"a small group of thoughtful, commmitted citizens..."

I've seen this quote a hundred times in the past few years, partly because it's painted in Lincoln High School's hallway.

Sometimes it's unfortunate that "...a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead

That's what the Bush administration has done. That's what the timber companies have done in recent decades. That's what the Inquisition did in medieval/renaissance western Europe. That's what the farmers of Mesopotamian antiquity did when they annihilated the indigenous folks in front of them and then spread north, south and east from there.

This "empowering" idea is meant to inspire hope to its readers. Does it inspire the best sort of action?