APATHY

One of my teachers remarked sadly, “There is no empathy among the youth of this generation, especially those who live a comfortable life.” The genius of Albert Einstein can be observed in his prediction that the future generation would deny the existence of a man like Mahatma Gandhi. In the present day, they not only deny that but also the bitter persecution of the Jews and the ruthless massacre of the Sri Lankan Tamils.

Movies like Schindler’s list, The Boy in Striped Pajamas and a score of others throw some light on the pathetic lack of humanity of Hitler. People often use the term “Germans” interchangeably with Hitler’s loyal henchmen which is a huge mistake because very often the constitution of a country and the people who form the constitution reflect and form the “image” of a country or a state. So even if the people have a different opinion, it might never be known; the entire idea of democracy takes a lethal blow from the whiplash of Prejudice. The same thing happened to the British when it imposed its imperialism on India and the same thing happened to a few states in the south of India recently where the people, who were so called crusaders for their kind, sadly let down those who believed in them. But what goes around comes around. The world will await the consequences of mistakes, however big or small. The people of the countries where “passive” crimes are committed because of apathy make sure their everyday lives serve as an amnesia inducing drug.

Just like any positive or negative vibe, apathy is also contagious. Accept it or deny it, every person has a circle of influence, where that person’s opinion is highly respected and valued. If one influential person in that circle is apathetic, it spreads to at least to half of the group. This is most probably because the human mind is built in such a way that it gets attracted to the negative shade of anything first and only then it thinks of reason. The reason for that one person to feel apathetic in the first place is most likely a comfortable life. A comfortable life doesn’t mean a wealthy living because the meaning of “comfort” is subjective; it means a “satisfied” life where one does not need to empathize with a person who is suffering in a society to earn his daily living. This reason actually feeds into the next which is a busy life. Thus a vicious circle is formed from whose whirlpool one finds it difficult, or feels rather reluctant, to come out.

Incidents like the attack on the twin towers, the bombing of the former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga are acts of terrorism on any day but the war on Iraq, the ruthless bombing in Afghanistan and the remorseless killing and torture of the Sri Lankan minority are acts of equal magnitude if not more. Perspectives make the world a better place, for understanding those builds empathy. Speaking of opinions, if one victim of the terrorist acts or the kin of the victims were to read this passage, they would probably think that the guy who has written this hasn’t got much to do: what would he know? Fair enough, do I have an answer for that yet? No. Time solves all puzzles.

Very often in super hero movies we have recurrent themes of being the bigger man. Spider man told us that with greater powers one needs to become more responsible. There are super powers in the world now and only when one yields power do we know if that person can be the “bigger man”. Just like the British and Hitler back then and the U.S.A. and Sri Lanka now, one will know one’s true colors only when one is powerful. The proverb may be old but its message always rings true on any day, “One always gets to reap what one sows”. Let us help our future generation harvest food, not blood.