BellaOnline Forums News and Politics Human Rights The Most Critical Issue in Human Rights Today is..

Vote for your own choices here, and comment if you care to.

What is the most critical issue facing Human Rights today? multiple choice
	The Conflict in Darfur
	The War in Iraq
	Religion/Politics
	Intolerance
	Ignorance
	Apathy
	President Bush
	Other
Votes accepted starting: 09/20/06 04:48 PM You must vote before you can view the results of this poll.

Geez...there are so many. This is hard.

I think we need an all of the above option! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

It is. It stemmed from my own questioning things, and I thought - who better to ask than a lot of smart people?

And good call, Kris.

<img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I personally voted for ignorance. I think most of the other ones fall under my view of ignorance. I know from talking to people that they are apathetic or intolerant most times because they don't know or understand the issues at hand.

I voted for intolerance, but on second thoughts, I think you may be right, Judith....

What creates apathy - now /there's/ the $24,000 question.

My first inclination is ignorance, but fear seems a fairly neck and neck, despite any seeming contradiction.

We may know that it's morally repugnant to hate a specific race of people and ignorance may contribute to why some people do even knowing that it's ethically unsound. But even educating people (think Diversity training in this day and age of PC communication) doesn't seem to decrease prejudice or increase involvement.

Barring the weakness of the average will to make those sorts of determinations from a center of thinking for ones self, it seems that fear contributes greatly to the choice of simply being apathetic to a cause.

So then, is apathy really not caring, or just choosing not to?

I think you're right - fear does play a big role. And also when there is so much in our lives that adds to depression, anxiety, stress, etc - at the end of the day many of us say, "I just don't want to think about that right now". And right now becomes never.

Does it matter where the apathy stems from? Aren't these one and the same? Seems as if the problem is how to stir folks out of it.

It does from the perspective of seeing it as a symptom rather than the disease.

Treat the symptom, the underlying disease still exists. But find a way to eliminate the disease and health is restored.

Semantics, perhaps. Either way, yes - it needs to be obliterated in the end.