Apathy the 20th Century Social Disease (from my old blog)

Wilkipedia: Apathy is a state of indifference — where an individual has an absence of interest or concern to certain aspects of emotional, social, or physical life.

I am guilty - and so are we all!

We all say we are going to do more to reduce carbon emissions and help the planet but we never do or are times changing?

Just seen an article on the BBC news website that 80% of people would be willing to do more to reduce carbon emissions by paying more tax etc, but do we mean what we say? I am alwys dubious of polls - no one has ever asked me for an opinion in 40 years.

Last night we watched TV, we made sure we switched the lights off and had 2x candle lit in the lounge, this must have helped.

What if everybody in the world didn’t use electricity for one day a month would it make a difference?

Socially it would benefit families and friends, perhaps we would play board games and make us more socially interactive? It may force us to talk about issues that bother us all, perhaps it would solve some relationship problems too, stopping us from watching the TV with goggle eyes?

OK I admit that we would have to keep power ot hospitals and the emergency services and the armed forces, so in reality I guess it would never work. If it was voluntary would we really do it?

If the television service stopped broadcasting for a day how many people would turn on the TV just to make sure that nothing was on?

Empty offices don’t need the lights on at night and we don’t need to leave lights on when we are not at home or in empty rooms, take the television off standby at night.

Imagine no internet? It has grown so much in such a short time, and now $100 computers will be sent to the third world? What about wind up computers like the radio which has changed so many lives? An organisation is now to send wind up lights to Africa, why just Africa and other poor countries, why aren’t we all going to use these?

This is another topic in itself!

Do we really mean what we say or when it came to the crunch would we think “I bet our neighbours or other people in the world probably aren’t doing it so why should we?”

A new “Yellow Pages” has just been delivered at work - why do they send them out to every house and business, so much paper that will never be used, we use the internet to serch for telephone numbers, business adresses, they have a website they even advertise it on the front cover. It may be made form recycled paper or partly so but such an unneccassary waste!

I am finding it hard to concentrate on one particular subject as so many things are flying round my brain and one thing links to another so easily.

If I hadn’t been so apathetic within my life would I have acheived more and become a better person? Have I left it too late to make a difference in the world? No is the answer I have now made that change, for now anyway, maybe apathy will strike again - that 20th Century Disease. It would be great if others learnt from my mistake, perhaps talking with Kirsten about this at the weekend will spur us both on to make a differnce - I hope so! Perhaps one day just one person will read this article and it will reduce their apathy and encourage them to encourage others to get off their arses and do something less boring instead.

Apathy, I beleive exists ‘cos we have too much time on our hands, that is why we moan that we haven’t enough money, we need money to do things in our spare time. Maybe there are too many choices in life.

Again, the media holds so much responsiblity, showing us in advertisments of all the great places to travel too and to purchase to reduce boredom.

Reducing boredom does’t have to cost much, socialising with friends doesn’t have to cost money, it doesn’t cost anything to talk and interact and discuss topics such as these which may make a difference. We don’t NEED material things but we are led to beleive that we do NEED them or everybody else has them and we dont’ wan’t to be “LEFT OUT” or feel that we are materially or financially inadequate.

We have’t got a car, our neighbours have 3x cars and a company van which according to statistics equals 40 tons of carbon monoxide (David Attenborough stated on a program that the average house produces 45 tons of the stuff a year and one car equals 10 tons).

So maybe Kirsten and I are doing our part already, but we feel self righteous and feel we can justify our plane travels and holidays. So again apathy strikes?

I blame the media for everything, rightly or wrongly, We are fed too much information, too much to even process in our powerful brains, We are shown disasters, wars, crimes against humanity, animals, We are made to feel guilty! We are shown products and services that we are told we need and can’t live with out or strive to afford, getting ourselves in too more debt, or we numb ourselves with alcohol and drugs to reduce the social stigma that not having these things creates. We see people that we put on pedestals, Paris Hilton and other “stars” that make a living by doing nothing but are seen in magazines and papers which we purchase.

Can a footballer justify a salary of £150,000 a week while others starve in the world or a film star who gets paid millions of pounds for one film who will appear in the media begging US to pledge our money to help starving people in countries? Is this apathy on their part or greed or do they beleive thay are doing good by making us feel guilty of apathy?

If everybody with 10 million pounds a year gave 1 million pounds a year to charity would it really hurt them or am I being naive and apathetic expecing others to do more? Just read in the news that Gisele Bündchen (a model) earned $30 million dollars this year up to June!!! She has said she wont work if she gets paid in dollars ‘cos it is so weak on the financial markets!!! She want to be paid in Euros, I know it makes good business sense for her but is she really worth that? NO is the answer!

Bono from U2 does so much to raise awareness for the third world -there is only ONE world! Yet he flies around the world and plays gigs in huge stadiums eating elecricity, what is the size of his carbon footprint or does he do enough to offset it with his good?

I am suprising myself that I have so much to say about so many topics, I so wish I had done this ages ago but it seems to create an endless supply of questions let alone the Twestions that are derived from social gaverings or moments of inner thought so deep in the head! I would like to share the invention of the word “Twestion” but it is probably not socially excepable, will it one end up in the Oxford Dictionery, I beleive it deserves to be! Kirsten got it straight away and I believe many of my friends will grasp where it comes from! Any heading with “Tw” were conceived in that state of mind - am I giving to much away?

Will people find this and read it, apart from anyone I tell about it? Kirsten knows but I don’t think I am ready for any of my friends to view it, If I tell anybody about it I think the first people will be Jackie and Graeme, I think they will understand where I am coming from and going with this? Will people write comments and will I read them? Perhaps it will put me off especially if they are not kind with their words or not in agreement. Am I seeking aproval, I seemed to have spent my life seeking aproval or not doing things incase they are laughed at. I should beleive in myself more!

I think I mentioned earlier on that if one person reads this blog and discussed it with some other people which spurred them on to do something then I have acheived so much!