By J.M. Appleton
US~Observer Exclusive

ap•a•thy: Apathy (also called impassivity) is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation and passion. An apathetic individual has an absence of interest or concern to emotional, social, or physical life.

Once upon a time in the North American country known as the United States of America, there lived a nation of citizens that showed tremendous interest in the state of their country’s well-being. With incredible zeal, these citizens worked tirelessly to correct any local, national or international issue that threatened them either as individuals or collectively, showing no fear and great resolve while addressing any elected or appointed public official that didn’t accurately represent the beliefs, ethics, morals and values as expected by their constituents.

However (and most unfortunately), the fore-mentioned depiction is no longer the norm for most citizens of the United States of America and hasn’t been for nearly 40 years now. In the body of this commentary, I’ll share and examine what I see as being the most apparent reasons for the “apathetic American attitude” that is now so prevalent…and also look at what can be done to regain the sense of ownership that should belong to each and every citizen of this once proud and erstwhile nation.

Soon after the birth of the United States of America, citizens walked the streets of their towns with a sense of accomplishment, ownership and responsibility, realizing that they as individuals played an essential role in keeping what liberty and freedom had been recently fought for and won. Citizen’s policed one another and their towns, and kept a close eye on what their elected politicians were up to, not simply playing the role of “snitch” (as is encouraged today) but rather because they understood the vital importance of being and staying involved. Fast forward to the Civil War era and although it divided the nation in many regards, citizens on both sides remained on the watch and kept a keen watch on the actions of politicians from their local representatives to those whom were seated in State or Federal positions of authority. When the late 1800’s rolled around, the once again united nation found itself expanding year-by-year at a never seen before rate, and citizens became painfully aware that corruption and cronyism would take hold when they for even short periods of time happened to turn their attention to matters aside from monitoring their elected and appointed officials. This era (actually one of the bloodiest in our history) also gave birth to the government’s propaganda machine that from its inception went to work over-time in attempt to not only hide the whole-sale slaughter of Native American peoples in the Mid-west and Western areas of North America, but also through fear-mongering (that for the most part succeeded), convincing most citizens that ANY Native American was a “savage” threat who wanted nothing more than to brutally murder, rape and pillage.

It wasn’t until decades later that the truth became known (to some degree anyway) as to the reality surrounding the actions of the American Government as it attempted to completely eliminate Native American peoples, along with it the perceived “threat“ they posed to official expansion and empire building efforts. The early 1900’s saw great change as the U.S. became more industrialized, and with it came the addition of numerous government agencies to “over-see” and regulate this period of rapid growth. In my opinion, it was at this specific juncture that America had become too large, too involved, and too pre-occupied for the average citizen to any longer keep its attention effectively tuned-in on what our government was doing (or not doing) on its peoples collective behalf. In retrospect, no matter what we might be able to point the finger of blame at, complacency had given birth to apathy and the government was sure to take notice.

The first two-thirds of the 20th Century brought us WWI, the Great Depression, WWII, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, Nixon/Watergate, the Energy Crisis, Mid-East Unrest, the War on Drugs and more. With renewed vigor and enthusiasm, the social conscious of America awoke and with the protests surrounding the Vietnam War, activism and involvement regarding matters of national importance would reach their hay-day. Subsequently, this era also saw the greatest government clamp-down on the American citizen’s right to assemble and express displeasure with government activities. The message sent was both loud and clear, “dissent will not be tolerated and dissenters will be punished immediately and severely”. In the last one-third of the 1900’s, brief military conflicts in Panama and Grenada, along with later NATO joined operations in Serbia and the Gulf War were met with little to no dissent and/or protest and this inactivity certainly carried over into the early 2000’s. The new millennium brought us the events of 9/11 which lead directly to the U.S. initiated Afghan and Iraqi invasions and in its second decade we’re now dealing with the Great Recession, an expanded War on Terror, continued operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and escalating military conflict with Libya. Protesters of government actions have been deemed by the government and its talking-head (the main-stream media) to be “un-patriotic” and its participants to be “potential terrorist threats”.

