Being indifferent in today’s society is harmful but tempting because sometimes when an individual tries hard to accommodate the needs of others, they find that the people they are trying to help take advantage of their generosity. At times, indifference is very seductive; however it does not only damage one’s self, but it also damages the image an individual has of those towards whom he or she is indifferent. The following passages demonstrate how indifference can strongly change an individual’s opinion on what they are passionate about: “The Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel, Henry Miller‘s “Tropic of Capricorn” and Nicholas Kristof article “It’s Not Just About Bad Choices”. On a daily basis, an individual’s potential is often underestimated, and as a result, a lot of dreams are destroyed by undermining others’ capabilities and interests. In “Tropic of Capricorn” the general argument made by Henry Miller is how an individual is sometimes undermined when he or she is passionate about what he or she believes in.
Miller expresses how he used to be a fanatic, but later on, as critics called into question his values, it made him rethink about what he was passionate about, He claims, that eventually, “I learned that the more you reach out towards the world the more the world retreats”. In this excerpt, Miller suggests that the more a person tries to share what they are passionate about, the faster they would be rejected. Later on, he states “But, instead of being punished I was undermined, hollowed out, the ground taken from under my feet, Miller maintains his point of view that people overlooked his capabilities and interests, and expresses how the critic not only affected his point of view towards what he believed in, but also affected his entire attitude towards reality.
After dealing with critics for so long, he became indifferent. It must be admitted that indifference is tempting. In “The Perils of Indifference”, the general argument made by Elie Wiesel is how indifference can be quite attractive and how appealing it is to look away from the one’s being affected by indifference, rather than offering help. However, as Wiesel suggests, “Yet, for the person who is indifference, his or her neighbor are of no consequence, And, therefore, their lives are meaningless”. He describes how it is easier for a person to not be involved in another person’s problems and desolations, since that person goes through so much in their own lives that whatever happens to another person is meaningless and it is considered as an interruption. Wiesel maintains, “ It is so much easier to look away from victims”. This is also seen when an individual has too many problems of their own, so when friends come to talk about their problems to that individual, the attention that friend seeks is not provided People respond in different ways to indifference.
Both authors similarly experienced the effects of indifference but chose to react differently, Miller and Wiesel were somehow looking for recognition and validation from others and to be understood. Miller wanted recognition from the people he embraced and loved, while Wiesel wanted recognition from humanity. These two authors are different because Miller gives up when another person does not understand his point of View, but on the other hand, Wiesel keeps striving to be embraced and recognized by humanity. Their perspectives on indifference brought of them different consequences. For instance, Miller says, “I no longer believe in reality but in thinking I have become unnaturally happy, unnaturally healthy, unnaturally indifferent”. He indicates how indifference has affected him by making him careless, Miller goes on to explain, “If my best friend dies I won’t even bother to go to the funeral;if a man is run down by a street car right before my eyes I will keep on walking just as though nothing had happened.
If a war breaks out I will let my friends go to the front but I myself will take no interest in the slaughter.“ With this, the author demonstrates the impact that indifference has caused on him. At the beginning of the passage, Miller claimed that he had a strong desire to embrace people and show them love, but everything changed once he was repeatedly undermined by others. He describes how uncaring he would be if something happened to any person in this world, and it is as if he is giving up as a human being. In other words, he stopped acting like a human being, and acts more like a robot, since he no longer has feelings or cares about others. Indeed, Miller shows the journey a person takes to go from passion to indifference. He provides the perfect example of why indifference is worse than anger. When an individual is indifferent, he or she, like Miller, does not have feelings or response towards anything.
At least, as Wiesel argues, when a person becomes angry, he or she expresses their emotions and their feelings about a situation and can be creative and productive. Wiesel has an opposite reaction to indifference. It seems he would have every right to become indifferent because of all he went through in the concentration camps. Wiesel describes how he felt lacked away in a camp, wishing the world would intervene and rescue him: “If they knew, we thought, surely those leaders would have moved heaven and earth to intervene”. Elie is suggesting how if the leaders would have stepped in sooner, he would’ve been less indifferent Also, he wonders how many lives would have been saved, particularly his family. Wiesel asks of his readers, “What about the children? Oh, we see them on television, we read about them in the papers, and we do so with a broken heart” (5). Wiesel is claiming that people are aware of the issues going on in the world, and they realize it and feel heartbroken. It is inevitable. But as soon as their previous show comes back on, the person forgets about the situation the kids are living in.
Sadly, indifference is everywhere in today‘s modern culture, According to Nicholas Kristof in “It’s Not Just About Bad Choices” , people often use their own problems as an excuse to forget about their responsibilities with other people. He claims that it is one’s responsibility to accept all the opportunities life gives to them to make a brighter future for themselves. Kristof states, sarcastically, “Our culture is cluttered with excuses for bad behaviors It’s always somebody else’s fault”. The author points out how people often blame their lack of motivation on others, This connects directly to Miller, who wrote, “Everything that happened in my life was bad choices. I take full responsibility for everything that happened”. Kristof argues that every person has to come to the point of acceptance He says, we must all admit to ourselves. “
The problem is me. If I don’t change me, I won’t get anywhere”, Kristof tries to explain that all people need to become aware that if they are less indifferent, their lives could improve, If not, an individual is just not going to get anywhere in life until she or he decides to change her or his attitude/behaviori Later on in his passage, Kristof argues that it is not actually right or productive to talk about other’s personal responsibilities , but how each individual should instead examine their own obligations to help the world. As an example, Kristof claims, “when the evidence is overwhelming that we fail kids before they fail us, when certain programs would actually save public money while elevating personal responsibility, isn’t it also time to stop making excuses for our own self-destructive behaviors as a society?”.
The author is suggesting that it is easy for someone to see other’s failures and how they could be solved, but instead of worrying about what other people are or are not doing, everyone should worry about themselves. Indifference is harmful but tempting at the same time because sometimes an individual‘s potential could be underestimated. Often people seek recognition and validation from others but instead they get rejected [t is very appealing to look away from those in need of help because it is easier for a person to not be involved in another person’s problems, since the person has experienced so much in their own lives that being involved in someone else’s is often just an inconvenient interruption.
