The opposite of “We Care” is apathy. Apathy is basically turning a blind eye, not acting on the injustices we see, no matter how small the injustice. Apathy is a lack of interest or concern. This is what I am seeing here in my community, the lack of concern.
Apathy is contagious. It’s the attitude of “what’s the point?” or “If I get involved, I’ll be the one left holding the bag.” Some of it’s learned. It’s inherited by the ones we look up to. Our role models, parents, and elders that were taught to keep their head down and stay quiet have done so. It’s us parents who don’t get involved and wonder why our children don’t get involved. It’s fear based. It’s the mentality that “If I get involved, I might get hurt.” It’s justifiable, because “we all have enough problems of our own”, right? Or “it’s not our problem.” Apathy is us in survival mode.
It’s the silent killer towards making a difference.
Combatting apathy means taking personal risks because it means getting involved and getting out of your comfort zone.
It’s about pursuing less selfish pursuit, which could mean speaking out towards something you deem unfair to devoting your weekend to inform yourself of the issues of your community.
It’s about taking action and not just talking or complaining about it, because it is so easy to find fault, flaws or what’s wrong with the world around you than it is to do something about it.
It’s about being held accountable for not only the things you do but also what you didn’t do. This means to take some authority on what affect you and yours in your lives.
Making Change
We don’t need to make grand gestures in order to make change. It’s the little things that are important. It’s the little things that can change the world. Just like the story of The Man Who Planted Trees. He took the time to plant seed after seed in a barren land and even if he may never see the result, he could dream of a beautiful forest rich with life and abundance. He was fortunate enough to see the result of his efforts later on₁.
This is what we need to realise when combating apathy. We can stand there and complain of the unproductive life before us or we can start planting seeds of change. Hopefully you will able to see it grow before your eyes.
This is not about instant gratification or glory. It’s about putting some effort out there and be hopeful that it will grow strong roots for a better life for us all.
We don’t need to go above and beyond what we know. For example my talent lies in writing, & researching, so I try to speak out through my writing, I try to find out all the information I can in order to take action by doing some research. These are my strengths. What are yours? Do you love to craft? Craft to raise money? Cook to feed the hungry? Even the simple jobs are important, my hats off to all the people who provide a service; from retail to janitorial work. If it wasn’t for them, nothing would get done. Everyone can contribute with their strength, talents, knowledge and wisdom.
Sources:
1. Giono, Jean, The Man Who Planted Trees (Chelsea, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 1985).