Aren't we called to at least care?

A few weeks ago I was having a very casual conversation with a few people about something we heard on the news, and someone involved in said conversation informed us that she never watches the news because it depresses her. I certainly understand this - it is easy to watch coverage of people dying in Iraq, human rights abuses in Burma, children starving in Africa, and yet another school shooting in our backyard and get overwhelmed. There are certainly days where I would rather turn on a Friends re-run or watch a silly movie than learn about another tragic, desperate, or horrifying event that has occurred that day. It is hard to watch these things and not feel helpless and profoundly sad.

But this person took it a step further. "I have enough to worry about and be depressed about here; those things happen so far away."

This blows my mind, mainly because I know this is the attitude of so many Americans, regarding issues both abroad and domestic (and of course, at times, I have fallen into this attitude as well). True - we may not have been to the places in question, and we certainly don't know the people whose lives these events impact. But don't we have a responsibility to know and more importantly to care, about what is going on in places that, at first glance, have no impact on us because they're across an ocean or under a highway? Even if we can't do anything to help the situation or alleviate the pain or feed that child while we sit in our living rooms, shouldn't we at least know that such pain exists?

If for no other reason than to be reminded daily of how incredibly blessed and fortunate we are to have been born to American parents and to have had opportunities, I think that we do need to know. I just as easily could have been born in a country called Sudan or to a poverty-stricken family in New Orleans, in which case I might be one of those children on the television whose plight is too depressing to think about or pray for. Even on a local level, I believe that we should be informed so that we can at least converse with the people around us, if not get involved and be active in our communities (again, not pointing fingers because I have not done this like I should).

I'm not saying that everyone needs to be a news junkie and know every single current event on a daily basis (I definitely don't), or that we should be ashamed of watching things like American Idol (or The Bachelor, or The Hills) to escape from our day, because I of all people am completely guilty of that. I definitely do not read as much as I should or pray as much as I should for the problems humanity faces on such a huge level. I'm also not saying that people who don't pay attention to current events don't care about others, because that is certainly not true...but shouldn't we at least be aware? Maybe it's important because that attitude can so easily sneak its way into our everyday lives to the point where we are not even aware of the problems facing the homeless person down the street.

I believe in my heart that God cares deeply about all people, so why shouldn't we?

Off soapbox. What do you think? Am I rambling unnecessarily?