An expression indicating a casual lack of concern, which we all use regularly. When it comes to a benign matter, such as: “What will you have for breakfast, eggs or cheese?” “I couldn't care less” may be an appropriate attitude, indicating you do not have a preference for an entirely individual, insignificant matter. When you expand that lack of enthusiasm to people, society, the whole world in general, that indifference can grow into apathy. In a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (Aug. 2014), concludes: “When wavering in their commitment to a goal, exposure to apathy decreases their motivation to complete the task.” “We shall defeat Isis” We shall find the terrorists who killed the American officials in Benghazi” Did it happen? Lack of interest, indifference to the cause, nothing seems to matter much. Instead the US kills 65 civilians in Syria by mistake, design, who knows? The result…withdrawal…the reason…indifference. There is a sort of lethargy that has taken over our lives, socially, politically and individually. Gone is our enthusiasm for almost everything, except ourselves. Nothing seems to be important enough or grave enough to warrant our concern… if anything, a lukewarm curiosity. This is the universe that we have formed. Why are we to expect but these properties, if there is at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference. How right Helen Keller was when she said: “Science has no cure for the worst of all evils… the apathy of human beings.” That caused more suffering to her than being born deaf, dumb and blind. What moves us? Is it the terror of war? Hardly. War wages all around us; human beings are driven out of their homes, their lands, their countries; terror is rampant, shedding blood everywhere, by some evil organisation or other; children sleep hungry every night here, there and everywhere. Does it concern you? If it did we would have done something about it, individually, collectively or globally. How about all the charitable foundations, so numerous, they could fill a telephone directory? Take for example the ‘Bill, Hillary, Chelsea, Charity Foundation'. How much of its budget goes to charity? Six per cent --Yes you read it right…6 per cent. Avarice--Apathy--or both. Following WW II a body of nations founded the UN, (October 1945) in New York City. Egypt was one of the first 51 countries to ratify the UN Charter. Suddenly, a mammoth building was competing with New York's giant skyscrapers. The participating countries are now 193… The budget exceeds $5.4 billion. Is it worth it? What has it actually accomplished? Apart from displacing the people of Palestine from their legitimate land and establishing the State of Israel in order to appease Zionism, leaving the Middle-East burning since. Thus was buried their famous pre-amble: “We the peoples of the UN, determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war and reaffirm the faith in fundamental human rights in the dignity and worth of the human person, and the equal rights of man and woman and of nations big and small.” Indeed. What wars, massacres, famine or hunger has it stopped? The goals were noble indeed, until apathy seeped in… and though the world may be in great need of these goals, the UN is otherwise occupied. It is currently engaged in climate control. Is our universe hardwired to indifference now? Why are we so intent on suppressing emotions, passions, enthusiasm? Is it self-protection or have we developed a genuine lack of concern for others. We have seen slaughtering, burning, violating and massacring of our fellowman, has it made us numb and dull, indifferent to death in any form? Have we ourselves become half dead? Is our “couldn't care less” attitude encouraging vitriol and violence. Referring to WW II, Gandhi said: “I appeal for cessation of hostilities. Not because you are too exhausted to fight but because war is bad in essence. You want to kill Nazism? You will never kill it by its indifferent adoption.” We have known the terror of war, but also the horror of peace… Insensitivity, detachment, passiveness, listlessness… One could go on. Edmund Burke believed that: “The human mind is not for the most part in a state of pain or pleasure, which I call a state of indifference.” We, the human race, designed to be indifferent. We are capable of love. Can love endure with indifference. There is a heart that beats within our chests, why kill it while we are still alive. Poets and thinkers agree that the opposite of love, is not hate, but indifference. Can we learn to banish this word from our vocabulary, our existence. There is good in us still, or has the impact of modern Western culture gradually impacted our culture, our traditions our humanity? Layers and layers of indifference have shrouded the very senses of our soul. It is time to change if there is any hope for the human race. We need to be motivated. We must rebuild that desire to achieve despite all odds. We must not give up. That is our weakness. We just need to keep going, with enthusiasm, with care, with concern. “It always seems impossible, until it is done,” said the late great Nelson Mandela. Can we learn? Let things matter. ‘If nothing much matters, nothing matters much', not out eggs or cheese for breakfast, but ‘Life and Living.'
“There is only one corner of the universe that you can be certain of improving — that is your own self” Aldous Huxley (1894 -1963)
