Centered on I

I find it very disconcerting that we spend our time delving into the lives of our friends. We know every person they have dated, kissed, hung-out-with, abhorred, and shunned. We spend our days recalling events for one another: "he was like... and then I was like..." and yet we know nothing of what goes on in our world. We don't know or try to stop the myriad of genocides going on in Africa; massive ethnic cleansing exercises. We don't know the history behind the current conflict in Gaza, but we are quick to damn the actions of the Israelis or the Palestinians. We voted for change in the last election, but we don't understand what that change will entail. This is evidenced by the fact that we don't understand what an economic stimulus package mandates; how it works. The only thing we want to know is when the check stamped with our name on it come in the mail.
We have become too focused on I. I don't mean I as in Dustin Haider, but I as in a constant looking-inward. We have become so focused on I that we push out the rest of the world, not only do we not recognize or understand the issues revolving around the genocides in Africa, we forget about the people we can help across the street. We don't see the single mother dumped by some crappy boyfriend. Or the poor couple who cannot put food on their table. Who are we to say that our lives are more important than theirs?