A while ago, I posted the following on a forum after having read some very thought provoking poetry.
"I wonder whether it is our tendency to appear apathetic towards the plight of our fellow man these days, that is in essence the current major characteristic that defines the modern human being and his/her humanity itself...in which case, i do not dare to wonder or look toward the future, for it seems to be getting fucked up by the second."
A friend of mine, in response to the above, said that: "I think its incapacity. Our minds are so full of OURSELVES that we aren't capable of thinking of anyone else. And this ultimately brings about apathy..."
An interesting thought, to which i replied with the following: "I agree, another reason why communism is a load of bull! And so is harmonious cultural diversity. In the end we're no better than Chimps dressed up in suits playing at being God."
To which she subsequently agreed.
In one of my earlier blogs I had written about selfishness being part of the Human Condition. I feel that it applies here too, although in tandem with other factors that lead us not only towards this apathy but also racism.
It is a sad thing to believe that no matter how good relationships between certain ethnicities are going well these days, we are still biased, hence even a hint of racism does simmer beneath the surface of todays multicultural societies. And the fact it does exist, is one of Humanities greatest hypocrisies. Humanity has still got a long way to go, and it better get off the starting line soon, or by the time we finally realize for retarded we are, it WILL be way too late.
SeasideMan
Pro
Richard Dawkins would argue that selfishness is, in evolutionary terms, a good thing. He's probably right too. But, humans are the only species sufficiently intelligent and powerful enough to modify the world to fit us rather than modify ourselves to fit the world. We have the capacity for great caring yet many choose to not exercise it. I think the greed that is encouraged by capitalism is part of the problem. Humans are greedy and the current system encourages it to the point where many of simply don't care about the suffering of others. It isn't apathy. It's not that we're lazy, it's that we don't care.
Tom.