A lot of times people say things like:
‘No one cares in America.’
‘No one trusts politicians.’
‘We have to get behind so and so sports team.’
‘In my day we had a team that played with heart and were family.’
The basic sentiment is that no one really cares. When it comes down to it a lot of people see society (and conveniently exclude themselves from the group) as drifting in to oblivion.
I’m not sure what to make of that and maybe that’s a problem. Maybe my reluctance to understand what I really care about is a problem.
Don’t even ask a person aged 65+ what the problem is with youth culture today. Well, you should ask actually because they always say interesting things. There is a huge Homer Simpson complex of mehhh. (Maybe I’m dating myself there with the Homer reference).
I don’t think the whatever is the problem. I look around at culture in different context and have a very different diagnosis. I think people want to care about topics.
Sea World? People care.
The Fault in Our Stars? People want to have good feels.
Immigration?
Health Care? People want someone to care. That might count. It might not.
I think people do care about life and others. Sometimes the ‘no one cares’ ideal is actually people saying ‘you don’t agree with me.’ Sometimes the ‘no one cares’ ideal is actually a symptom of a bigger issue- ‘why should I care?’ or ‘I need more information to care.’ There is even the biggest one since the advent of the internet- ‘Is that really even true?’
My (Greg’s) next few blog posts will be exploring some of these ideals and why they matter for missions, Les Champs de France and Christianity in general.