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Julian Bell
Professor Shekhtman
Academic Writing
20 November 2016

How American Apathy has Poisoned Humanity

Millions of Americans are suffering from a contagious disease. Unlike the Ebola virus,
this epidemic is found in the human conscience. The United States is often regarded as a nation
of economic prosperity, yet other developing countries continue to lack the vital resources
necessary to promote their existence. Peter Singer, a world renowned ethicist, addresses this
issue of global poverty in his article, The Singer Solution to World Poverty. In his writing,
Singer urges his readers to give generously to those in need by proposing that the American
people discontinue their pattern of unnecessary spending. Singer further proposes ways in which
Americans can donate a portion of their income to charitable efforts. However, the needs of
other cultures cannot be considered unless apathy is first presented as a growing issue in
American society.

According to Singer, it is this lack of concern for others that prevents

Americans from saving the lives of impoverished people. This is especially profound because
this notion alludes to the reality that apathy is a greater issue than poverty since it is selfishness
that contributes to the continual degradation of the less fortunate. Similar to Singer, Tom Haines
also explores the issue of economic inequality. Haines, who is a travel writer for the Boston
Globe, recounts his time with an Ethiopian village in his article, Facing Famine. In his
writing, Haines expresses his personal feelings while watching a local village struggle in day- today living.

Both Haines and Singer effectively convey the realities that less privileged

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individuals must face. However, unlike Haines, Peter Singer compares the American readers to
child murderers since it is their apathetic nature that is essentially taking the lives of needy
children (and adults) worldwide.
Peter Singer effectively establishes the notion that being consciously aware of the
suffering of others, but refusing to act in order to incite change, is essentially murder. For
instance, in The Singer Solution to World Poverty, Singer makes a comparison to a fictional
character named Dora from the film Central Station. With the opportunity to earn some
money, Dora agrees to direct a young orphan boy to an address to be adopted. As Singer
recollects in his article, She delivers the boy, gets the money, spends some of it on a television
set and settles down to enjoy her new acquisition. Her neighbor spoils the fun, however, by
telling her that the boy was too old to be adopted - he will be killed and his organs sold for
transplantation. Perhaps Dora knew this all along, but after her neighbors plain speaking, she
spends a troubled night. In the morning Dora resolves to take the boy back(2). Through this
excerpt, Singer demonstrates how the American people are in a similar situation. As with Dora,
society is already aware that children are in need and are dying of starvation. Despite this
reality, Americans continue to spend money on luxury items as did Dora with her television.
Interestingly, Dora decided to take the boy back which demonstrates how there is a need as well
as an ability for people to change their ways by supporting the less fortunate. Through this
example, Singer effectively illustrates cultural apathy and its direct correlation with murder.
In his writing, Singer emphasizes the opportunity and the availability of resources that
exist in order to donate to charities. Firstly, in regards to opportunity, Singer incorporates a
similar example in the case of Bob who is a fictional character from the book Living High and

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Letting Die by philosopher, Peter Ugner. In this instance, Bob must choose between saving his
precious Bugatti or a child who is about to be struck by an oncoming train. Bob is provided with
the opportunity to change the trains course, but instead decides not to. As Singer states,
Thinking of his joy in owning the car and the financial security it represents, Bob decides not to
throw the switch. The child is killed. For many years to come, Bob enjoys his Bugatti and the
financial security it represents(3). This quote from Singers article highlights the greed and
wasted opportunity present in American culture. Bob decides to value his vehicle over a human
life and thus, forfeits the opportunity to save the child. This relates to how many Americans fail
to throw the switch and decide to dedicate a portion of their unnecessary spending to charitable
donations. Singer further states, Unlike Dora, too, he did not mislead the child or initiate the
chain of events imperilling him. In all these respects, Bobs situation resembles that of people
able but unwilling to donate to overseas aid and differs from Doras situation(3) Through this
example, Singer further illustrates the apathy and greed which is rooted in selfishness.
Furthermore, one who decides not to help those in need is actually contributing to the issue.
Perhaps one of Singers strongest moral argument lies in the fact that a majority should
not be followed, but instead led to a noble cause. For instance, in his article, Singer compares
the human tendency to follow the majority of society with the atrocities committed during the
Nazi regime. In doing so, Singer imagines that Bob is associated with other fictional characters
and determines whether it would be right for Bob to save his Bugatti in the case of the child if
everyone else did.

