Learning about what others are facing and suffering is a part of trying to impact change, and I do that all the time, about both the problems in my culture and those in others. I then speak about them and to try to educate and sway others to understand the impacts of their choices. I can't personally fix what's going on in the Middle East for example, but I can impact all sorts of seemingly small things in my immediate family and circle of influence that add up when combined with others doing their small part where they can as well - which is all I'm asking anyone else to do.

One of the main things I do on Medium is educate people about other types of social systems around the world and at different points in human history that were more egalitarian so that Americans can realize that patriarchal dominance hierarchies aren't inevitable. The feedback I've gotten about that is extremely positive and a great number of people have told me how that's broadened their view and opened their eyes - and they then take that knowledge out into their own lives and their own worlds, and it continues to ripple forth.

I strongly suspect you shouldn't try to tell someone else that you don't remotely know anything about how their life is and what they are doing with it. The measure of whether or not one is a part of the problem is not in the results, but in the effort to try to learn to do better - rather than just turning a blind eye or saying "I didn't do anything."