Who cares?
March 12, 2008
Jolene Hildebrand
Lately I’ve noticed the endless volumes of books that lament cultural apathy in my library. Almost all of them are from classes I’ve had to take over the years, and they say much the same thing about the severe lack of passion and imagination in our society, particularly in our youth. However they don’t really address what we’re going to do about it. Rather, the acknowledgment of apathy seems to be followed by hopelessness in current or future generations. I suppose this is a result of resignation in the face of the sheer hopelessness of it all. But if we’re going to point fingers at the current generation, it’s a good idea to realize that apathy has been a symptom of society long before our own generation.
In The Present Age, philosopher Soren Kierkegaard wrote that “the present age with its sudden enthusiasms followed by apathy and indolence is very near the comic.” This was written in the nineteenth century. As we can see, our generation is not the only one suffering from apathy. Mainly, Kierkegaard’s thoughts were that an age without passion is an age without action, and that over reflection breeds a pathetic sense of immobility that is almost laughable - if it weren’t so sad.
Our own culture is not terribly reflective, yet it’s hardly one of great action. Entertainment saturates our culture and media supplies us with easy access to any information we desire. The world is ready-at-hand and our list of commitments grows with the sources of technology we possess. It’s no wonder that students feel busier than ever, yet are feeling less passion for their education. Endless multitasking consumes our lives and leaves little space for the time to even think about the quality of our studies.
The point is that authentic passion for any ideal rarely moves us nowadays because we allow our busyness to be comfortable. Of all places, university is meant to be the source of agitation that gives us a greater awareness of our conditions and priorities in the world. In his analysis of culture in the 1960’s and 70’s, cultural critic Terry Eagleton describes the universities as the place for unrest, “the cockpits of culture as political struggle.” Student agitation was a result of the “ludicrous indulgence” on society’s part for setting up institutions in which “young, clever, morally conscientious people had nothing to do for three or four years but read books and kick ideas around.”
In an online article for Macleans called “Hellfire preacher stirs up college campuses with fire-and-brimstone message”, a man named Micah Armstrong has made it his duty to visit university campuses in the south eastern United States with his message of condemnation and repentance. The article describes students flocking to listen to him, provoking debate and laughter. Avery Dame, a student at the University of Alabama, said he didn’t like Armstrong’s message, but curiously loves what his visits do for the campus. “It’s the one time people care about something. He’s such a big jerk everyone kind of unites against him,” Dame said.
Cultural critics have been lamenting the apathy of students for at least a century. Even now issues of religion rarely cause a stir unless they’re demonstrated to extreme ends. Before we think we’re too busy to think of issues beyond our grades and become too cynical to care, perhaps we ought to consider what we’re really passionate about in the first place.
Now you go...
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