On Apathy

Apathy bothers me. And not in a benign, that-guy-said-something-mildly-offensive kind of way. In a big way. It's the worst kind of emotional vacuum: A complete lack of anything that makes being alive, being human, worthwhile. I think it's one of the worst states of mind you can be in.

To illustrate my point, I will introduce two imaginary people, who are named Adam and Phteve*.

I hate Adam. I really, really hate him. I despise every thought that comes into his brain, I concoct schemes to make him suffer, I cringe whenever I hear news of his success. Everything he does is annoying. He's never funny or interesting, either; he thinks he is, but everyone knows he isn't. He's arrogant, stupid, and ignorant. He even jaywalks.
Here's something that should be vividly clear to you: I have deemed Adam worthy of my attention. This guy probably consumes a lot more of my brainpower than do my friends, my family, my hobbies. I care about him, deeply -- not in a good way, of course, but I still care. I've invested a lot of time into my relationship with him. His very existence drives my actions, my attitudes, my well-being. He has power over me.

At the same time, I'm apathetic towards Phteve. I'm not even sure who he is, really. His actions don't matter to me. His story is meaningless. He is nothing but another face among the crowd. Phteve's personal legacy, his proudest accomplishments, are worth nothing in my world. The state of my left pinky toenail is far more important an issue than Phteve will ever be.
You may think that this isn't a big deal, and you're right, in a way: There are over 7 billion people on the planet, and you and I are indifferent towards almost all of them. They will all die. Yet to me, Pheve might as well have never have born in the first place.

Would you be more hurt by someone saying "I hate you" or "I don't care about you"? The former seems like something I'd laugh at -- I read it in the squeal of a 6 year old throwing a temper tantrum -- but the second one seems like an actual insult. When I read it, I hear a calm but dispassionate voice, slightly malicious, slightly egotistical. Then again, maybe that's just me.

In school, I've often been frustrated at people who don't care about their education or how they spend their time. That stuff matters. In fact, I don't think I'm overstepping any boundaries when I say it matters a whole lot. These people typically exhibit the same irreverent attitude towards their statistically lucky circumstance. They, out of random chance, enjoy a historically unprecedented opportunity for success, which they promptly squander. This attitude drives me crazy, and it's incredibly difficult to fight.

When I was younger, "awareness" campaigns didn't make sense to me (I'm already "aware" of breast cancer!), but now I think I get it. It's hard to get rid of apathy; awareness campaigns are doing their part. Once you cross the "people don't care" hurdle, it's much easier to get things going.

Apathy drives our actions, or perhaps our inactions, to a significant degree. It is the champion of social regress and ignorance, actively fighting against our desire to make things better. If you think of emotions as different kinds of cells, apathy is like a cancer, rapidly overriding anything good, transforming it into a useless tumor. It's the worst kind of "alive" there is. And, like a tumor, it's really hard to kill.

This statement by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. really resonates with me: "Man's inhumanity to man is not only perpetrated by the vitriolic actions of those who are bad. It is also perpetrated by the vitiating inaction of those who are good."**

Try to care more about things.

-Me

*That's 'Steve' with a 'ph'.
**A question for you to think about, that I honestly don't know the answer to: Is it more infuriating to encounter someone who can help you, but chooses not to, than someone who openly hinders your progress?