Ain't no Superman
Even Mother Theresa limited herself to Calcutta, for the most part.
The human mind can't encompass more than about 100 close friends and family. Beyond that, it's physically incapable of caring just that much. This is a good thing, a survival mechanism. Can you imagine feeling the same devastating sorrow as losing a parent or a sibling or a child or your best childhood friend every time someone out there dies?
I would go insane. More insane than I am now. It would make life unbearable. We'd constantly be in emotional agony. Who wants to live like that?
I believe in the interconnectedness of beings. I don't believe one person inherently has more value than another. I also believe that some people have more value to me than others. I love my parents, but the teller at the bank will only get a civilized nod and a "Good morning" at best. The guy I pass on the street will never be acknowledged 99% of the time. My friends are more important to me than my coworkers.
Would I like to save the world? Sure. But I can't. I also can't care about the world in its entirety. I can care about my small corner of the world. I can strive to try and make my friends and family happy and safe, and to make my corner of the world a pleasant place for them to live.
My friends and family have friends and family of their own. My circle and their circle are not the same, and so I trust them to take care of those they love whom I don't know. In turn, those people must take care of their own. Eventually, there must be a trickle-down effect.
This isn't a perfect system. There's no such thing as a perfect system. It's just the best and only thing I know how to do. I am not a revolutionary, nor am I an activist. I lose myself in crowds, and I don't have the voice or the oratory skills for speeches. I am not brilliant. I will never write anything that will irrevocably change the way people think.
The best I can hope for is that someone someday will look at me and say: "You know, I think she's onto something. Maybe I'll try that too."
The human mind can't encompass more than about 100 close friends and family. Beyond that, it's physically incapable of caring just that much. This is a good thing, a survival mechanism. Can you imagine feeling the same devastating sorrow as losing a parent or a sibling or a child or your best childhood friend every time someone out there dies?
I would go insane. More insane than I am now. It would make life unbearable. We'd constantly be in emotional agony. Who wants to live like that?
I believe in the interconnectedness of beings. I don't believe one person inherently has more value than another. I also believe that some people have more value to me than others. I love my parents, but the teller at the bank will only get a civilized nod and a "Good morning" at best. The guy I pass on the street will never be acknowledged 99% of the time. My friends are more important to me than my coworkers.
Would I like to save the world? Sure. But I can't. I also can't care about the world in its entirety. I can care about my small corner of the world. I can strive to try and make my friends and family happy and safe, and to make my corner of the world a pleasant place for them to live.
My friends and family have friends and family of their own. My circle and their circle are not the same, and so I trust them to take care of those they love whom I don't know. In turn, those people must take care of their own. Eventually, there must be a trickle-down effect.
This isn't a perfect system. There's no such thing as a perfect system. It's just the best and only thing I know how to do. I am not a revolutionary, nor am I an activist. I lose myself in crowds, and I don't have the voice or the oratory skills for speeches. I am not brilliant. I will never write anything that will irrevocably change the way people think.
The best I can hope for is that someone someday will look at me and say: "You know, I think she's onto something. Maybe I'll try that too."