How To Care (And Show It) In A World Where Most People Don't Seem To Care (Or At Least Want To Appear That They Don't Care In Order To Be "Cool" ....

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How to care (and show it) in a world where most people don't seem to care (or at least want to appear that they don't care in order to be "cool" or whatever) without feeling like a complete moron.

What does it mean to care? The last time I was a student, I remember having a long, long study session with a group of friends for a particularly big test. Later, when we received our grades for that test, one friend who did not do well said, "You know what? I don't care anyway. I don't. I don't care."

Obviously, he cared.

Not caring, lots of times, is a form of protection. If you don't care you can't be upset. So, in some ways it's a sign of weakness.

What does it mean to be cool (or whatever)? Well, we know what it means to "lose you cool". It means to either get angry, sad, or scared and to show it. Being cool, on the other hand, generally means maintaining you composure at all times, being in charge of the situation, being unfazed.

But there are other levels to "coolness". Being cool also means being someone that others look up to, someone that they want to emulate. And who wants to emulate someone who doesn't care about anything? Nobody does.

In a nation that is constantly medicating itself to smooth off the edges of its emotions, we need more and more people who genuinely do care. We need people who care for each other, care for the future, and care for fairness.

I really don't think anybody is going to fault you for that.

(Of course, I suppose there is the possibility of caring too much. Like the guy who cares about winning so much that he explodes when losing. Or the person who cares so much about her own state of constant comfort that she fusses and complains and ruins an event for everybody. Or the person who cares so much about his own beliefs that he kills others who don't agree with him.)

In all things moderation.

What we really need to work on is the last part of the question: "…without feeling like a complete moron". That's the rub.

The ultimate level of coolness is confidence. When someone is entirely confident of themselves, of their position in life, of their appearance, etc, then they are eternally cool. There is no way around it.

If you are worried about feeling like a moron, then you have lost your confidence and something else must be going on. You must care too much about how others judge you. You have to learn to not care.

Wait a minute. What?