Singer answers this question in the following manner: To answer this

question affirmatively is to endorse follow-the-crowd ethics- the kind of ethics that led many
Germans to look away when the Nazi atrocities were being committed. We do not excuse them

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because others were behaving no better(4). Through this excerpt, the dangers as well as the
immoral nature of mindlessly following others are quite clear. Singer is against the American
notion of refusing to give simply because those around them do not seem to be doing so. In
other words, Singer encourages the reader to be a leader in charitable efforts instead of a
follower that promotes suffering and starvation.
Peter Singer concludes his writing by stating that each and every member of society is
inevitably in a position to save the lives of others. As Singer states in his article, When Bob
first grasped the dilemma that faced him as he stood by that railway switch, he must have
thought how extraordinarily unlucky he was to be placed in a situation in which he must choose
between the life of an innocent child and the sacrifice of most of his savings. But he was not
unlucky at all. We are all in that situation(6). This closing thought leaves a sense of urgency
with the reader. Singer conveys that during each and every moment, some child is without food
and is depending upon resources. Each time Americans choose to use their money for selfish
means, a life might be lost. Thus, Singer skillfully calls his readers out of secular apathy and
into moral action. As mentioned previously, some of Tom Hainess experiences directly relate to
Singers central position.
In Facing Famine, Haines recalls the guilt he experienced during his time in Ethiopia
which relates to the way that Singer wants Americans to feel in order to obliterate the apathetic
nature which contributes to global poverty. Unlike Singer, Haines is actually able to provide the
reader with the horrifying details that mark the realities of those occupying drought ridden land.
For instance, as Haines observes in his article, There is no turning back. Through the low,
narrow doorway, in the darkness that guards cool by day, heat by night, lies little Nurhusein (1).

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This excerpt from Hainess article illustrates a very gloomy living environment, specifically for
young Nurhusein and his mother who serve special significance to Hainess experience. This
imagery also seems to create an eternal sense of darkness which serves to symbolize a life
without hope in an impoverished region. Haines is furthermore able to provide the reader with a
clearer image of life in part of Ethiopia as he describes his experience in more detail: For four
nights, a photographer and I would sleep here, beneath open sky, then wake to wander this
village of 1,000 people. We would step into a schoolhouse, a clinic, and other thatch-roofed
huts, including the one that held Nurhusein(2). Through his personal experience, Haines is able
to effectively convey the desperate nature of the living environment for Nurhusein and his
mother without directly probing the reader to a specific action unlike the case with Singer.
Haines rather allows the situation to speak to the readers hearts and minds inevitably creating a
sense of sympathy or even guilt. This is especially crucial when considering how Haines feels
towards the end of his journey.
Towards the end of his article, Haines is left feeling empathetic towards Nurhusein and
his family, especially when considering his very own child back at home. However, Haines
seems to feel more guilty about the security associated with his own child compared to
Nurhusein. As Haines states in his writing, I stand before Nurhusein and start to cry. Is it
empathy? I have a 10- month-old son, a spirited boy with muscles across his back and a quick
laugh. Or am I crying from fear? In the hot sun, looking from hut to hut, from face to face, the
problem was always too vast. I stare at Nurhusein. I cannot look again into his mothers eyes
(5). Perhaps this is the most profound portion of Hainess writing. He is evidently feeling
helpless and more so, he is unable to look into the eyes of Nurhuseins mother.

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demonstrates a feeling of intense guilt. After Hainess journey, he understands that he will be
able to return to his comfortable life with his family while a baby and their mother will be left
alone in impoverished land. This tends to incite both empathy and sympathy from the reader
similar to what Haines experienced and although Singer did not create this atmosphere, both of
these writers present a common theme.
As both Peter Singer and Tom Haines have alluded to, apathy is the enemy to
progression. Singer incites his readers to change their ways while Haines touches the human
heart and soul through personal experience and imagery. However, both writers tend to share a
sense of responsibility in regards to the suffering of children in the world. It is then, likely that
not only the American people, but everyone should make strides to care about the less fortunate
around them. The next step is to take action. This progression can begin in a single community
in the United States or across the plains of Africa. In every nation and every land, there is
someone in need and as Singer has explained, it is often a matter of simply calling a number to
make a donation.

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Works Cited
Haines, Tom. Facing Famine . Boston.com, 20 Apr. 2003,
archive.boston.com/travel/articles/2003/04/20/facing_famine/?page=full.
Singer, Peter. The Singer Solution To World Poverty. The New York Times, 4 Sept. 1999,
www.nytimes.com/1999/09/05/magazine/the-singer-solution-to-world-poverty.html.