DEAR _______
Apathy: a lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern about something of great importance. It is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation, or passion.
I'm going to be honest: The beginning was based on a paper that I've written in college for my sociology class before, and it was on a topic about how wrongly the media frames climate change. Which is extremely important, but, for this essay, is just one counter. The truth is that many problems are going on in this world. Unemployment, the wealth gap, public health, extensive environmental issues, the impact of AI, neocolonialism, geopolitics, social norms, the rise of anti-intellectualism, and, more importantly, anti-science. The reduction of the humanities in college in favor of more 'lucrative' degrees. The erasure of human reason. Where fascist speech and pseudo-intellectual/religious rhetoric are taking over, being skeptical of what our teachers, our administration, and our government are telling us is essential. But now, all they want us to do is comply.
All of these topics are, indeed, frightening. And it can be daunting to watch the news or engage with these topics. The agenda of world news is to keep you informed, but usually the process of being informed is to accept that horrible things are happening everywhere. And so, to a certain extent, this increases information overload. Too much information could drive a person to bury their head in the sand. They no longer want to be informed. People want to know that they and sometimes their family are going to be okay. The pressure to maintain their sense of normalcy is so great that they are willing to write off other people in their desperation. Complying with what the government is saying is easy. They choose to focus on the minor distractions, maybe entertainment shows, and on what else is happening; what past generations spoke about 'the future', where flying cars and the advancement of space shuttles on the Moon are possible. But those earlier topics, though, keep slipping through the cracks because human fallacy is indistinguishable. Which is where apathy comes in. Apathy towards other groups o f humans, for other world events, for everything else that matters. "Wealth may free us from the worry of many temporal concerns, but it cannot sever us from society and those social institutions which form the basis of all liberty, happiness and financial security. A great many men of wealth display no personal activity in politics. The cares of business engross their whole attention. They seldom attend their party primaries, and many do not vote; they are citizens by proxy. When they desire the accomplishment of any political purpose, however good, a professional politician or lobbyist is employed to do the work for them, while they go on making money. The greater portion of our recent political ills, and particularly the enormous corruption and dishonesty which seem now to pervade legislation and politics in general, may be directly ascribed to the fact of so considerable a number of our quasi-citizens remaining aloof from political affairs." Mosby, S. (1898). Danger of Political Apathy. The North American Review, 167(503), 502-504. https://doi.org/251190
Many people might think that because these issues don't matter to them, why should we care about it? Simple. Because we live here. And because we, each of us, have a voice. This just might be the rambling of a small writer who, herself, has had challenges with publicly speaking out and being apart of society. But I acknowledge that falling into apathy is one the worst crimes you could commit. Because it means you know the problems that are happening, and you choose not to speak up anyway. Speaking out against what is wrong first is always the first step. This as much a sociological factor as it is a mental health issue. And the only way to fight apathy is by protecting your mental health. Reading is the number one tip everyone mentions—so I'll say instead to write down your thoughts and ideas. Find a subject you know nothing about and find the time to properly research on it. Anything that will get you out of a slump you might not know your in.
To anyone who needs it, and from your mind to mine.
Sincerely,
Me.
