I should precede this post with a disclaimer: I am an American woman, I am a social scientist (in training), and I want to help people in other parts of the world.
Lately, staking out this position has meant submitting oneself to a firing squad of proud hipster cynics. Because my country -- its political leaders, its private sector, even its celebrities -- has done a lot of damage in the world, my position is seen as naive, selfish, or both. I should clarify: I am not seeking your sympathy. It doesn't suck to be me. I own the shame of coming from a country that has killed, tortured, and destroyed livelihoods. That sucks, but it sucks immeasurably more for the victims of these tragedies. I can deal with the hipsters, don't you worry.
I should also say that I don't think I am any better than you, or anyone, for that matter. Maybe you are someone who doesn't prioritize helping people in other parts of the world -- you prefer to focus on your family or your local community, where you feel you are most needed or can have the most impact. That's cool. I am glad we both exist.
The way many in my generation deal with the shame of bearing witness to the horrible things going on in the world is by self-atomizing into a landscape of honed and sharpened blades of snarky and incisive critique. (Or at least, that's what we like to think we are doing. "Yeah! I'm incisive!") Unfortunately, this only adds up to a universal feeling of despair. We tell the stories of those with naively good intentions, or worse, with naive and self-serving intentions, who say that they are going to "save the world" and end up failing or making it worse. "Look at the cultural imperialist," we say. "Look at the neoconservative", "look at the liberal interventionist," "look at the corrupt investor." Look at the Westerner who pokes and prods people in the developing world so that he or she can sleep at night feeling like a humanitarian who has served the greater good. Or so that he or she can sleep at night knowing they'll be rich the next day. "How does that person sleep at night?" [Pats self on back for pointing out other's hypocrisy; lies in bed staring at the ceiling feeling mysteriously unfulfilled.] How do any of us sleep at night?
There is an important wave of thought that claims that good intentions are not enough, and sometimes well-meaning interventions by "the West" into the "developing world" backfire in ways that could have been predicted had we been a little more thoughtful. This is often true. It is also critical to note that many people in positions of power are more purely motivated by personal gain than improving outcomes for others. To me, there is a categorical difference between those who can sleep at night because they believe they did something good for others (however accurate that belief may or may not be) and those who can sleep at night because they believe they personally profited. I am sure there is a rich ethical debate to be had here, but that's my simplistic opinion for now.
In any case, to avoid becoming either of these stereotypes -- the naive and reckless humanitarian or the greedy and exploitative profiteer -- should we simply spend our lives watching human-made crises unfold and drag on? We Westerners shouldn't presume to know what's best for "other" people and "other" cultures. Sure. But how about we humans think about what's best for our fellow humans? It seems we can agree on some basics: like, man-made famine is bad. Destruction of livelihoods for those who already possess the least is bad. Kidnapping, raping, and torturing are bad. The pill that I refuse to swallow is that we, as humans, cannot do anything about these human-inflicted tragedies. The entrepreneurial maxim that it is better to try and fail than to never try may not always apply. Sometimes, trying and failing makes things worse. But what about when there is a positive probability that you might try to make things better and succeed? It seems unrealistic to insist that such situations do not exist. Alternatively, we may be doomed to keep making the same mistakes, but we all share the blame for that -- including those of us who have chosen to sit back and disengage.
P.S. Thanks to my friend Suby for passing along this piece on the destructive role of irony in art, but also in broader society. Read it. Basically, David Foster Wallace said all of the above, but better.
P.P.S. This is a blog, which means I didn't think much, I just wrote it. Please tell me I'm wrong.
