Social Responsibility & Priority Management

Oh boy with a blog title like that, are you lot in for a TREAT!

Remember when you were growing up and the biggest dilemmas you faced were ‘Who IS the best Power Ranger?’, 'Sonic versus Mario’ and 'Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck?’

[Okay so the last one post-dates the previous by a good twenty years; but harks back to the days when you could genuinely devote playground logic to such things and not worry about what your mum is cooking you for tea].

Well it has come to my attention, that my world has moved on significantly since then - as I imagine has yours.

Thanks to the onslaught of global communication channels humanity is more 'aware’ of what is going on in the world today, than we have ever been.

Now that’s not to say we’re necessarily consciously taking it on board and rationalising it, because there is too much to take in, and take on.

But it is there. Such is the dynamic of the internet; it highlights millions and millions of bad situations that everyday people face, well - every day.

And how is that meant to make us feel?

Is that even a question that has been asked enough, since the internet age really took hold?

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When I started planning this article {they’re planned?! ~ Ed.} I wrote four current 'things’ up on my whiteboard:

• Emma Watson UN
• Ferguson
• HK protests
• Scottish Ref.

So I guess that puts those 'items’ at the tail end of September 2015.

And I think what I wanted to talk through was how each of those four points all merit “some” level of attention; Emma Watson had launched a campaign about Gender Equality; the Ferguson protests in the US whilst dropping off the mainstream media radar, still were not resolved (and - if my Tumblr output from Mr Wil Wheaton and others is accurate, is still ongoing today); Hong Kong were protesting about the perceived lack of democratic elections in the next few months/years; and the Scottish Referendum had just ultimately failed to give British politics/nationality a kick up the backside.

And what of all that?

What am I expected to do?

I think were I paid to write articles like this, on subjects like these, I would have spent a day at least on each of them, talking through them and getting to understand what lay at the heart of each - signing up to HeforShe.org and encouraging friends on Social Media to do the same, whilst highlighting some relevant examples that my target audience might relate to.

Ferguson I could have looked at the excellent commentaries provided by the Daily Show and Last Week Tonight, and musing on why the situation occurred in the US, and if it might occur in the UK. Or if an equivalent already has?

HK protests I would have looked more into the history of colonial rule, and how Britain’s ownership of Hong Kong may well have shaped their latest political dilemma.

And Scotland would have led to a general bemoaning of the state of British politics, my lack of involvement in how anything is run; and matters of the head over matters of the heart (which I suspect is what ultimately won it for the 'No’).

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Instead of these actions, I basically spent a few minutes going 'I am all for equal rights across the sexes, and of course all races, colours, creeds, etc.; Ferguson is hopefully an ugly turning point that will drive America to change their policing laws, but I doubt it - too little too late for a gun-friendly institution; Hong Kong I am all for fair democracy, but sorry I can’t really do anything to help; Scotland oh how close you were and I’m sure the 45% will be portrayed as being “wrong”, because sure nearly half a population are clearly “wrong” ¬_¬’…

Yep; I think that briefly sums up the thoughts that I had on those four topics.

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What I did there (and indeed practice to this day) was priority management of my social responsibility.

Okay, so I’m just quoting from my mid-year review at work (in part) - apparently I am quite good at priority management - making sure the Important & Urgent stuff gets done, before the Less Important and Less Urgent stuff gets sorted.

But isn’t that a skill we all have to have these days when confronted with the outside world in glorious high definition, plus comments!

At the end of the day (another clunky phrase picked up from my workplace!) everyone prioritises things differently - but usually stemming from a basic need (eating, moving, sleeping, etc.), then on top of that finding some form of monetary income, as well as catching up with family and friends; and then - just maybe then - addressing wider issues and things going on that maybe don’t affect you directly, but certainly in some way shape or form.

And there comes a point when there is almost a feeling of guilt for not taking these latter things on.

Which is where the phrase of Social Responsibility came into this blog title.

You can certainly argue that in a privileged and developed society that we certainly inhabit, there is a social responsibility to ensure some form of moral/ethical/above-all-fair conduct in the realms we inhabit.

So what if we are not doing this? Or at least actively participating in these things?

Is it 'wrong’ that I didn’t sign up to HeforShe.org? (I use 'wrong’ as a deliberately inflammatory sense, which is all too often the way 'wrong’ is deployed in these discussions).

Is it wrong that I haven’t written to my MP about the quality of care homes in my area?

Is it wrong that I haven’t - as a principled person in favour of absolute democracy - got on a plane, and joined the protesters of Hong Kong?

Obviously I am using reductio ad absurdum here - going from something I could quite easily have done, through something a little more time-consuming, but achievable; all the way to something that you could argue is beyond the call of social duty.

But what should I have done?

Again, I use my priority management skills to make a snap judgement on what 'things’ going on in my life need my attention, and what can wait.

Obviously there are thousand opportunities here to argue for one cause over another - but (like at work) I can only make a decision based on what is available to me at the time, and - sometimes - those decisions turn out wrong in retrospect.

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What is interesting is an extension of this bombarded lifestyle - worry that people don’t think I care about some issues. Which is obviously edging on paranoia.

But it is true to say that some causes want my attention/my support - and I haven’t given them the time:

GamerGate - Honestly, I am on the very periphery of what this means (I barely play just one game these days! [Space Engineers]); but I am sure an important issue is at heart.

StandUpToCancer - I only caught bits of last Friday’s Channel 4 show about what is undoubtedly a worthy cause; but did I go out drumming up funds? No. Yes, I donated at work; confirmed my controversial belief that we should fight disease and end all suffering(!), and moved on.

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Does it make me a bad person that I let these things pass myself by?

[Again, deliberately inflammatory language to fan the debate - I don’t subscribe to 'bad’/'good’/'wrong’/'right’ - but that’s for another article]

Obviously I don’t feel bad for skipping on these things; I have plenty of things to occupy myself with. And hopefully most of you who know me will agree I’m not an uncharitable person.

But maybe I’m incorrect on that - maybe these revelations about my lack of engagement in modern social issues lowers people’s views about me?

Whilst I don’t explicitly state it through causes, I am someone who thinks about these things at a certain level - but is that thinking enough?

[Again, I’m using deliberately challenging questions to self-interrogate, and to provoke a response/counter-question].

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Right at this moment in time, the external issue that I have some attention span for is summed up in this challenging video from John Green of vlogbrothers:

Now although it might feel like it, I’m not using this video as a 'denouement’ to say something like 'all of your issues are less important, because this one is much more fundamental’ - I promise you I’m not.

But as part of my priority management of every single thing that flies into my universe on an ad-hoc basis; this issue ranks pretty highly.

And I’m not just saying that to try and trump all of your equally valid causes - I’m saying that this is the cause that means most to me at the moment.

So much so I have started to think about taking a year or two out of my life, and basically going to Africa and building wells for people.

Now I’m pretty sure it isn’t anywhere as near as simple as that - I have done a bit of web-surfing to find out if that is even possible; but so far there doesn’t seem to be a direct route to doing that.

Would me physically moving to Somewhere In Africa for a few years, then doing the physical labour to help build a well - would that even help/make a difference? Or is giving money really the better way?

I’d much rather act in person, but I also want to get the best result.

So I think much more research on that front is required…

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As usual this post has gotten pretty long, and probably strayed from the point at various junctures.

But, please, let me know what you think. And I’ll also think some more.