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| Does it make you uncomfortable? Change the channel. It’s as if it doesn’t exist... except that it still does. |
There are real consequences of changing that channel. A story about rape as a weapon of war or a housing crisis resulting from seasonal flooding (if it is shown at all) is quickly changed in favor of a sports game or reality TV. Doing so means that we miss an opportunity and call to action. Doing so means that human beings may not have the opportunity for housing, or they may die from the scourge and humiliation of rape.
The Periclean initiative was founded, in part, to combat apathy. There are dire consequences for our society as a whole for failing to learn about the events going on in our world and participate in change if we find that certain happenings are not in line with our values. I find that most people have no problems following the events that have an instant impact on their personal quality of life, such as whether we will get a tax break. The issue of apathy takes hold when it comes to items that have long-term consequences or do not impact the individual directly. It is often not until a crisis reaches its individual impact/immediacy tipping point that it grabs the attention of the general public.
Apathy is the enemy of development aid. Humanitarian aid, such as the aid to Haiti and Japan in the aftermath of a major natural disaster, grabs our immediate attention. Foreign aid, such as trade preference in the Suez Canal, tugs at our pocketbooks and is a priority of the government. If apathy is the enemy of development aid, then what will fuel development aid?
The opposite of apathy is hope and dreams. These are fostered by paying attention to what is going on beyond our own spheres and allowing ourselves to be challenged personally. If we open ourselves up to learning about non-temporary opportunities for improvement beyond just ourselves, we can be on our way to curing apathy. We need to not change the channel when a news report on maternal mortality, chronic malnutrition, or modern-day slavery comes on. We need to challenge ourselves to digest the information, just as we would an easier topic, and begin to dream of how to address it. Instead of living a dangerous life in the elements, those people who are suffering a housing crisis from seasonal flooding can become candidates for donations and development aid. Instead of dying from rape trauma, those victims can receive sustained help and care - and become survivors.
Oftentimes, it takes characters who mesmerize us in an apathetic spirit to do something worthy of fighting apathy for us to pay attention to an issue. This is why celebrity endorsements of issues work so well. Consider when Jay-Z did a documentary on access to water in Angola, or how the paparazzi follow Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie around the world in their pursuit of bringing development issues to light. It is great when celebrities use their star power to engage the public in an issue, but as critically thinking human beings, we should be better than that. We should be using our internal compasses to figure out whether something is right or wrong (and whether we should do something about it) long before a celebrity says so.
Many will ignore my call to action to support the Periclean Scholars (including my closest friends and family). Even if they decide to change the channel on me, the issues that drive the Periclean projects will still be here. Ignoring me won’t make them go away; it will only increase the burden on the rest of us.
Here is my shortcut to combating apathy in the world (in particular as related to international development):
1. Read current non-fiction, watch the news, and seek out articles on global issues. Make it a piece that you believe has no immediate bearing on you, your family, and your closest friends.
2. Whatever you read or watch, make sure that you finish it. Do not “change the channel”.
3. Find a nugget of injustice or something that needs to be changed.
4. Set a small goal to do something about it. You can share the article with a friend, volunteer with an organization that combats it, write your Congressperson, post a stat on your Facebook wall, or more.
5. Make a longer-term plan to address the object of change. For instance: Think about and write down your larger hopes or dreams for the injustice. If you had all the time, money, energy, and resources in the world, what would you do about it? You may not be able to do it all yourself, but you can also motivate others to help.
6. Make a plan to bring those dreams to reality.
7. Rinse and repeat.
We each get one life to live. Are you going to settle for living yours in apathy, or are you going to make your mark by making a true, sustainable difference in this world? Do your part to combat apathy, as recommended by Project Pericles.
This is reason #26 to support Periclean Scholars: to combat apathy.
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