It's not that people are powerless to influence the way of the things. It's that they are not even trying to influence or aware of the issues that either can be decided or that are actually of consequence.
Nationalism and Racial Purity have left the station of being within the power of any elite to decide way back in WW2 and are soon to become entirely of no consequence as we race for technology that will let us breed and change races at will.
The stupid cultural war is of more consequence long-term than any migration policy. Trump would be more powerful on TV than he is on the presidency.

People haven't even digested the cold war complexities, the political discourse is still stuck in pre-cold war terms and views. It's completely powerless to influence the modern era.