Should I Care?
Is the reward for simply pledging to do better blocking us from being as bold as we need to be?
An early version of this post was sent as my annual greeting to friends and family, colleagues, competitors, and counterparts around the world about a decade ago. Today, it seems almost more relevant…
When we were kids, my younger brother’s standard response to almost anything outside his immediate interest or influence was an eye-roll, a blank stare, a shrug and then:
“Should I Care?”
Fortunately, when he was about 11, he discovered his passion and 45+ years later he is a diligent, dedicated, and award-winning cinematographer who truly cares about the world we live in and the people that inhabit it.
But…
If not from my brother, I still hear that old argument today.
It comes in various forms. “There’s nothing I can do about it.” “I’m not responsible for it.” “I couldn’t change things even if I wanted to.” "Let them solve their own problems."
Some people look at the world and claim the right to escape from confronting the issues we face.
“I worked hard for what I have. I paid my taxes. I deserve to live in a world where I shouldn’t have to see or feel other people’s problems.”
Our world is engulfed in flames fanned by wildfires and human conflict. We have an economy that provides unimaginable wealth to a few while leaving growing groups of others feeling like they live in a suffocating sinkhole of division and fearing that while AI is touted to be a saviour, it will only accelerate their journey to irrelevancy.
Watch this clip from Ron Tite’s new reel. (Full video available below)
“I wanna do the right thing, I just don’t know what the right thing is.”
Maybe people want to care. Maybe they want to do the right thing, but maybe they resign to doing things as they’ve always been done simply because it’s easier.
Why take the chance on change when the reward for saying you’re going to change is enough? Why be bold when prizes and podium places are handed out for cool campaigns, smart slogans, and long-term goals that put today and tomorrow on the map without detailed navigation on how the route between the two will be travelled?
I understand the apathy. I also understand that it’s the worst choice we can make.
Several years ago, Thomas Friedman inspired me to write these lines when he opened my eyes to just how interconnected the world has become with the book “The World is Flat”.
Sometimes we’re faced with an impossible task, And think, where can we turn or who can we ask? Sometimes we’re stuck so we stand still and stare, Saying “I didn’t cause this so why should I care?”
Sometimes we watch the most terrible news, Of people who die while defending their views. We sit and we watch all the death and despair, Saying “I didn’t cause this so why should I care?”
Sometimes we’re blind to the problems of others, We forget they could be our sisters or brothers. We pretend we can’t see or are just unaware, Thinking “It only hurts them so why should I care?”
Give it some thought and it’s quite plain to see, Those troubles out there might affect you or me. If we want to stay safe then we must be aware, Our security starts with our willing to care.
Problems aren’t solved by heads stuck in sand. We need to engage and to reach out a hand. For we live in a world that we all have to share, And that my dear friend is why we must care.
In Adam Grant’s brilliant bestseller “Give and Take”, there’s a wonderful quote attributed to US representative and Senator John Andrew Holmes. It kicks off chapter three:
“It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others.”
Yup. The entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others.
Those “others” are the people upon which we have an almost essential interdependence. As Friedman pointed out, this carries consequences.
“If you don't visit the bad neighbourhoods, the bad neighbourhoods are going to visit you.”
We can't hide from reality, nor can we expect the burdens of the world to be borne by others.
So, should you care? Should I care?
Simple question, simple answer.
YES!
Stay safe, Always Care
Here’s Ron Tite’s full reel:
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This reminds me of something I have said: Voting for a good deed doesn’t add to your personal good deed balance sheet.
People care only enough to make statements the start with “Someone should...” then carry about their day. I’m not down on them for it though. Many people are fighting the bout in front of them. The struggles in another town, another state or another country, cannot be fixed by a person with local struggles.