Looking for hope that a few individuals can make a difference without turning their lives upside-down?
Check out what a pair of artists in New York has done.
Faced with a perpetual scummy stream plaguing a local walkway, instead of griping, complaining and basically raising a stink, they did something about it. They built a bridge over it, declaring it the "Astoria Scum River Bridge."
And wouldn't you know — not only did people start using it, local officials finally took notice and began to fix the leak that caused the Scum River in the first place.
Now that's community involvement.