America is at one of those rare political moments when it gets to stare some ugly truths in the face and do something about them.
Change is hard. Changing habitual behavior is harder. The racists don't want to stop police violence against black men. The anti-gay religious movement doesn't want to stop violence and discrimination against the LGBT community. The war hawks and America-first patriot zealots don't want to stop torture. The NRA doesn't want to prevent gun violence against kids. And on and on. The haters just don't want to stop hating.
And what is the one thing that helps keep the status quo? Fear? Loathing? No - it's indifference. When you live in the world of bigotry, violence, bad behavior and warped justifications, indifference is on your side. For the schmucks, morons and Cretans of the world it frequently seems to ride to your rescue.
For all the ugliness out there, in some ways indifference is the ugliest of all. Here are just a few examples. I'm sure you can think of more:
The take down and murder of Eric Garner is some of the most horrifying video I have ever seen. But have you seen the video of the aftermath? Garner is clearly dead (or dying) and everybody else - including the EMS team sent to the scene - are not even concerned, let alone performing triage on him. The lack of respect they show Mr. Garner as they put him on the gurney - finally - is outrageous. This screaming indifference is just as bad as the actions that put him in that position in the first place.
Now we hear that from witnesses testifying before the grand jury impaneled for that case that jurors were not paying attention. The man who shot the video said he was in the room for 10 minutes and people not only didn't ask questions - they were on their cell phones and filing their nails.
Indifference to the rescue.
Bill O'Reilly made sure to bring out numbers and take the humanity right out of this situation. Did we realize that only x-number of these incidents happen yearly. That's right - even though each one is an individual and a lost loved one to numerous others, if we just look at the numbers.... well, indifference means you get to make your point no matter how much it dehumanizes the people involved.
Michael Brown's body laid in the street where he was shot and killed for hours. Hours! And all the while the police who killed him stood around and did nothing. Attempts to revive or medically work on him? Nope. Couldn't move him because of lack of equipment? Nope. Active crime scene investigation? Not really. Michael Brown laid there thanks to indifference. The same indifference that had the Ferguson Police Chief, Mayor, etc. never, ever reach out to his family. The shooter apologized - eventually, but only after he wasn't indicted by the grand jury. Clearly he just didn't care.
And, indifference is the mistress of police chiefs who hold a press conference to respond to said murder by releasing a video tape of the victim (maybe) stealing from a convenience store (not a capital crime last time I checked).
Indifference is what allows the NRA to respond to the murder of dozens of innocent primary school children (not to mention the violence against children before or since) and release a lame press release supporting their status quo while condemning all of the actions called for by the parents of the dead children at the same time - before some of those children were even mourned and buried.
And, if indifference is the mistress of small minds, it is also the Republican party's bitch:
Ron Paul gets up during a Presidential debate and says that if somebody opts out of the private health insurance system, then they should suffer the consequences. Then somebody in the audience screams "Let him die." Others cheer and applaud.
Government shouldn't take taxes to help other people who need it. That's not fair. It's your money. Why should you share to help the 47% who are on the dole and plan to stay that way? Screw those in need.
Children brave the dangers of a thousands-mile journey in severe heat to escape violence and political persecution and come to the US. Many die or are severely injured on the way. Some are raped and molested. The immigration system is taxed to process these kids and give them the chance to ask for asylum. The GOP? They want to know why the kids aren't being sent back to where they came from even faster.
This is an old problem for the GOP. Back in the 1980's and 1990's, when South Africa was still in the grips of apartheid, thousands of non-white South Africans were dying at the hands of the government, and progressives were pushing for any US action that would push that government to end apartheid - conservatives were all about letting them be. South Africa was stable they argued, it was a bastion of anti-communism during the cold war, and therefore we should leave them alone. They even came up with a term for pretending to hope to change the government when they were - ready for it - indifferent to the plight of the non-white South Africans: Constructive Engagement.
Like racism, fear and ignorance, indifference is another way humanity gets in the way of itself. Indifference, however, is still socially acceptable as an emotion, a behavior, and - most of all - an excuse for doing the wrong thing.
It is also important for those of us seeking change and an end to the bad behavior to remember that indifference comes with a powerful weapon in the face of protest, lobbying, civil and political action. It takes the form of 3 simple words: "Let's move on." The response has been and still is equally powerful: "We shall not be moved."