The Rebel,
You have my vote for MIP - Most Improved Poster. Thanks for your contributions. If the passion is causing more harm than good then it is neither ethical nor better than reality tv. But you do make a point; sometimes the hysterics are needed to get the attention of those who can make a difference. Sometimes. But not often. Those who make decisions most often listen to the empiricists and empirical data. And when the decision makers think of someone as an hysteric, they typically dismiss everything that person has to say.
And the hysterics typically create a counter-force that results in inertia and a lack of real progress, at least for a while. And they can often discredit the very cause they hold dear. One of the 'arguments' employed by the Rush Limbaugh ditto heads against climate change is that the climate changers have often used faulty 'evidence' and data to support over the top predictions (which they view as hysterics). Which is true. They have. But the overwhelming empirical data from real scientists supports climate change - and the potential for harm to the planet. At least that's what they are telling me on the Marshall Islands.