Test Drive: Life in the Fast Lane

"Does anyone have a cure for apathy?"

A colleague posed this question at a meeting the other day. The question was rhetorical, but the problem is real. Indifference is becoming an epidemic. It's not just spring fever, kids. It's been there since day one, but now I think there is no figurative medicine that can stop apathy from overtaking the very core of who the lackluster individual is. Eh. I just don't care. I'm not going to do it. Why does it matter? Someone else will take care of it.

It's not just middle-schoolers though. It's adults too.

It concerns me that people go without basic necessities in this country and often die as a result. It's not always because they are apathetic and refuse to pay for care that they can afford with a little bit of cutting out the non-necessities. It's not always because they refuse to get a job. There are elderly people who have worked their whole lives and now have to decide, take my medicine or eat today? What is more important. But some adults don't care. It doesn't matter. It doesn't affect me.

It bothers me that some parents feel that once their kids start walking, they can fend for themselves. Parenting. Is. Done. Riiight. Being a parent never stops. Just ask my mom and dad. I may not need their financial or housing support anymore, but I need to hear "I am proud of you" and "I love you". It feels great when I hear it too. I don't think you can ever care too much about your kids. Sometimes it's hard to let go and let them become adults, but even when they seem like they want nothing to do with you, they really want you to care and be proud. I remember, and as a teacher, I see it every day.

If you are going to be apathetic about something, care a little less about who celebrities are sleeping with and who is cheating on who and where you shop and what brand-name shoes you are wearing. Stuff I pay attention to from time to time. Sure. I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't admit that (stay tuned for the cure for hypocrisy blog). Care a little less about what religion someone else believes in. Doesn't it just matter that we are good people, whether it's Allah, Buddha, God, or nothing?

It's just about giving a crap about someone, something, and life in general. Find something to care about that matters.