“Overcome” addresses the Flint Water Crisis, part of The Quench Project.

I find it appalling that we have forgotten Haiti. It is astounding how quickly the child sexual abuse epidemic has fallen off our radar. It’s horrendous that the Flint water crisis has already been brushed under the rug and forgotten. And there is a continuous flow of a million more injustices we have experienced with a flutter of media attention and then watched fade from our view. Its as if they never even happened.

In fact, I often feel I am forgotten. I think that’s why I post so often on Facebook. I’m pretty sure many of my readers share in this feeling. We have created a society with so much available information, that we ourselves have become less significant and even more disconnected from the world. That’s not at all what the socials era promised.

What we said used to matter more. Now, I feel like a thistle blowing in the breeze. It seems that everyone is talking but no one is listening. The causes for which I, and so many others, have advocated, seem to rise and fall from prominence in the so-called “news” cycle.  More has been forgotten than has ever been said.

Thirst

In an effort to stand out, we only blend more into the noise. And the noise has become so dense it is nothing more than an unpleasant drone.

As the petulant villain in that excellent animated Disney feature, “The Incredibles,” says, as he announces his evil plot, “if everyone is special, then no one is special.” His dastardly plot is to cheaply sell super powers to everyone, so those with real superpowers will become as unnecessary and innocuous as everyone else.

And yet, the need for those on the ground, rising against all odds, doing the exceptional work, using their super powers to make the world a little better, continues unabated. Even when the attentions of the media or friends has faded, people still need heroes. Haitians still need help. CSA still must be stopped. Flint children still need water, free of lead.

And yet my Facebook friends are far more likely to “like” and “share” a post about cute puppies than any of the above.

So our society is collapsing, because we forget. We forget because remembering is too painful. Those of us foolish enough to talk about what society chooses to forget are destined for the same trash heap of the forgotten. I wish I knew the remedy.  All I know is to repeat the wisdom of others and hope something sticks.

Just in case you have forgotten, Haiti, for instance, is still in great need. The Quench Project and my recent book, Quench, is all about making that situation a little better.

I ask you to please keep your thoughts, prayers and advocacy efforts focused on Flint. We cannot turn our backs on injustices such as these. It is possible to be an advocate, extend your voice, without giving up your own bliss. Fight not with anger and hatred, but always with the vision of love, a desire for a better world.

I’m very excited the Quench Project will be traveling to Flint in August. I’d ask you to please find a way to support this work, but I doubt you will here me through all the noise.

So here’s a cute puppy