Serving the Towns of Wawarsing, Crawford, Mamakating, Rochester and Shawangunk, and everything in between
(none)   
SJ FB page   
 

Gutter
Editorial
Countering Apathy

What's up with modern apathy? Even worse, why does everyone seem to find it okay to badmouth all our institutions? Do the two even fit together, except in some nightmarish description of modern ways? It's one thing to see major political candidates express disdain about the positions they're seeking, or the institutions they're looking to work with, or in some cases run. But to have so many denigrating ALL institutions, from education (daycare to graduate school) to all levels of government, from the necessity for politics in a democracy to the ways in which religions organize themselves... even the institution of marriage seems to be getting it from sides you wouldn't expect.

Which brings us to another one of these new reports we've been reading of late, trying to make sense of life. A new study from The Public Religion Research Institute found that, if you want your children to stay in church, it helps to stay with your spouse. The study found that 35 percent of people raised by divorced parents consider themselves religiously unaffiliated, compared to 23 percent of people whose parents were married for most of their childhood.

"Some researchers and theologians believe the strain of splitting a family can make it tough for kids to keep the faith," read an account of the study that we found online. "If they see the church fail to keep their parents together, they might not rely on it for other struggles they encounter in life."

Take that idea one step further and one's belief in the very idea of institutions starts to crumble. Things get worse if one's been in a family where jobs have been lost, moves made, or heaven forbid violence has erupted.

What do we do when the systems we rely on, most of them corporate-based at this point, fail or act badly? Think of the hidden charges our banks hit us with, or the ways in which we get gouged to be online, have telephone service, get heat for our homes, find what we like in the grocery store, or get decent healthcare without private insurers hiking costs while blaming it on the president.

How to battle all of this and maintain the levels of trust nations such as ours need to survive as originally designed? What does one do to keep communities from tearing at each, from neighborhoods to regions to an entire nation? Do we really need to blame each other, or the institutions we've built to make things work, because we refuse to think clearly, and deeply, about all the things affecting us in our complex world?

Here's what I suggest. Attend local meetings of your school and municipal boards. See how town or village planning sessions work. Even better, go up to Albany and walk the hallowed halls of our capitol; take the time to contact your Congressional representatives to get tickets for the House or Senate down in Washington, D.C. Best of all, visit the United Nations down in New York City and see just how busy the people working there are, come to try and make a better world from every nation on earth.

Even if you have your own religious institution, or none, try visiting other spiritual centers around your community. See what makes people click.

Most importantly, work on your relationships. Instead of letting anger or disappointment or simple boredom eat at your marriage, talk about things with your partner. Encourage your kids and other family members to converse about how they feel, what they want, what they don't want. Be able to face whatever pains and shyness it may take to get at this level of real communication, as well as the complex emotions and thoughts raised in all such instances.

Never face away from the terrible beauties of life, or mistake its fault lines as fated, or eternal. Find ways to maintain hope, while also assessing the mottled face reality always prsents when seen clearly.

And keep on reading: self help books, reports, news media beyond that you're used to, the stuff coming out of our institutions, as well as all the great poetry and fiction and music and art people have used to express themselves, and search for things better, since time began.

Watch all debates. And never don't vote.



Gutter Gutter
 
 


Gutter