This is mundane enough that it should have gone into MPSIMS, but there is no polling ability there:
You can pick one of the following options in the poll - and that option will see drastic improvement (improvement as defined by you - so if you choose climate change, then maybe all excess carbon is removed from the atmosphere and temperatures go back down, or if you choose national debt, then the national debt is entirely eliminated). But the condition is that every single other option in the poll will see some worsening as a result. Which do you choose?
Is easier access / more abortions an improvement or harder / less need for the improvement? Theocracy (of my religious sect) or no religion / -theisms? More guns, fewer restrictions, or should only a select few have them? Which is the improvement? Or are these my choice? Where I see an improvement, others may see a decline. And are the cinnamon rolls sugar and carb free and bacon flavored?
This is close to environmentalism, since many green energy sources are inherently sustainable (solar power being the obvious one), and of course recycling/reuse contributes to it, but it’s more than all that. It is ultimately being about viewing the Earth as a closed system (apart from the Sun’s input) and the steps we need to take to make civilization last millions of years.
It is also about the recognition that the transition to a truly sustainable economy will take some time, and so we need to put our limited resources (petroleum, minerals, etc.) to the best possible use in the intervening time. Burning through that windfall in a couple centuries due to waste may not get us to that future.
The environment matters more than anything else on that list. If the air is too fucked up for us to breathe, if the fish are too fucked up for us to eat, if the water is too polluted to drink, if the atmosphere is destroyed, there’s absolutely nothing else on that list that will have the slightest bit of relevance to anything.
A more educated populace is easily the most beneficial thing on that list. Educated people make better decisions about the present and the future. Educated people will better understand priorities – that is, once educated, they will realize that it’s important to vote for policymakers who will prioritize the environment, health care and scientific research, not policymakers who want to ignore climate change, scrap health care and prioritize arcane immigration policies.
An educated populace will also hasten the end of religiosity, thus helping with issues like abortion, LGBT rights, criminal justice and human rights.
Yes, this is a politically-charged answer. But that’s to be expected, as the poll necessitates governmental/political involvement.
I don’t believe that increased education will necessarily make anyone prioritize the environment. The more compartmentalized they are from it, the less they will care about it, regardless of their education.
I also flatly reject the idea that religiosity must be decreased in order to further these goals. This attitude is tremendously alienating to many Americans and it’s taking precious votes away from politicians who can help further those goals.
It is possible for religion and environmentalism to become closely linked, in fact inseparable - it just requires the right kind of pastors/priests/rabbis/imams/&c.
I said ‘Education’ because I think that improvements there spread out to help a lot of other worthy goals. But I don’t have any specific improvements in mind. (Maybe I should have asked for cinnamon rolls instead.)
“Human rights” covers almost everything I consider important aside from the environment (racial injustice, criminal justice reform, economic inequality, access to health care, gender inequality, LGBT rights, etc.), so I picked that one. If it were vastly improved, I think fixing the environment would be much, much easier.
Tough poll. A lot of these have significant overlap.
I chose economics. But where does that stop with human rights, gender issues and racial parity? If, for economic purposes, we give every single non-disabled person a job at $15/hour a lot of other issues with eventually be somewhat ameliorated. High income security leads to increases in education, lower frustration levels and a greater focus on lifestyle issues. People with something to lose are less likely to cause other trouble.
Other – equality – across the board. Get that one done and several of the things on your list would be covered at the same time. IMHO it would also leave us in a better position to go after the rest.
Declassify marijuana as a schedule 1 illegal drug. Release and erase the criminal history (related to marijuana) for people who have been charged with possession and other minor things related to it. This way we get them out of jails/prisons and back out to society and able to get a job with their record cleared. Make room and invest funds to capture real criminals! Murdering gangsters, sex trafficking ring leaders, child molesters etc.