If indifference is not an option, I wonder what is:
1. Demonstrate on the street?
2. Press for democratic reforms so the government becomes more responsive?
3. Get as much public attention as possible?
4. Go there to try to stop the madness?
5. Support well-respected organisations that will be a pacifying presence?
6. Ensure we have access to excellent and timely information?
7. Educate people so that crises do not occur again?
8. Send letters to the people in power and to people who might influence them?
9. Network and get to know people in power beforehand so we have access to them?
10. Rethink the United Nations system?
11. Spread opinions into the mainstream?
12. Do research about the roots of indifference and "compassion fatigue" in the West?
13. Keep relevant discourses (i.e. human rights) in political debates and in the public sphere.
This reminds me of my time working for a non governmental organisation in 2002. I left because I wanted to go back to academia. I wanted more knowledge, deeper analysis, and a more holistic vision. I must admit that I've really lost touch with the ground in the past few years.
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5 comments:
Of the options listed, I'd say that numbers 4, 7, and 12 are the best. However, the avenues of both "protest" and "reform" are, by and large, a waste of time and don't get to the heart of things.
Actually, I don't think the solution lies in any of the options provided in this list.
"Actually, I don't think the solution lies in any of the options provided in this list."
Ah, but then what IS your solution? I would have included it on the list if I had grasped it. Have I missed it? Geez, do you mind explaining it in a few short lines or pointing me towards it elsewhere on the net/ in the literature, please???
At the moment, my work involves number 2, number 11 and number 13.
The solution, I think, lies in the Church becoming the Church.
How's that for short? (And vague!)
Thanks Dan for your comments! It sounds like you're very critical of the Church we've got. Now I'm just confused. I wish I knew what that other Church would look like, or feel like. I wish I could take a guided tour. And how would one begin to bring this about? I'll have to chew on this for a bit.
Yes, I am often critical of our contemporary Western churches, but this is precisely because I have become aware of both the potential and the responsibility that the Church has.
A few good resources for chewing on these things:
Resident Aliens by Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon.
Theopolitical Imagination by William T. Cavanaugh.
Liberation Theology After the End of History by Daniel M. Bell, Jr.
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