A call to the innocent
When Oppenheimer headed the first atomic explosion in Los Alamos, New Mexico in the 1940s he started a chain reaction that would finally culminate in the last decade of possible innocence - the 1990s. Today the plethora of immensely available, diverse viewpoints are literally at the fingertips of anybody with unfiltered internet access.
The destructive power - and inversely the positive possibilities - of an individual has never been so manifestly global. As satellites slowly provide those in remote areas of the world unlimited information and micro-loans tie even the smallest of revenue sources into the larger economy it is increasingly difficult to maintain a level of sheltered autonomy. Our actions affect other people. The data that conveys the larger impact of collective individual choices is readily available. Innocence is involuntary ignorance. Voluntary ignorance - the type that many (most?) economically-enabled conscious adults choose in industrialized countries - is simple cowardice. It’s not that people have to live in isolation, it’s that people choose to.
Those that do engage don’t have to be bleeding-heart liberals, they can cultivate the strength that comes from bringing together compassion and wisdom to make the choices to make small positive impacts in their immediate communities - friends and family. It’s not about being Ghandi or Martin Luther King but understanding that small actions have residual implications that contribute to a larger whole. The aforementioned men understood that their strength lie not in their individual will but the collection of people that made their community a movement. All movements matter regardless of size - whether they be positive or negative.
The isolated choose not to take part. They are not innocent. They are implicated by their simple inaction.
