APATHY QUOTES III
quotations about apathy
Slums may well be breeding-grounds of crime, but middle-class suburbs are incubators of apathy and delirium.
CYRIL CONNOLLY
The Unquiet Grave
Neither love nor terror makes one blind: indifference makes one blind.
JAMES BALDWIN
If Beale Street Could Talk
Apathy is the great requisite for the station; for woe betide the wretch who fancies any modicum of zeal.
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
Homeward Bound; Or, The Chase
Our political apathy is the only reason a candidate so brash and callous could make headlines day after day. Grown adults smirked and shook their heads as young people turned to comedy for their news, as if the degradation of democracy by our parents' complacency was not the primary reason for our distrust of the media. These are the same young people who, in turn, reduced political discourse to memes and clickbait, making an instant celebrity of any public figure capable of eliciting the sort of shock needed to garner attention in a 24/7 media orgy of reality TV and journalistic sensationalism.
RAGHAV SHARMA
"The Donald we deserve", America Blog, March 10, 2016
Large scale apathy is a poison for democracy and leads to a loss of government accountability, so increased voter turn-out is essential. People tend to gain interest as they age, and student apathy is definitely not a new issue. Local elections are a great way to start, because they have local immediate personal impact and are often decided by hundreds instead of hundreds of thousands of votes.
WESTON BELL
"Final day of early voting hits campus community", University of Tennessee Daily Beacon, February 23, 2016
No, it's a sign of the democracy that's anemic. It's a sign that people just know the system is rigged. It's a sign that they know big money dictates and shapes the destiny of the government and the society. Unfortunately, the dominant response is one of staying away rather than trying to participate and reshape it. So we can understand, in a certain sense, the apathy, but the apathy is in no way justified. We've got to participate, not just in the ballot box, but, as Sister Melina says, we've got to hit the streets. We've got--we have to have organizing and mobilizing and have to be willing to go to jail. And some of us, actually, have to be willing to die.
CORNEL WEST
"Bernie, Hillary or Revolution in the Streets? Cornel West, Dolores Huerta & Black Lives Matter Debate", Democracy Now, March 9, 2016
What is called "apathy" is, I believe, a feeling of helplessness on the part of the ordinary citizen, a feeling of impotence in the face of enormous power. It's not that people are apathetic; they do care about what is going on, but don't know what to do about it, so they do nothing, and appear to be indifferent.
HOWARD ZINN
Huffington Post, Jan. 28, 2010
In sullen apathy neither true wisdom nor true happiness can be found.
HUME
attributed, Day's Collacon
The current apathy is a recipe for more apathy.
AMY DREIBELBIS FAIRWEATHER
"Chuck Sweeny: Rebranding Freeport for future growth", Freeport Journal Standard, February 28, 2016
Apathy is the direct opposite of energy; and while it is an all-year-round disease, it is most prevalent in the hot months of July, August and September.
ANONYMOUS
The Magazine of Wall Street, Aug. 21, 1920
Even extreme grief may ultimately vent itself in violence--but more generally takes the form of apathy.
JOSEPH CONRAD
Heart of Darkness
It's a disease. Nobody thinks or feels or cares any more; nobody gets excited or believes in anything except their own comfortable little God damn mediocrity.
RICHARD YATES
Revolutionary Road
Many of the policies promoted at the local level are often very technical, which makes it quite easy to get lost in the details as research about policies are being done, and this technical nature of these policies is another reason why many voters tend to sit out these local elections. Their apathy is rational, not ignorant. If people are unable to understand the details of a given policy issue, it would be rational for them to not pay attention to local politics at all, but I am imploring people to not take this approach. Learning about these issues can be tough, but local politics is where the impact of your vote is the most palpable. You can see the new sidewalk being built; you can see the new textbooks your school has received; you can see a library being built for your community. These are just some of the benefits of being cognizant of your local politics.
JACOB PIERCE
"Trump isn't the only one you should pay attention to", Vanderbilt Hustler, February 24, 2016
It's enthusiasm, not apathy, that makes the world go 'round.
TONY ALESSANDRA
Charisma
Apathy borders upon folly.
PUBLIUS SYRUS
attributed, Day's Collacon
Beneath our communal apathy is the burbling outrage of students, parents and teachers, all searching for someone to blame. In our frustration we pass responsibility onto one another and are surprised when nothing changes.
BRENDAN FREEMAN
"Franklin County graduation rates are a symptom", Tallahassee Democrat, March 5, 2016
Presumably, apathy is the greatest danger to truly representative political systems; without the vote, with blind choice, or with one choice, the representative character of democracy is lost.
HERBERT I. LONDON
Social Science Theory: Structure and Application
I am not a victim. I am alive, wide awake and free from the numbness of apathy.
ROKELLE LERNER
Daily Affirmations
No one seems to care about apathy. There's a lack of interest, probably because it doesn't seem important. The general consensus is it's nothing to get emotional about. Let's face it, people are apathetic about apathy.
BOB PARASILITI
"Games show that sometimes we still care", Mail Media, February 21, 2016
Apathy is the capitulation of personhood, the refusal to grow, to become who we really are. It is the ultimate cop-out -- the insistence that things will never change, so why should we.
ALBERT J. LACHANCE
Cultural Addiction: The Greenspirit Guide to Recovery