Yes, and I believe all the news about Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and these other worthless people contributes to the DUMBING DOWN OF AMERICA.

I don't know about others but if I sat around and talked about the ills of the world all the time I would be in a constant state of depression. That does not mean that I don't think about it and am not concerned. I do what I can, which isn't much...but talking about trolls and points and other trivial things provides a much needed respite from the troubles of day to day life and problems of the world. It is not only, most of the time, pleasant, it is necessary to create a balance.

Yes, we seem pretty petty at times but maybe AB time is just an escape for a while. It doesn't mean to say we don't care. Think of it as "recharging the batteries".

Methinks thou dost protest too much!

just averasge, like anything or anyone else, it dosent matter, if it dosent effect us directly, we avoit it or deny it. Or we feel we can t make a difference.

The question is bollocks. The fact that you have pointstituted you way to the top has JACK to do with famine and disease...

I am well aware of the misery that is out there. I enjoy AB as a break from reading the news and seeing what goes on.

Is the answer you are looking for "Selfish" ? Media doesn't cover all the stories. They don't bring in the news about the healthy parts of other countries and portray a lot of things as worse than they are. I'm not saying that world hunger is a little thing. It is a big thing and I would solve it if I could. When I earn a lot of money, I am going to donate portions of it to charities that I trust to help with it. I might also actually go to one of these countries and help teach them how to make food instead of just constantly handing food to them. I'm sure that's actually what they want to learn. I'm sure there are many people on AB who do donate and do try to make a difference that occasionally complain about trolls and points. I view that as a relief. What kind of person judges a person who complains about trolls and points without considering their situation? Eh? Anyway, this is a good question. One many should consider, but not necessarily feel guilty over. :)

This is so true... It is very sad..

The kind that are going to be dead one day too, so enjoy it while you can!

We can't readily change that - but most of us probably contribute to charities that can. Having said that, I like how you remind us that petty arguments that take place here are totally irrelevant.

Were people who realize that we can't save everyone and do everything, so we try to enjoy our lives.

good question...i just came from a thread where I was trying to inititate a conversation about the homeless and hunger and it was all but ignored!

many people today in dis world are well-obsorbed its all about themselves before anyone else.. People are also ignorant to those in need coz they proberly so wrapped around all the good things dat are happening to them, or proberly people have thier own problems and aint got tiime for others... perhaps loads of other people want to help but aint gettin the support they need to help..And those people who constantly go on about points and troll i would say "dey aint got a better life".. Sorri if i offended anyone.. i was jus givin a Generalise view, not relating to any one specific...

Troll another good question. I am guilty of this myself sometimes. My mother always used to say whenever I would complain about not having something that no matter how bad you think you have it there is always someone out there who is far worse off than you. I have always tried to remember this throughout my life but being the typical human that I am I often fret over things that affect me personally and don't give much thought to those who are far worse off than I am. As some of the other members have pointed out though AB is sort of an escape for alot of us from the every day problems of life and the world. I know it's not a good reason to be selfish and self obssessed with our own personal problems but it's all I could think of that would explain at least in part why most of us tend not to give much thought to the problems of others.

1) Trolls and points are our AB view about love and hate. We talk about them because it is a kind of game here, and we are reflecting about the rules. It is better if everybody understands how it works. 2) AB is not here to support directly the causes of people who are dying everyday due to various reasons. It is not here either for people trying to educate others about these things or any other things. It is for people to find the information they are looking for, and to have a little chat or a big discussion about the validity of the answers given. 3) If you want to know how you could help solve those global problems, ask a question about this and you will probably find good ideas in the answers that you get, because some ABers could be already involved in such projects. And once in a while, someone asks a question to let us ponder about those issues.

It's true that there is tremendous suffering going on in the world -- not just overseas, but right here in our own back yard. Abused children who have no good options. Terminally ill people with nobody who cares to visit them. Impoverished people living on the edge in their cars. It can be quite overwhelming if we stop and let it all in. Your question is really a form of "what is my obligation to others?" or "what is compassion?" and "how should I live my life?" There are no easy answers... working out our relationship to the suffering of others is a key theme of spiritual development. A few people decide to dedicate the bulk of their energy to relieving the suffering of others. Many others decide "they're not my problem", and focus their attention on completely self-centered activities. Most of us are in the middle somewhere: we recognize and respond to the suffering of others, but we also want to live our own lives and enjoy the comforts and opportunities afforded by our fortunate circumstances. I think the challenge is to find a balance... to be able to be open to the suffering of the world, and responsive, without falling into the delusion that I personally can solve all the world's problems (heroism), and without withdrawing into a me-only shell that cuts me off from others (egotism). The other thing that matters to me is waking myself up (which includes waking others up) to the very basic truths about life: this is it, and we don't have forever to fool around with it. That is.... the life we're already living is REAL life, it's not some practice for an imagined future. If we can't be satisfied with what is, that's what there is to investigate and resolve. To the degree that gets resolved, people DO get more interested in the suffering of others, simply because the self-preoccupation diminishes when someone feels whole. I think fostering that kind of awakening has an indirect effect on the suffering of the world.

We're stressed out people who need a place to go where we can forget about the problems of life for a short time just to get a break. And even when we're here we're still searching for the answers to those age old social ills like hunger and disease. Who knows? Maybe a question on here will lead to a solution. After all this a place of dialog and I know I've had some very serious converstations on here about social issues.