A group of friends and I were sitting around having a lighthearted conversation about a story we'd heard about a celebrity, when this random guy came up and was like, "this is the problem with this world. Everyone's worried about things that don't matter when we have wars and turmoil all over that people aren't doing anything about."
Um, first of all, rude. Second, just by some conversation he eavesdropped on, this guy has no clue who we are, what we do, or what we care about. Third, so why hasn't this guy, in all his apparent wisdom, solved all the world's problems yet? This whole constant trying to lay guilt on everyone for supposedly not caring enough about this or that...doesn't actually do any more to solve the problems we do have in this world, than us having a conversation about a celebrity. Don't get me wrong, I think people should care about something other than themselves or the gossip mags, but what does admonishing someone for not caring about this or that cause more than the rest, actually do?
No one human being can do it all, care about it all, or do everything for everyone. These people who have a habit of making remarks like that or the whole, everyone else has bigger problems than you so therefore your problems don't mean a thing, then need to show up with bullet by bullet plans on what not only they are doing to solve whatever problem they want to talk about, but how others can help, otherwise it's just words in the wind. Even if they did have all that, well, that brings us to the further point...well, what about everybody and everything else ALSO going wrong in the world? Because you see, the minute I or someone else starts to care about this one organization, or this one world issue, or this one disease that this stranger wants us to care about, well...what about that other organization, and that other world issue, and that other disease that someone thinks should be more important than the first. It is a battle you cannot win.
I'm not in the habit of spending every waking minute of my days talking about how bad the world is and how everything should be everyone's problem. The amount of times I've heard, "American's just don't care like Europe or Asia" or wherever is to suggest that Europe or Asia or wherever have actually managed to do the impossible and cure the entire world of all it's ills just by supposedly caring more. Anyone can know about all the problems on earth, but is just knowing about it actually doing anything to solve it?
Genuinely, you want people to care, because people with their own or combined efforts, can affect change in so many positive ways, but insulting someone or telling someone how much you care and therefore everyone else should too, is not really a good selling point, especially if you aren't even doing much yourself other than to just talk about random problems. I personally support with my donations and with volunteering my time, my local blood bank, Doctors Without Borders, and a local charity that seeks to get women in crisis back on their feet through job and educational programming.
That is what I can do and what I have time to do. It doesn't mean I don't know there are other problems in the world, nor does it mean I'm going to stop having a private conversation with my friends about this or that celebrity, nor does it mean I think you can do or should do everything I'm doing with my own life. People should get involved if they chose. They should help who they can, and if they don't, so be it. You see people all the time who volunteer that don't give a crap about what they are doing and what its for, so how is that helping enrich their lives or help others exactly?
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