Why should I care?

Lisa Simpson looks at Homer and with a trembling and tearful voice asks:

 "Daddy, why don't you do something?"

Homer looks at Lisa, pats her lovingly on the head and then answers: 

"Because I just don't care.''

''I don't care'', three little words that in some circumstances

can really pack a punch.

''I'm leaving you!   >>  Go ahead, I don't care.''

''But I need you!   >>  I don't care if you do.'' 

''Shouldn't we do something to help?   >>  Why? 

Why should we care when they don't seem to care for themselves?''

On my way home from the Conservatorium of Music, running

down the steps to the Underground trains, I saw five guys

chasing a man. They caught him, pushed him to the ground

and then started to kick him. ''Fagot, you don't deserve to live!''

they shouted as they kept kicking him. 

Horrified I watched as the man tried to defend himself.

I decided to try and help him.

Only having a bag full of books for a ''weapon'', I started

to swing it furiously while walking towards them screaming

''Leave him alone!!''

They did. They walked away.

As I helped the injured man up from the ground

he looked at me and asked: ''Why do you care?''

''I care because you needed someone to do so'', I answered.

The man gathered his things, slung his bag over his shoulder 

and as the train pulled in, he stepped into the carriage and whispered

''thank you''.

Truth be told, I am not so sure that I actually know how

to not care.

In some situations when we say ''I don't care'' it may perhaps only mean

that we don't have an opinion on the matter so we are happy to let

someone else decide. (Ex: Do you want to sit here or over there?)

 Other times we may use the term because we

are not really invested in the issue at hand and feel that we don't

 have anything of value to contribute to it.

Sometimes perhaps, we just don't care. We don't care to invest any

of our thinking, of our emotions, of our actions, of our time, or of any kind 

of our involvement into something.

(We may perhaps have concluded that in order for us to care,

it/he/she/they, need to be ''deserving'' of our caring.)

''Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.''

Before we decide to care about someone or something,

have we become so affected that we subconsciously 

do a ''profit and loss'' calculation?

Do we need to know that there is a ''reward'' to be had

before we decide to care?

Are we at risk of having our other-regarding emotions

diminishing in favor of self-interested emotions?

It may seem easier to cope with life when we have no

stake in the well-being of others, of animals, the environment,

or our communities, but in my view, it comes with a cost.

That cost is that we may become callous and morally and

emotionally indifferent, and that makes it possible for

us humans to commit reprehensible acts.

Caring, is one of mankind's most precious attributes.

It is what makes us able to be compassionate, understanding, 

tolerant, kind, considerate and emphatic.

''Never believe that a few caring people

can't change the world.

For, indeed, that's all who ever have.''

(Margaret Mead)

''I feel that the capacity to care is the thing

that gives life its deepest significance.''

(Pablo Casals)

about the image, I made it with graphite on water color paper.