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Someone once asked me why I was so ignorant and apathetic. I told him, "I don't know and I don't give a damn." But, seriously, apathy is a real problem in our society.

Hotel Rwanda is a movie that delves deeply into the apathy the West shows towards the blacks of Africa. The movie is set in 1994 at a time when the Hutus were taking over Rwanda and slaughtering hundreds of thousands of Tutsis in the process. One scene, to me, said much about how white people in the west really react to such genocide in a far away continent like Africa.

In the scene, Paul (Don Cheadle) is in the process of talking to the local U.N. commander of the area, played by Nick Nolte. The U.N. has ordered its soldiers in Rwanda out of the country and has ordered them to refrain from interfering by fighting the Hutus. Paul has been able to protect about 1200 Tutsis by shuffling them to a sanctuary camp when he can get them away from the European-owned hotel he operates for the owners.

The U.N. officer, Nolte, is getting drunk at the hotel bar with only him and Paul present. Paul asks the officer if the Tutsis can expect help from the West anytime soon. The officer breaks it to Paul that the white people from the west are not coming. When Paul asks him why, the officer sadly says, "Because you are black."

This is it! As long as some terrible catastrophe is occurring far away and to people of another race, we don't seem to get too alarmed for any period of time. We may feel heart-ache at seeing the terrible genocide that occur in Africa and Asia, but we seem to get over it in time for a good night's rest. We don't give the murder of a million Africans as much thought as we do the discomfort we feel from a single bump in our own lives.

Personally, I have watched Blood Diamond twice and I am more concerned about not having another kidney stone attack than I am about that entire country. And, I consider myself a good and moral person. The problem I suffer is that I am introspective and truthful also.

I guess the question to be asked is: What do we do about this apathy? I hate that particular part of myself and really wish I could be more caring and active. But, I seem to go along and let our government send over troops for the U.N. and a pittance of money for the people. I watch the movies and read the books and then go back to walking my dogs.

Apathy can exist even with a normally caring person or people. What I, and others, need to do is get involved. At the very least, we need to call and write our governmental representatives and express our concern with the genocide, natural disasters and collateral damage (read: murder of innocents) in wars, all of which take the lives of millions in foreign lands and leave many more lame, ill and homeless. Could we at least try?

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