Topic of Choice (1)- Jamie Englert

For several years, I have been a fan of Bob Dylan and his influence on the music industry throughout the decades. My favorite songs have included “Hurricane,” “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” “Like a Rolling Stone” and finally “Blowing in the Wind.” Many of his songs, including theses few, deal with his personal relationships, various social issues and political controversies. I’ve always particularly loved the rhetorical questions he raises in “Blowing in the Wind,” especially those regarding man’s apathy toward suffering:
“How many times must a man look up, before he sees the sky? And how many ears must one man have, before he can hear people cry? And how many deaths will it take till we know, that too many people have died? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind.”
This song never ceases to make me stop and think. There is so much suffering and tragedy in the world and I think there are several reasons why is continues. People often feel helpless to do anything, thinking their contribution won’t matter or they believe that someone else will take care of it. This is similar to the psychological concept of diffusion of responsibility. The world has over six billion people in it, so human tendency is to assume that other people in our massive population will help. But if everyone assumes the same thing, is anything actually getting done? Some may also simple ignore the problem, which is even worse. Overlooking something does not mean it isn’t there. Apathy can be considered worse than actually causing the misery these people are going through. Starvation, human trafficking, child soldiers, AIDS, suicide bombers, homelessness are just a few of the horrific things happening in our world. So to reference Dylan, How long is it going to take for people to put an end all of this? What needs to happen so that people get serious about taking action? How many deaths is too many?