Friday Blog Question: Who Cares?

There are a lot of things out there people care about. And whenever someone cares about something, count on it, they feel the need to make you care about it too. Some people are really worried about the hole in the ozone layer. Some are worried about foreign oil. Some are worried about terrorism. Or animal cruelty. Or curing AIDS. Or taxing corporations. Or pollution. Or declining morals. Or disappearing civil liberties. Or, or, or. There are so many things that need fixing, no one can possible care about all of it. Some even throw their hands up in the air and say, “forget it. I’m going home to watch TV. Call me when the apocalypse begins.” What cause do you care about? And if that’s the one cause you have, why don’t you care about anything else? If you don’t care about anything, what drove you over that edge?

I’d like to think that I care a little about everything, and pitch in when I can. We use canvas bags when we shop and compact fluorescent bulbs at home in an effort to help the environment. However, I do not have my very own compost heap in the backyard. I donate whatever time and / or resources I don’t use myself to help whatever charitable cause I can, but I don’t spend every waking moment or spare penny on anything in particular. There are a couple causes I feel very strongly about – donating blood and preventing drunk driving. When the opportunity presents itself I like to educate people on those causes, but I’m not going to try and impose my beliefs on every person I come in contact with. Vanessa Geary

Two topics I feel strongly about: 1. The GLBT Community. Everyone should have the same rights as everyone else, no matter who they are. I contribute every year to <a href= http://www.wingspan.org/>Wingspan</a> in memory of a family member. 2. Pro-choice. It’s a woman’s choice. I care about all the other issues mentioned, however, I don’t have the time or energy to care about everything. Ellen Stevens

I care about the inequality that exists throughout the world in terms of knowledge, lifestyles and opportunities. It's sad to think that we can all be living on this earth, yet live in such different times. I feel bad for many people who live for example, in third world countries, and will probably never know that there is a world of opportunities elsewhere. It also saddens me when people in corporate America think a work project is a matter of life and death, while people in less developed nations are grateful for the day they eat. Why such a discrepancy in how we live our lives? What really strikes at me:

Women not treated equally. I'm speaking around the world, where they have little to no rights and are often subject to abuse.

People starving. Literally…

Physical cruelty toward other humans, in wars, toward women, children, animals, etc. People need to practice compassion, although it may be hard if violence is the only way they’ve been taught.

The lack of resources available to people around the world to better themselves. Largely because they don’t know what’s out there.

I don’t think we can fix these all one at a time. It starts with infrastructure, so until there is change in government and education, there will continue to be an even larger gap among the human race. I care because it’s a matter of human rights and having dignity to live a proper life. If we care about core human values, then we can understand the drastic inequities present in this world. Rosa Milan

About the Author: Eric Reid

I am the Social Media Services Manager for Off Madison Ave. I've been with the company since 2006, when I was hired to do SEO, and link building in particular. When social networking sites started cropping up, at first I started using them to create backlinks - but they weren't the best for that, given all of the "nofollow" attributes. However, I did see the potential for all of the direct referral traffic they represent. Since then I've been actively pursuing both tactics for clients: Links that can help them for search, and social postings that get them involved in the conversation. It's about the coolest job you could ever get. ;)

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3 comments so far

Eric Reid says:

Quick note: There were only three responses to this week's question, and when OMA-ers are too busy to respond, I generally just drop the idea and post something else. But I'm a big fan of irony. So when so few care to respond to a question about what they care about... well frankly, that's too good to pass up. :)

Erika Napoletano says:

I care about the perceived image of family that Sarah Palin as the GOP's VP candidate will put forth. As a mother of 5 with a special needs infant child, are we to tell the world that it's OK for he to step in and run the country while a child is left behind?

That, as a woman who wants children of my own someday and is amazed daily by my friends who are both mothers and parents, is what I care about.

Amanda Wolfe says:

I care about the lack of uncertainty surrounding the death penalty. I understand the old "eye for an eye" adage but when that "eye" can hardly remember where it left it's keys one day and is expected to choose an individual out of a lineup the next - the potential for inaccuracy is unnerving. Tests of the human brain prove that when shown only one half of an image, the brain produces the remainder of the image based on that seen half. I can't get beyond this mental trickery in determining a life. Cases of proven innocence after accused, on death row or after execution, remain relatively low but even one is too much. While I do believe in punishment for wrongdoing and know this circumstance doesn't apply to all cases, I guess I'm more in tune with Ghandi on this one: "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind."