Indifferent Isn’t Different

 

 

He is an ‘indifferent wretch’

Ever heard this term

Or, somewhat more harshly,

Not even worth the sperm?

 

By the way,

This 'he' here could be 'she',

Not in terms of transgenderism

But speaking generically.

 

I needed to say that

Given the current gender confusion

Where they and them

Allows for inclusion.

 

To be on the safe side

You’d better use they and them

Or you might find yourself

With serious problems.

 

But back to the subject

Indicated by this topic:

Indifferent is not different

Is a wide scale habit.

 

Indifferent is a person

That could not care less,

As long as it does not touch him

To hell with the rest.

 

It used to be the term

That was used long ago,

However, these days it is ‘apathy’

As you and I know.

 

My mother would say

Someone is an indifferent varmint

Meaning useless, or roguish,

Or having evil intent.

 

Today, however,

It is not quite the same

Although, as we know, a rose is a rose

By any other name.

 

Considering these days

There is little ‘black and white’

And I don’t mean the race problem

Which is definitely not right.

 

 

I mean ‘right and wrong’

And ‘evil and good’

Where the lines have become so grey

We’re 'spinning top in mud’.

 

Going nowhere fast,

Or better still, going downhill,

And if one dares to object

It’s a bitter pill.

 

Ignoring the call to be different

We’d rather be indifferent,

Our silence being deafeningly loud

With pretentious intent.

 

A ‘sitting on the fence’

A non-committal either way,

Playing safe, as some would call it

And saving the day.

 

Like a general election

Where there is a low turnout,

No change in the political directorate

Because of mounting doubt.

 

It is, I am not sure anymore

What is black or white,

Everything is becoming greyed out

In the lessening light.

 

Soon it will all be dark

But that will be our light

And given the current trajectory

Wrong will be right.

 

A call to be different

Rather than just being indifferent,

Apathy is just what it is-

It does not make a difference.

 

As a matter of fact

Let me boldly insert here,

Negativity will grow unabated

On account of fear.

 

Fear of doing the right thing

Fear of being different,

As a matter of fact, it appears to me,

That is a cowardly bent.

 

 

Indifferent is not different,

It is more of the same

And particularly so when it is evil

And we are on the hell train.

 

Want to make a difference?

Shed apathy and indifference!

Stand up and be counted!

Be a positive influence!

 

Stewart Russell © April 13, 2023