A friend of mine asked me this question the other day.
There are a lot of awful things going on, I know that, but I don't feel it the way you and so many other people do. How does all this affect you directly? [I'm okay, no foreclosure, bankruptcy, illness or other catastrophe, so he continued] Why do you spend so much time learning about the situation, get so upset, take it so personally?
We're liberal Democrats, so we care about other people. Now the stakes are much higher and actual evil permeates society, so our job is more important, but "I'm a liberal" or even "I'm an activist" doesn't really provide the answer. It's just a way we show our values.
In an earlier discussion, it was said that we care because we care. It's true, but it doesn't explain anything.
I said that I've always wanted to know a) what's going on and 2) the truth. I've always lived near DC and I take a personal interest in the federal government. I've never been able to work at big corporations without bursting into tears and fleeing, but I don't have a personal resentment for them, just a hatred for the evil they do. (Remind me to tell you about my very brief acquaintance with the Chamber of Commerce.)
We have empathy for our friends and family who are in trouble. It pains us to know that the Powers That Suck Be are causing massive amounts of suffering. This doesn't explain why we care well beyond those close to us.
Some of us have a visceral fear of ignorance and the havoc it causes. Our irrational fears don't explain why we sit here for hours studying what's behind the slick reality, why we read books and blogs, chasing down the details.
Fear that we'll fall into the pit, the classic bag lady fear or dread of not supporting family that so many people have? That's personal. It's hard to translate it into fear and trembling at the thought of the Great Vampire Squid.
Do we have a stronger imagination than other people? Are we visualizing a world in chaos due to climate change, callous abuse of power, greed, and psychopathic cruelty? Hmmmm, that one sounds likely. But it's imagining the future, and the present for that matter, not experiencing the chaos. We don't act on our imaginings, even if they're true. We have lives, after all.
Some of us have a basic need to tell others what's going on, to spread the word. A few of us are natural-born journalists, storytellers in the traditional sense of going from town to town, revealing the truth and teaching the people. Each storyteller mostly sticks to certain stories, though, so why do we keep up with so many issues?
I couldn't tell my friend (actually it was my shrink, speaking as a friend and not a therapist) why the systemic threat to the country and the world affects me so viscerally. Why do we pound our fists on the floor, cry real tears, throw nerf balls or worse at the TV? Why do we care so viscerally, so broadly, beyond fearing that we ourselves could fall victim?
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator describes groups of people who are intellectual in outlook and don't show emotion much. They're good people but seem distant. A sudden attack of emotion jars them to the bone. My friends in the "very decent old white guy" group haven't experienced this, for the most part. That's part of the explanation, but not all of it.
Update: Since I wrote this diary, a close and beloved friend, a decent person about the same demographic as my shrink, has startled me with his words. We get together every couple of months or so for lunch. We don't talk politics as a rule, but I know he isn't a major-league Republican. on Tuesday I mentioned our massive support when Keith was suspended. My friend never gets angry, never even raises his voice, but he spat, Keith Olbermann is just as bad as Rush! What on earth has Keith said or done to make my sweet friend so angry?
We need to talk about this strange reaction from good people.