world drown each other out?

I’m not saying oppression is better. Just that it seems only the oppressed really rise up and fight for change, however small.

All this power I’m supposed to be able to have because I’m “free”, and I can’t help but feel utterly powerless. That while I’m allowed to think things are wrong, even say things are wrong, I can’t really do much about it.

Am I way off here?

I can’t help but thinking about the irony of this question…