“It doesn’t affect me, so why should I care?” is a statement that resounds in most students’ reactions towards world events. Not caring about school is one thing, but not paying attention to events going in on the world is more than just a personal problem.
The epidemic of student apathy plagues our generation as whole, despite how some students don’t care about other people miles away, while some are active in both community and global events.
We must all be knowledgeable and informed, without reliance on others’ ability to understand. If our generation isn’t concerned about world issues, then how will it learn empathy?
This isn’t an attack on those that don’t watch BBC on Friday nights, nor is it a congratulatory post for those that do; instead, it’s a proclamation of fear, fear that perhaps, our generation does fit the stereotype the baby boomers have created for us. Perhaps we are unaware despite having the most developed communications network since the age of industrialization.
I’m not saying that reading CNN will increase one’s chances of ending global poverty, but it doesn’t hurt to listen to NPR in place of that one country gospel channel, scroll through the news instead of Instagram, or look at CNN instead of Buzzfeed when you’re procrastinating on a physics lab.
Simply put, caring for others deepens one’s ability to understand problems with a better perspective. Our views expand when we understand multiple points of view, which can never harm us. Without concern for other societies and cultures, our society cannot grow beyond what it is now.
Learning and understanding global problems benefits not only the individual, but our nation. With every educated individual that is able to empathize with those of a different color, culture, or country, American society gains another employee, parent, or friend that can educate those around them.
It can only benefit us all to have an educated, empathetic society. Right here at Liberty, we can understand others across the globe. Little things like paying attention to the current events that you usually sleep through, or joining a club that focuses on worldwide issues, like MUN or JSA, can turn into a community achievement.
Together, we can achieve student empathy through remaining aware of global issues and learning to see things from all sides, becoming a well-informed society.