Indignation at the Indifference

Indifference is something that really bothers me.  Below are the two definitions from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary that apply.

1.  of no importance or value one way or the other

2.   marked by a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern for something : apathetic 

Indifferent attitudes create:  People who do not care about the world around them.  People who do not care if the world gets better or worse.  People who cannot be bothered to think about inhumanity, let alone try to do something about it.  People who cannot be bothered to think about the environment. 

These people disgust me.

I find it interesting that generally these types of people that I come across are religious, Christians predominantly.  I find this despicable.  Should not Christians care more?  Do they not claim to follow the example of 'Jesus', who they believe was compassionate, and loving?

I think what bothers me most though, is not this hypocritical nature.  It is that they would rather wait for their 'God' to fix everything.  This creates very indifferent attitudes.  They are not invested in what happens in the here and now because their 'God' will fix it all one day.  Or they will be in heaven, so who really cares right?  It's of no concern to them.  They may be superficially concerned about world conditions, but they do not feel obligated or inclined to do anything about them.  

Now, I am not saying that this is the attitude of all Christians.  Nor am I saying that only Christians have indifferent attitudes (far from it).  I am just sharing my observances of indifferent attitudes.  

The other week, I was sharing my discovery of the Venus Project with a number of people.  A certain person was very negative about the whole thing.  Not just about the obvious flaws in the plan, but of the entire goals of the project.  He did not feel that humans were capable of changing anything for the good, so why bother.  He likened it to finding a cure for cancer.  He said that the chances were very slim that a cure would be found, so they might as well give up.  I was flabbergasted.  Really?  Wow.  Let's just give up on everything because it might be hard, and a solution may not be found quickly or may never be found. 

This weekend, I was talking about the documentary "The Cove", as well as the inhumane treatment of animals in factory farms (I had also watched a short video on PETA that had really disturbed me).  

I told this same person that I mentioned above about the slaughtering of 23,000 dolphins per year, and how sad that was.  He shrugged his shoulders, and said "who cares" *glares with rage*.  He said that they (the Japanese) kill dolphins for food, and we kill cows.  That still doesn't make it right, but anyways.  I told him that dolphins should never be eaten because they contain very high, toxic levels of mercury.  He didn't care about that either, and didn't see the problem *pulls hair out at the ignorance*.  I told him that actually it was a very serious problem.  People in Minamata, Japan suffered greatly from mercury poisoning.  Children were born deaf, mute, blind, unable to walk...  It was not some little problem.  Again, he didn't really care.  He doesn't live in Japan, right?

I then went on to mention how I had decided not to eat meat any longer (my freezer is almost empty).  I also no longer want to buy dairy products or eggs.  I will still eat fish though, at least for now.  I told him that I had watched a little video on PETA, and was disgusted with the industry.  In the video, they show the terrible living conditions of all the animals, as well as how badly treated they are.  Getting castrated without pain killers.  Chickens boiled alive (to get rid of the feathers).  And in a pig factory, if a pig will not make it to slaughter, they sometimes bang their heads on the concrete floor to kill them (god forbid they consume any feed without making it to the slaughterhouse) *vomits*.  

He could care less about any of this.  You know, most people would be disgusted by hearing the above.  Whether or not they would choose not to eat meat is of little consequence.  Most people would have a reaction to something like that.  

Another favorite of mine is people who think global warming is a conspiracy or a myth.  They ignore an important issue which is that pollution is bad.  It doesn't matter if pollution does or does not contribute to climate change.  It doesn't matter if climate change has happened in the past, and will continue to happen in the future.  Pollution is still bad.  And the real kicker is that the Earth will be just fine.  It is us who will face extinction, at our own hands.

This all boils down to indifference.  Lacking interest, concern, or enthusiasm for things that matter.  An attitude that it is not important or valuable one way or another.  Apathetic.  And if you think about it, it is really selfish not to care about the planet that keeps you alive, or other living creatures that you share the planet with.

Indifference comes at a great cost.  The problem is that eventually, it's going to be too late to fix the problems this attitude fuels.  

We can continue to go on with our lives oblivious to everything that does not affect us directly or immediately. Or we can choose to do something.  We don't have to be millionaires or celebrities to make a difference.  We don't need oodles of extra time.  There are plenty of things each and every one of us can do.  We can reduce, reuse and recycle.  We can bring awareness to issues by word of mouth, by a t-shirt, by blogging.  We can sign petitions.  We can write to our leaders.  We can boycott products and organizations.  WE DO HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

I would like to stand up and applaud all those who do make a difference.  All those who try to make a difference.  All those who want to make this world a better place.  Without you, all hope is lost.