Our class exercise brought many current world issues to mind, such as issues of hunger, of warfare, and of the environment. Another big issue facing the world is apathy. Apathy was cited as the cause of many of the listed issues with this reasoning: if more people took an interest in the problems of the world and in seeking solutions, there would be fewer challenges when facing current world issues. Many could see the logic of this statement itself, but it is more difficult to defend apathy as a current world issue for several reasons. First of all, is there any proof that “apathy” is a problem of today more so than of the past? Apathy is a state of mind and a possible cultural flaw, but it is also something not easily documented. It is more prevalent in the unspoken feeling and practices of societies rather than The Economist‘s report of current issues plaguing the world.
Apathy is not easily reported; and for this reason, it is not easily eradicated. Can one “solve” the problem of apathy the same way one might solve a person’s hunger by feeding them? Granted, it would be an enormous and persistent battle to solve world hunger or to achieve nuclear peace. But solving apathy is a different sort of battle. There is nothing concrete to fight against. One would need to shape culture, how children are raised and taught. It’s a messy process and one that might easily end up resembling a Nazi regime.
But apathy is a serious problem. It is difficult for so many people to see the seriousness of some problems, and so many people would rather stay safe and sound in their own small and personal affairs rather than get involved voluntarily in something bigger and more important. In this sense and for this same reason, apathy is probably one of the most dangerous problems in the world today. First, the general population is leaving the defense and solution to world problems in the hands of a few people they barely know. Second, if people do not fix the problems of today, there may never be a tomorrow, or at least not a tomorrow they would recognize. I am remind of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Frodo and his companions adore Hobbiton, their own little corner of the world. No hobbit wants to concern himself with the problems of the outside world (the world which they are also ironically a part of). It is not his affair. But Frodo learns that the North Rangers are constantly defending their little town so that the hobbits can live as apathetically as they wish in peace. But if Frodo doesn’t do something about the Ring, there will no longer be a Hobbiton for him to retreat to. Tomorrow will look nothing like today.
Apathy is a personal choice for most people, but then again, perhaps like Frodo, most people do not fully recognize what their apathy may be doing to the world and even their own home. But how to make the majority of people see the danger? Apathy may always exist, but it is important and extremely worthwhile to eradicate as much apathy as possible. Will it help? One can only hope. But there is no way of knowing the extent of apathy’s damage until it is too late. Unfortunately, in Tolkien’s books, the hobbits didn’t recognize the danger of their apathy until it was too late.
This description of apathy and its damage might seem a pretty hopeless sense of the world’s future. However, people are really the ones that keep our world going now and they always have been. However, a few people alone cannot keep all of the small corners of the world and all the world’s people safe and strong. Not everyone is called to be a president or a general. But everyone needs to see the importance of apathy to the crumbling of problems to destruction. Apathy may not be a new problem or even a more prevalent problem, but it is a problem that needs to be solved. And the first step in solving any problem is recognizing it.
“What would we attempt to do if we knew we could not fail.”
