We live in such times that I must have two cancers, a heart ailment and a debilitating skeletal condition and live a normal life and overcome all odds and win an ultra-marathon in arctic conditions while delivering 200% results as a vice president for a global company, personally leading a 1000 people to glory while gaining the grudging admiration of peers and competitors while being a role model with human frailties for my children and supporting an equally colossal spouse who achieves more than I ever could, all of this being known and followed by millions of people every day … for any one to take my opinions, requests for help, and suggestions seriously enough to take action or make a change in their lives.
What then can a common person fighting ordinary battles expect from the world? Battles such as abject poverty, mal nutrition, joblessness, recession, lack of access to opportunities? 

Am beginning to think that it has come to a stage where a catastrophe in the immediate vicinity or direct personal challenges are the only triggers for us to move into tangible, physical action.