On Apathy

I read the following text at a fund-raiser for Ebenezer Basic School in Jamaica.

You see, I have been abroad before. A month in Egypt. A January back-packing through Europe. But I was always a tourist. I may have gone to learn and to experience, but in Jamaica, I had my first real chance to contribute.

I fear succumbing to apathy, that insidious whisper within, saying: "Don't worry about that, someone else will take care of it" or "You'll do something when you're older and financially stable."

I fear apathy because every time I defer to that whisper, I lose some of my compassion. I lose some of my humanity. The loss of those two--however gradual--is something I will not bear.

Apathy's insidious whisper can be outshouted by action. Though action is most effective when deliberate and articulate, it does not necessarily start that way. In my experience, the choice to finally do something is awkward and clanging and maybe even bumbling. But it is noisy and, in the beginning, that is enough.

Our team helped make some noise in Bamboo. Thank you for helping to make more.