As I’m out here on my mission, it’s interesting for me to consider why I’m actively battling human trafficking, instead of tying myself to a giant redwood tree to protect it. I 100% agree that we should not chop down the giant redwoods, but I’m not strapped to one – why?

What is it that makes us feel connected enough to a cause to actively support it?

Sometimes I’m moved by another person’s passion; someone I feel strongly connected to. A cause spearheaded by a loved one would have to be extremely ridiculous for me not to support it. For example, if my brother created a petition to start a fart symphony, that would indeed fall under the category of too ridiculous to support.

Then there are some causes I feel loosely connected to that I passively support. You know Tili? He’s the massive Sea World orca AKA killer whale responsible for the death of that killed a trainer. After watching Blackfish, a documentary that tells us Tili’s story of how a cruel environment of captivity caused him to snap, I was moved. How moved? I shared the story with a couple of other cruelty-loathing friends, we discussed the horrific nature of park captivity for a few days, and that was it. Not very moved, huh?

Whereas there were some people who started petitions, made public vows to never enter Sea World again and urged others to do the same, I did none of that. Why didn’t I have that same reaction? Why haven’t I shown that same sense of urgency to permanently shut the doors to Sea World, forever setting captive Orcas free? 

Why didn’t the Blackfish story flip my “activate” switch? 

Ultimately, it seems that some causes are niche causes that appeal specifically to certain people. On the other hand, some causes have a more universal appeal. The difficulty arises understanding the spectrum between niche and universal and further understanding what moves us individually from passive appeal to full blown activation. The fact remains that, niche or universal, simply agreeing with a statement or cause is not always enough to garner our active support.

Thus, as I think about some the causes that I am moved to actively support, I’m left to wonder why I flipped active when others didn’t.

For example, I believe that grave injustice to fellow human beings should be seen as a universal battle that we should actively, collectively fight. We can always split hairs on what counts as “injustice” but frankly I’m baffled that everyone isn’t going incensed that in 2014, women, children and men are being SOLD as property into real life slavery. I’m not talking about people working 20 hours a day in a sweatshop for unlivable wages. That’s a horrible form of oppression as well. However, by slavery, I mean people working 20 hours a day, accumulating negative wages (debt), being beaten, tortured and otherwise prevented from escape. Why isn’t everyone activated and going gorilla gang wild about it? Not “bombs over brothels” wild, more like, what’s within my sphere of power; beyond saying -“gee it’s awful isn’t it?”

Why doesn’t unjust human suffering doesn’t touch push every human into full active support? I can somewhat understand why everyone isn’t throwing paint at fur coats. However, I can hardly understand why our common humanity is not enough for us to be outraged to the point of action at such brazen injustice and dehumanization of our fellow human beings.

So I ask myself, what’s missing? Is the same missing ingredient that keeps me from picketing Sea World? Are there people who are as strongly opposed to fur coats as I am to trafficking babies for sex? What are we ultimately driven by? 

Perhaps there’s no single answer, but enlightenment on the topic should prove essential to my current mission. I’m genuinely interested in learning – 

What is it that makes us feel connected enough to a cause to actively support it?