Apathy dominates Generation Y

It all started this summer at a benefit concert, raising money for Zimbabwe, in New York…. It all started this summer at a benefit concert, raising money for Zimbabwe, in New York. From an obstructed-view section in Madison Square Garden, I watched thousands of obliviously privileged 18- to 25-year olds cheer for a country they couldn’t locate on a map. The band shamelessly tossed around an African youth dance group like they were animals on “The Tonight Show,” and at the end of the night, everybody felt like they had all done some good.

Outside the venue, I watched in disgust as a group of people I recognized from the concert laughed and pointed at a homeless man trying to sleep on the sidewalk. These people, who just minutes before had pledged with their fellow fans to end world hunger and poverty, were now shoving camera phones in the face of a man personifying these problems,

Without the courage to stop this atrocious act, I kept on my way to the subway and made it home safely to my bed. Lying awake, I finally came to a conclusion to something that has been hanging over my head for so long.

We’re all screwed.

The concert was no isolated incident. Look at the world right now – everything is a mess. I’m not even talking about politics. I’m talking about culture and ethics. We, as a species, have dug such a deep moral hole that it will be a wonder to see if our great-great-grandkids will have the solid footing to pull themselves out.

People have never cared less about other people. For every deep-pocketed philanthropist who donates computers to schools or builds hospitals for the less-fortunate, there are plenty more disgustingly rich people who’d much rather compete over whose guesthouse has the biggest yacht. American soldiers once fought for capitalism, but now we all act as if gross materialism is a basic right.

This phenomenon has now found its way into sports. One of the most widely used metaphors for life, the influence of athletics, has always spanned past the playing field. Athletes are supposed to be super-human public heroes, from the first Olympians in Athens to Carl Lewis running down Hitler in Berlin. Now, however, we get to watch as one of the most popular athletes in the U.S. is convicted of brutalizing helpless dogs. Well, at least he wasn’t using steroids.

The arts aren’t doing much better. In cinema, taste and class have dwindled, while cheap laughs and special effects take center stage. There were days in which films like “Casablanca” and “Gone With the Wind” graced the big screen. The best movie out right now, while hilarious, is nothing more than a two-hour compilation of penis jokes.

So what are we supposed to do? We could be Bruce Willis’ character in “Pulp Fiction,” who, despite freeing himself from the evil gimp, found it somewhere in his heart to go back into the dungeon of sodomy and help a man in a very uncomfortable position. Or, we could give up like the guy at the end of “Dawn of the Dead” and just let the moral zombies devour our flesh. Even easier, we can sit back and wait for Kanye West to magically show up in a 747 and save the day.

This needs to be fixed before it’s too late. Decades from now, how will we be remembered? Who will be our Beethoven? Who will be our Cicero? What about our Muhammad Ali? Is everybody else OK with leaving this world with a legacy of 50 Cent, Al Gore and Ron Artest?

I’m just as lost as all of you. When I saw these kids making fun of the homeless man, I got scared. I walked away. I didn’t help. I tried going on with my life as if it had never happened. I’m just as morally corrupt as the next guy, but at least I see the need for change. The first step to recovery is admitting that there is a problem.

The scene in front of Madison Square Garden has haunted me for a long time, but with a little social education and some elbow grease, similar situations can cease to exist. We all just need to help each other.

And a little Kanye wouldn’t hurt.

Join the cause. E-mail Sam at seg23@pitt.edu.