Isolation / Perspective

The other common theme I heard coming through from my corruption email was the feeling of loneliness. Loneliness in the sense that people felt that they were only one of the few that really cared about the state of their country. Some made the statement that they very much wanted to see the corruption removed but that they didn't think people in general cared enough about it.

The proposal that a large number of people don't really care about politics is certainly supported by my own experience, but the idea that most people don't care enough about the country to make a difference, I have to disagree with, or at least, I strongly question. Though, I completely understand the feeling. In fact, the first post of this blog was an expression of frustration with people for their lack of engagement in the issues.

Why do we sometimes feel like we are the only ones that care? Why do those who are dissatisfied with their representation and leadership often feel in the minority?

One answer to this question struck me while sitting in a hospital room all day watching the news. It was the day or two after news broke about a little boy being stuck in a homemade hot air balloon that was flying through the sky. They had found the boy and he was alright, yet multiple news agencies were spending hours and hours covering whether or not the family was lying about thinking the boy was in the balloon. The story was going on and on, I began to wonder why this was so important. After a while I got frustrated, "Who cares about whether or not this family made it up?" "What does it matter to the rest of the country?" "Isn't there something else more relevant to report on?"

Naturally, since it was on TV and getting so much air time, I figured that most people must care about this. They wouldn't report on it if it wasn't what the general public cared about, right?

Another recent instance of these circumstances was the story from an MTV awards program. I am sure you heard about Kanye West (sp?) stealing the microphone away from some other singer and commenting on Beyonce's (sp?) music video. Frustration set in that time too, "Who are these people?" "Who cares about what he said or she said?" "Is this relevant enough to be covering on a national news station?" "What does it matter to the rest of the country?" As with the balloon story, I figured that the national news agency wouldn't cover it if most people didn't care about it, right?

This perspective ultimately results in me wondering why my neighbor cares about such pointless information. "Why is my neighbor, who must be watching and caring about these stories, concerned about such insignificant matters when our country is being steered by an out of control government body? I must be surrounded by a bunch of idiots! I am definitely one of the few who cares about the important stuff."

Well, the idea that news agencies only cover stories that most people care about is a fallacy. We can't let our confidence be based on what the crowd "appears" to be concerned with.

You and I know that most people we associate with are good. Most people want good for this country. They just feel isolated and don't know what to do about it. The best way to prevent the media from having this affect on us is by talking to each other. Speaking up about important issues on a regular basis will help us all realize that we are in the majority.