The safeguard of apathy...

In reading Bigelow and Peterson's text Rethinking Globalization, only chapter one at this point, several things stuck out. B & P are good at throwing out major issues around globalization. Several of these are not easy to swallow -- I'm a pretty good consumer, and I will admit to having shopped at Wal-Mart. Here's my excerpt, where I recognize the difficulty of embracing some of the things B&P bring up:

A final idea is this: “A big dilemma for any teacher who encourages students to examine injustice is that it can tend to engender hopelessness and cynicism. If we are not careful, we can easily paint such a bleak picture of the world’s problems that all appear hopeless” (p. 26). I do not just worry about this for my students – I very much worry about it for myself. When I reach a point where I feel as though there is not much I can do personally, I can then justify apathy. Lifelong, this has been a safeguard hard-wired into my brain (possibly related to a propensity towards pessimism). With global issues in particular this has often been what I have resorted to. Despite urgings of hopeful stories, comrades inclined towards social justice, and an incredibly supportive upbringing – retreating away from global issues is most certainly the chosen path of least resistance for me. Avoiding activism on the issues we have read about, for lack of tangible or easy ways to be active, seems very comfortable for me. Overcoming this common apathy becomes a challenge for me personally first, and then helping students overcome the same hurdles second.

Thar she be. :)