IT'S OKAY TO CARE

I don't believe people online anymore when they tell me that they 'don't care' about something. People wield it like a weapon. I see it too much.

I'm not impressed by the phrase, 'I don't care.'
I'm not impressed by how, when someone gets backed into a corner, they so frequently accuse the other person of 'caring', as if it's some sort of slur. It's not.
I'm not impressed by internet cynic acts. You don't look cool.

There is this prevailing sentiment that to 'care' about a thing is a grave weakness in the ~*~*oh-so-toughguy*~*~ world of the internet. I'll be frank! That's dumb.

Things don't get done in a world where people don't care. Progress is not made. The individual does not improve themselves. The vast majority of the time, seeing people pepper their speech or posts with the phrase I don't care, or realizing that the concept is the foundation of their online persona just elicits a headshake from me. It's like a litmus test for insecurity, a white flag of sorts.

It doesn't make you look like a jaded, cosmopolitan traveler of the world. It doesn't make you Clint Eastwood. It makes you look like your ability to defend your beliefs and assertions is so staggeringly weak that you've given up on it entirely.

Screw having to defend my beliefs when I can just make the other person look like a simpering dork for even caring, right? I mean, gosh, defending myself on the basis of ideas requires all this creative problem-solving and critical thinking, that's so hard when I can just hurl meaningless accusations at people that are, for some reason, accepted, even though they would be seen as absurd in any other context.

When conversations - even contentious ones - amount to two seven-year-olds standing on the playground and shouting,

"I DON'T CARE!"
"YOU DO! I DON'T CARE MORE!"
"I DON'T CARE HARDER!"

That's not a suave victory. That's sad. And all of the people who would admire you for it are sad, too.

It's okay to care about things. I usually post because I care. I go to school because I care. I run because I care, I draw because I care. Why else would I bother?

I'm secure in that. I hope that some day in the future, when the internet is so mainstreamed that the shine of acting like an old-school troll has worn off, people will realize how dumb it looks.

Don't be a sheeple. Be honest about your motives. Stand up for your ideas.

^{as always, stamp template can be found here.}