We begin where we left off and now aim to describe how you can save a disintegrating community from self-destruction. No one can do this alone, but never forget that true change starts within the individual.

Step 1: Rebuild Culture

Modern communities disintegrate because they lack unity. The healthy foundation to unity is culture: a system of values, beliefs and historical traditions that express the heart of the community. This is where you start: what is special about your community? Which public activities are available? Anything that involves a group of people working together for non-profit goals that concern the community as a whole is worth considering.

Do you have a folk band or other kinds of local musicians? Churches usually have choirs and need someone to help them expand. Sports are often popular, not just football but also activities like orienteering, bird watching, hiking, scout trips and fishing are good ways of getting people physically active and enjoying nature at the same time.

Culture also involves activities like photography, painting, writing, study groups and library meetings. Here it's beneficial if you engage in something in which you know you have natural talents or abilities. Spreading local art and discussing important art helps to create an intellectual place for those who need it. Study groups can support and spread that knowledge to the average citizen, which is also what's most important here.

Step 2: Get Recognition

If you want to do more than simply be a part of a group, you need to create a good reputation so that other people recognize you as an honest, intelligent and creative citizen. This is done by partaking in or organizing public activities that serve the community as a whole. Trash-pickups can be very effective, especially if you manage to find a group of people to help you.

Once a week you want to go out and collectively pick up trash that other people have thrown on the streets and in parks. Passers will take notice of what you do, and for every time you do it, there will always be those who stop and ask how they can help. Other ways to get recognition are to organize art exhibits, hold speeches at local conferences or study groups, or join any community activity that's covered by the press.

Slowly you will notice that other people know who you are and they will see you as a positive force in the community; someone they believe has good intentions. This is the recognition you need to succeed with your activities and to proceed to the next step: leadership.

Step 3: Leadership

In order to exercise an influence on a community you need to be a part of or lead something that concerns all citizens. Politics is one such area; it's filthy, requires time and will not make you popular among all people. On the other hand, it's where all decisions are being made. If you decide to become a politician, start out by attending all public conferences and claim you represent the average citizen. Don't support any party or ideology; find realistic solutions and apply them as "common sense."

When you've regularly attended these meetings, consider joining any party that is closest to the interests of the community at hand and defends a traditional, realistic view on things. In smaller communities it's entirely possible to form your own party and use your public recognition to enter the political arena. This will be a long process and should only be pursued if you're sure you're going to dwell in this area for a long period of time.

Cultural activities officially sponsored by the community are fun and powerful areas to explore. These are often connected to local traditions and want to bring people together. If you're at the front of those activities, you will be credited in the press and people will look up to you. Non-profit activities are often easy to organize since they often seem to lack proper leadership. Build confidence, and then suggest that you can take on more and more responsibility. People will be happy to give it to you when you've proved you're reliable.

Step 4: Take Control

Now you're a recognized good citizen that believes in the community. People like what you're doing and are wondering what you're going to do next. If you've chosen politics, your job will be to defend, not your party as is commonly believed, but first and foremost your community, including your political opponents. In local communities, politicians often try to see things from a unified perspective and only hide behind politics when they feel insecure. Be a strong, powerful, self-secure voice that others listen to. Speak sanity and claim you represent "what's best for all in the long-term." Other parties will copy or steal your policies, although they'll never admit it. Take this as a compliment and part of your work.

Regardless of what you do, a public person with power knows that power is maintained through consensus. Don't hide behind your social status; utilize it. Go out on the streets and talk to people - again, not as a politician, but as a citizen. Show that you care about them and their needs. Listen to what the healthy middle class people, especially families, have to say about things and take notes.

If you're a cultural figure, find ways of reaching out to people. Make events as family-friendly as possible, fun enough for young people but concrete enough so that the elderly find it stimulating. Non-profit work like fighting criminality with so called "nightguards" is a perfect way of making the neighbourhoods safe again. Talk to the teenagers and show them how they can have fun without binge drinking and destroying property. Never lose sight of your public image: all segments of the community must find a way to identify themselves with you. Always be honest.

Step 5: Overthrow

At this point more or less all people should know who you are. What you're doing now doesn't matter much, as anything you will do will go public the next day - good and bad, of course. It's very important you never lose the interest or confidence of people. It's hard and takes time to build up a reputation, but it can be destroyed in just a matter of days. If you're a politician, your way to success will be to apply Corruptian ideas in an appealing form. All your policies should make sense to smart, healthy people. Radicalism doesn't work, but disguising radical ideas as soft pragmatism usually speaks to people as something interesting and new. Avoid all political drama, which is always plentiful in local communities.

The more activities you can do at the same time, the better. Combining health/fitness/sports, politics, culture and some kind of environmentalism is excellent. Even small activities like counting birds, taking samples from rivers, documenting biodiversity and alarming the public of any environmental danger will make you an authority on green issues. This you apply to politics and anything else you work with. Note this: in a community you have a private life, but anything that concerns the public is never private. People like you are best if you always appear open and interested even when you're officially "off-duty." You will notice over time that people who seek power become powerful by talking to citizens and pretending to be the "average Joe." People like average Joes because they see themselves in them. You need to be that (smart) Joe.

Lastly, all of this is a process and you participate in it with creativity, interest and ability. You involve yourself in activities that naturally suit you. The best local activism is one where you both grow as an individual together with other people and gain their confidence. With confidence you can do pretty much anything; the smaller the community is, the harder this is (especially if you're new), but once you're there, people will trust you whatever you decide to do. Never lose sight of your goal: to create unity among people, maintain a creative culture where people meet and have fun, protect the environment from profiteers and clean out all drama among the politicians. Be a sane, pragmatic voice and people will eventually listen to what you have to say.