The next person who tries to tell me I'm a shitty human being becuase I don't worry about or pay attention to world news, politics from other countries, most of the politics from my own country, etc... may be the lucky recipient of a box of shut the f*ck up, and a junk punch.
Yes, I know its important, and some of it has potential to eventually affect us... However, my angsting and worrying over it is going to do absolutely nothing to influence the situation. If our gas prices jump another $5 because of some middle east conflict, I'll try and find ways to come up with gas money to continue coming to work. My stressing over the possibility isn't going to prevent it from happening... So why not spend that time doing something more immediate... Sure, I'll look at my budget and where corners can be cut if necessary... but as I lack any kind of marketable skill toward solving the problem, thats all I can realistically do.
I could write congress people and politicians, paper my walls with form letters that don't even promise that my opinion was heard, and feel like I'm accomplishing something... but, again, I feel that time can be better spent focusing on my own day to day survival.
When I was in... maybe 2nd grade... for homework we had to watch the news and read the paper every day for a month. I got so immersed in all the horrible, depressing things going on in the world, and my complete uselessness in doing anything to magically make those things better... I literally made myself sick crying over what a horrible ugly world we live in... I honestly couldnt' understand why people bothered *living* in this world... why we didn't all jump off a cliff like a bunch of lemmings...
My grandpa finally sat me down and came up with an explination that appealed to my poor little bleeding heart that wanted to save every stray puppy and starving foreign child... You can't. It isn't physically possible for me to rescue every stray puppy in existence, help every wounded bird that falls out of a tree, feed every hungry belly on the planet. All I can do is help the ones that I can. In other words, fight the battles that I have a chance at, help people save themselves. Most importantly, trust that there are others out there working on helping the ones outside of my personal sphere.
Somewhere along the line I managed to bury the majority of that oversensitive bleeding heart in a few layers of cynicism, but y'know what? Its how I survive... because opening the door to the suicidal "Why bother continuing to live in a big bad ugly world like this" just isn't an intelligent choice for me to make.
Do I recommend everyone do as I do? Absolutely not. This is my life and how I choose to live it. If others have the skill and the passion to reach further than their own personal spheres and network with others who can reach even further... Great! I may pitch in from time to time as I feel that I can, but I'm perfectly content to let them do the good works that need doing.
And yes, I acknowledge that should some conspiracy theorist's favorite Non Zombie end world scenario come to fruition, I'll likely be screwed becuase of my lack of preparation and awareness...and if they choose not to take pity and rescue me, I can accept that they have every right to feel that I don't deserve saving. Maybe in that post-apocalyptic world people like me are better off left to drown, leaving the next civilizations to be built by those who might have a better chance of creating an enlightened society. I fully accept that if the world moves on I may be left behind.
I live my life day to day, paycheck to paycheck. If I come along someone on my path who needs a little help that I am capable of offering, I do it or help them find someone who can. If I feel passionate about a cause I speak up, I look for ways to show support, I do what I can for as long as I can manage. If the passion fizzles or other life concerns take precedence, I trust the others to continue on in my absence.
This is my life, and the way that I live it. I don't expect anyone else to do it the way that I do.
