Saturday, August 27, 2011

Life and Indifference

I have no doubt that during the French Revolution, a few blocks away from the crowds surrounding the busy guillotine, you could find individuals worried about the details of life. Should I see a physician about this cough? Will my children be happy? Do I have enough money to get to the countryside in a month? Does this coat need to be brushed?

The major events come and go while so many of us are consumed by the smaller issues. This should not always be condemned. Our sanity may be protected by the zones of indifference to which we consign subjects over which we can exert little or no control or which we lack the resources to confront.

Some of the dreariest people I've known have their own foreign and domestic policies. They possess opinions on every subject and are eager to spread their knowledge, such as it is. Are there issues that demand attention? Certainly. But there must be a balance and often that can only be achieved via a healthy indifference.

That choice is part of being free.

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