As someone in the US it’s so easy to see so many depressing issues from the ravages of capitalism, to war, imperialism, and genocide. How can one care about these issues and hope for change without allowing themselves to be affected mentally?

I’ve been considering this for the past week, connecting it with Buddhist compassion towards the world and a need for mindfulness. But it’s so easy to fall into emotionlessness.

I’ve also thought through the world has always had issues and though some are getting much worse some are getting better.

I have gone to counseling before but they just make it an individual problem when it’s the world.

Edit: doesn’t have to be US centric. Just I’m writing from that pov

  • 1984@lemmy.today
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    7 days ago

    Just go to a poor country like Peru. You will start to appreciate what you have.

    • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      OP didn’t ask about appreciating what they have. And silencing criticism of bad by contrasting it against worse is never helpful.

      That’s some “fiNiSh yOur pLaTe bEcaUsE kiDs aRe sTaRviNg in aFriCa!!1!” shit.

      • Achyu@lemmy.sdf.org
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        7 days ago

        Don’t waste food is a decent general point tho(assuming that the food is decent).

        But yeah, dealing criticism, that is meaningful, with ‘lack of appreciation’ doesn’t fix stuff.

        • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
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          7 days ago

          100%, but eating food when you’re already full is still wasting it, it’s just doing so in a way that’s damaging to your health; and no part of that is helping starving children in Africa, so that whole line is a pretty good showcase of an asinine kneejerk non-solution to multiple problems. Same energy as “gO to pErU” in response to a complaint about an unrelated problem somewhere better off than Peru.