After now having devoted 880 words to laying the ground-work for this commentary, I’ll now ask its readers this…”are you in agreement with the way our government has handled the past 235 years OR, have you given-up hope that your voicing displeasure of its actions will bring change OR, are you concerned about what the consequences of speaking-out would bring OR, are you too involved with your own little world to actually give a care about where our country is headed”? One of the above MUST apply to each and every one of us, and I’ll now venture into the “why” regarding our chosen position.

Before elaborating, I’ll first post a quote that reflects a prophetic insight by a man considered to be a 20th century American hero by many, President Harry S. Truman: "When even one American -- who has done nothing wrong -- is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth, then all Americans are in peril."

After reading this quote, I have to wonder…is it FEAR that has fostered the apathetic American response to our governments ill-advised and unpopular behavior over the past two-plus centuries? It certainly would be understandable to some degree since the ramifications of “opening one’s mind and mouth” can be quite unsavory to say the least. Conversely, we’re all well aware of the peril we now constantly live with and would it not behoove us all to voice our opinions in a strong yet civilized and non-violent way? After all, we can rest assure that NOTHING will ever change for the better if we simply sit in our pews and easy-chairs with eyes and ears open yet mouth’s shut tight. The government is banking on the fact that we fear their ability to make our lives miserable, and that we’ll weigh the pro’s and con’s of dissent and therefore remain quiet as mice…since they’ve put a great deal of propaganda effort into creating what they believe to be a subservient society. Let me share yet another very prophetic quote with you and I’ll not reveal the author of it until later in this piece. If you’re at all like me, I would bet that you’ll be shocked to find-out who actually penned it…and so it reads: “Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am _ _ _ _ _ _” . After reading this quote I have to ponder, “just how many ‘leaders’ have we seen do exactly just that…with THAT being ‘bang the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor?” Quite a few to say the least and the intended goal in doing so?…to create apathy amongst the citizenry as it relates to governmental actions that would otherwise be viewed as undesirable. They’ve got it ALL under control, and so we need not worry.

Engineered apathetic response is obviously the goal of a government seeking to disengage its constituents, and is designed to lull us citizens into a state of false security. Electronic media, the entertainment industry, professional sports, video gaming, and casino gambling are just a few diversions that serve not only to provide a means of physical and mental escape from the stressors we face as a nation, but also to create an illusion that “life is good,” “things are normal” and that “all is well”. More so now than ever before, Americans per capita are spending more of their dwindling financial resources on the aforementioned activities and in the mean time, the world around them continues to crumble at close to free-fall speed. Julius Caesar would be the unnamed author of the quote I had shared in the previous paragraph (with “Caesar” filling in the blanks) and we all know what happened to the once erstwhile Roman Empire that he had been given watch over. Caesar would most likely feel honored (yet perhapsperplexed) to see that the U.S.A. has chosen to very closely adopt Rome’s template of political ideology. Rome’s Emperors were masters at creating apathy amongst their citizens, and they knew right where to aim to get the job done most effectively. With the official encouragement of gluttony, abundant drink and entertainment, the average “blinded” Roman citizen knew very little of what direction the nation was headed until it was far too late. Rome was crumbling from the inside-out and had been for a long while before going-up in flames, as corruption and greed had destroyed the very fabric of what had once made it the most formidable country on the planet. Ultimately, their empire building efforts took a huge toll on its economy and the loss of Roman life was immeasurable which all lead to its ultimate demise. Do we see any similarities between Rome and the U.S. here?

When spoken of in regard to the over-all “health” of any nation, apathy amongst it’s citizens is very much like a cancer that spreads nefariously…sometimes rapidly and sometimes slowly with the latter simply prolonging the inevitable. At any rate, the destruction it causes leaves the body weakened and susceptible to a plethora of deadly diseases that can sooner or later mean the end. The only therapy for apathy is to remain involved or to increase your current involvement, keeping a watchful and critiquing eye on the actions of our elected and appointed officials….then speaking up and out when discrepancies are found. Is it too late for the U.S.A.? Only time will tell for certain, but if our course remains the same and if we as a people in general don’t set down the game controller, or T.V. remote, or alcoholic beverage and turn our attention to matters of GREAT importance…we (like Caesar’s Roman Empire) might be spoken of through history books in “past tense” and that my friends would be a dirty and crying shame.

I love this country far too much to just sit back and watch that happen…so will you join me in doing your part to intervene and help make the difference between the life and death of our nation?

I hope and pray that your answer is a resounding YES!

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