Indifference is Killing Us
In many ways, it seems like we have more connections with the world around us than any generation that has lived previously on this earth. We can reach for our phones and immediately have some idea of what our family or friends or complete strangers are doing or thinking - no matter where they are in the world. We can pull up livestreams of news-breaking events as they unfold. Women and men who in previous centuries would be completely unaware of each other’s existence, can now either form bonds of friendship or antagonize one another about world events.
We have access to so much information, and with that gift comes a tremendous burden that can often feel incredibly overwhelming. The rapid pace of events and ideas coming at us from every part of the world can feel so draining. Horrific tragedies that in previous centuries we would otherwise be completely ignorant of are now constantly before our eyes as real-time footage is captured and shared. Seeing and hearing about so many terrible things can weigh heavily upon us. The events taking place hundreds or thousands of miles away feel so close, leading to a sense of helplessness and deep pain that comes when we see another’s suffering.
Not only can we feel overwhelmed with all of the information that we are receiving, but our social media culture demands that we give of ourselves as well. Giving a platform to almost anyone to share their thoughts comes with the expectation that thoughts will be and should be shared. We have to have an opinion about everything - no matter how much we really know about a situation or topic. “Silence is violence,” we hear certain groups say, leading to an even greater pressure to immerse ourselves in outrage and deplete whatever emotional reserves we’ve managed to hold onto by reacting to every situation that comes before us.
Receive. React. Receive. React.
Being so connected can be incredibly exhausting.
This exhaustion can plunge us into feeling numb about everything. We can give into a sort of despair that leads us to believe that no positive thing or change can happen in the world. This attitude hardens our hearts to the point that any kind of suffering or need shown by others is met with cold indifference. We slowly turn more and more in on ourselves, isolating from those around us and concerning ourselves with an insular way of thinking - as long as I get what I want in this world and no one bothers me, I’m fine.
How are we supposed to engage with the events around us in a meaningful and healthy way without the risk of feeling completely overwhelmed? Are our only options to either live in a totally reactionary mode or total indifference to the needs of others?
Pope Francis has addressed this “culture of indifference” several times throughout his papacy. In his message for Lent in 2015, Francis recommended giving up “indifference” for the duration of the penitential season. The pontiff says, “As long as I am relatively healthy and comfortable, I don’t think about those less well off. Today, this selfish attitude of indifference has taken on global proportions, to the extent that we can speak of a globalization of indifference. It is a problem which we, as Christians, need to confront.”
There is a need to confront a worldly indifference that focuses more on our own comfort than on the needs of others. In another homily he said, “The more-common opposite of the love of God – of God’s compassion – is indifference. ‘I’m satisfied; I lack nothing. I have everything. I’ve assured my place in this life and the next, since I go to Mass every Sunday. I’m a good Christian.’...Let’s reflect on this: Confronted with God who takes the first step, is compassionate, and is merciful, many times our attitude is indifference. Let us pray to the Lord that He heal humanity, starting with us. May my heart be healed from the sickness of the culture of indifference.”
In order to overcome our callousness or indifference, we must truly be confronted by the love of God: not a saccharine love, but a self-sacrificial love rooted in reality that has eyes to see and hears to hear the genuine needs and sufferings of those around us.
In the same 2015 Lenten message, Pope Francis addresses the reality that it can be easy to feel overwhelmed with the needs of those around us. “As individuals too, we are tempted by indifference. Flooded with news reports and troubling images of human suffering, we often feel our complete inability to help. What can we do to avoid being caught up in this spiral of distress and powerlessness?”
The Pope offers three things to do when faced with feeling overwhelmed:
Pray - and pray together. We don’t have to face the many challenges of this world alone - don’t give into the lie of isolation, thinking that the only person that can fix the world’s problems is you.
Do something. When we engage in acts of charity, all of our thoughts and emotions that may feel overwhelmed by the many needs of the world can be directed to what we can actually accomplish. No matter how big or small our acts of charity may be, it is important that we do them as they are, as Pope Francis notes, “concrete signs of our belonging to the one human family.” Do something specific and do it offline.
Accept your limitations. When we realize that we cannot do everything, i.e., when we realize that we are not God - it gives Him a lot more room to act and surprise us. It is good to remind ourselves of our own limitations and to let go of the fantasy that we have absolute power over every situation in our lives and in the lives of others.
Having an idea of what is going on in the world is important, but if it leads us to a point of despair and hopelessness, it’s ok to disconnect. Our care for others is in no way contingent upon the number of times we post on social media.
Instead of limiting our care for others to how we present ourselves online, we can find a daily point of conversion in recognizing, experiencing, and living in the personal love that God has for each of us - and through this we can begin to love others better. We can enter into and be present in another’s suffering because our heart’s capacity to love is not reduced to simply reacting to events or becoming hardened by cold indifference, but instead have become conformed to the very heart of God.
When we allow His love to transform us, only then can we begin to transform the world.