Why does it take the attempted socialization of America to revive the American spirit and arouse the sleeping giant? Let me attempt to answer that question in a bit, lets first look at how we got here. I believe the roots of apathy can be traced to the idea that you can teach people to care. This belief, deeply held by many, is driven by an ill-conceived notion that the more deeply you care about everything, the better person you are.
Apathy on the other hand is an inability to cope in response to stimuli that is too intense or too complicated. It is defined as a lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving. Our educational system is filled to the brim with people who care intensely, moved by everything and impart a barrage of negativity directed directly at our children. Human beings are destroying the earth, capitalism and big business are inherently evil, religion is the cause of untold suffering around the world, the rich don’t pay there fair share to name a few.
A child’s psyche is unprepared to deal with issues that are so far beyond their control. With such insurmountable problems, presented in a way that implies that it is their responsibility to fix (they are the only hope to save the planet), is it any wonder why our children shut down?? I can still remember the anxiety of giving a speech in front of 30 of my classmates, I couldn’t imagine having the weight of the world on my shoulders to boot.
Robert M. Hutchins once said, “The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.” I am not a conspiracy theorist but what could be better than creating your own socialistic society by forcing others not to care under the guise of teaching them to care. Maybe C.S. Lewis was right when he said, “of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive”.
Now to answer the question posed, why the awakening? The answer (and the MSM and left-wing bloggers are right about this one) is cable news, conservative pundits and talk radio. John Dos Passos, novelist and artist, once said that the cure for apathy is comprehension. America is comprehending the plan of “Change” for America and it’s response to this renewed understanding is being reflected in the polls, town hall meetings and tea parties.
Nothing fuels a revolt like success, and as can be seen in our elected leader approval ratings they are succeeding. The elite on the left are finding it hard to comprehend that any of us could possibly oppose their obviously superior intellect and as a result we are seeing radical and somewhat strange smears of town hallers as well as attempts at distraction.
So will President Obama’s speech on Tuesday induce apathy? Probably not, but it will be another small step in the wrong direction. Regardless, we as adults need to be a voice of reason with our children. Let them know that the weight of the world is not their responsibility. The level of accountability is at the societal level, not the elementary school level. They need to understand what they can affect and the true reasons why that should care.
To overcome 50 years of apathy will require a Great Cause, what better cause could there be then Freedom, Liberty and the American way (and I don’t mean the liberal elite version of the American way).
The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.
PLATO
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