I’ve ruined more than my fair share of party conversations with personal opinions about the news. I think it’s dehumanizing to watch, to discuss, to follow the unbearable suffering throughout the world and to not do anything about it.
That’s not to say I think a person is bad/wrong for wanting to know what’s going on, nor do I think it’s our responsibility to insert ourselves into any and all situations. However, I do think we lose part of what makes us humans when, faced with someone else’s pain, we don’t–or are unable to–reach out and help.
On occasion we experience that other-side-of-the-world suffering more acutely. We have a friend in Syria, a cousin on tour in Iraq, we went to that college. When that happens, the news stops belonging to the radio or TV. We don’t forget about the story when we change the channel.
This past April, as you may or may not remember, a 7.8 earthquake devastated Nepal. Six months have passed, and I think it’s safe to say that most of us have moved on to newer disasters.
Nepal isn’t trending on Twitter and filling our Facebook feeds. But in no way is that a signal that these people have healed or that their homes have been rebuilt or their source of income restored.
We may be done talking about the earthquake on our social accounts, but that doesn’t mean the suffering’s over. For better or worse, the news doesn’t exactly capture that.
Of course, this is just one example. We could talk about a million different global and local tragedies, but then listening to me ramble wouldn’t be any better than turning on your radio. Which is to say, I have a very specific reason for mentioning Nepal.
This coming Monday, October 5, Everest climber and film producer David Breashears will be downtown to participate in a fundraiser for the Sherpas who saved the lives of several men from Indiana who were, at the time of the earthquake, working their way through a 38 mile trek to the Everest Base Camp.
Whether you have ties to Nepal or these men or not, I think you should consider going. We cannot have an affect on everything we hear about in the news, especially in places so far away from our homes. We can affect some things, though, and I think acting on these opportunities when we have them keeps us human in world that so often asks us not to be.
I’ve bought my ticket. I’ll save you a seat.
Can’t make it? Check out the Nepal Relief Fund on Facebook or make a contribution through CICF–be sure tolist the Nepal Relief Fund in the lefthand column.
