I find myself increasingly disillusioned with society and with my peers. In my classes, I feel like there is a lack of focus on important issues and my attempts to provoke conversations on current affairs in the world and how they should be dealt with, specifically in terms of race, domestic policy, and global issues. I feel as if moving on to higher education will not be worth it. I feel if I were to apply myself to some field and envelop myself in my work that it would allow free-loaders to succeed and ride my coattails. I feel as if my peers are rats who lie about their feelings and their interests. They’ll argue that they care very much for social issues such as global minorities facing persecution (the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, the Sudanese) yet they never say anything about these issues unless prompted by me. Furthermore, those conversations are one-sided and ephemeral because they quickly grow bored discussing issues they don’t care about. Should I continue to pursue personal goals?
One of the things that stand out from your email is that you seem to be expressing a contradiction. You call your peers boring freeloaders, liars, and rats all the while espousing how deeply you care about how people around the world are being unfairly judged and mistreated. Yes, pursue your goals of higher education. You’ll learn that each of us has different gifts, limitations, and abilities As you have a passion for current affairs dealing with race, domestic policy, and global issues you may want to try to understand your peers rather than judge and dismiss them as unworthy or unable.
To quote the Dalai Lama, “We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.”
Wishing you patience and peace,
Dr. Dan
