FRIED POTATOES: On the politics of indifference

	You want fried potatoes?
	I tell you we're all deep-fried
	cause the people in control
	don't give a damn fer
	U err me.

	All they want is
	their hamburgers delivered on time
	with the right amount ah lettuce
	'n buns neatly sliced.

	Who cares if
	ketchup spills on kitchen floors
	or employees work at sub-standard wages?

	Does anyone worry whether
	the bovine crap has weird hormones
	or napkins are from rainforests
	or tomatoes argh genetically spliced?

	You want Order #6, right?
	OK bud - cumin' right appu!


   Kris leaned forward, resting her elbows on the worn wooden table as a heavy silence settled over
the room. There was a quiet intensity in her gesture, an expression of carrying a burden too
heavy to hold alone. "Massive indifference," she murmured, eyes scanning the faces of the
others, searching for a glimmer of shared understanding. "Isn't that the root of most problems?"

   Tim nodded slowly, adjusting his glasses with meticulous care before folding both hands. The
posture was classic academia: measured, thoughtful, and grave. "I believe so," he replied, his
words unfolding with the resonant cadence of a seasoned lecturer. "Capitalism has refined
indifference into an institution. Once people cease to be neighbors and become nothing more than
units of production or disposable commodities, the very framework of society begins to rot from
within. Compassion is displaced by convenience, conscience by consumption."

   Tim then paused, looking out the window for a fleeting second before refocusing. "What we
desperately require is an overarching meta-narrative—a shared moral imagination capable of
drawing fiercely individual, often self-interested people toward a common purpose without
coercion or violence. Religions used to offer that some degree, but many religions have grown
corrupt or overly dogmatic. Without such a unifying vision, fragmentation becomes inevitable."

   Sam shifted restlessly in the nearby armchair, swinging a foot over the armrest with deliberate
irreverence. A crooked grin spread across his face as he swept a dismissive hand through the
air, scattering Tim's carefully constructed argument as though it were nothing more than smoke.
"Yeah, yeah. I've heard that sort of crap before," Sam cut in, waving a dismissive hand through
the air as if physically brushing the philosophy aside. His attention never left the dark
television across the room. One finger drummed an impatient rhythm against the worn upholstery,
eager for the screen to burst alive with spectacle.

   "Isn't there a big game on?" he asked with a shrug. "I'd rather lose myself in a thrilling
fantasy than stare another brutal reality in the face."

   The room fell silent once more. Beyond the window, the world carried on with practiced
indifference. Orders were filled. Deliveries arrived on time. Registers chimed. Fries hissed in
boiling oil. Somewhere, another meal was served with perfect efficiency, while unseen hands
labored for too little, forests quietly vanished, rivers absorbed another measure of waste, and
countless lives became just another invisible cost of convenience. No one noticed.


=================================================================================
from _AmeriSong: Poetry, Art, & Dialogs about Amerika_ by T Newfields
LONG SUMMARY: Thoughts about how indifference lies at the heart of social injustice, 
contrasting philosophical concern with escapist apathy, while revealing the hidden 
human and environmental costs concealed beneath everyday convenience.
SHORT SUMMARY:  Capitalist indifference briefly debated, hijacked by a desire for entertainment.
KEYWORDS:  systematic apathy, institutionalized uncaring, people-as-commodities, affluenza, 
indifference, late-stage capitalism, social justice,  apathy, ethics, social alienation,
meta-narratives, environmental degradation, political philosophy

Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955)
Begun: 1997 in Shizuoka, Japan / Finished: 2026 in Shizuoka, Japan
Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted

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TRANSLATIONS

DEUTSCH   https://www.tnewfields.info/de/geb.htm
ESPAÑOL   https://www.tnewfields.info/es/fritas.htm
FRANÇAIS  https://www.tnewfields.info/fr/frites.htm
NIHONGO   https://www.tnewfields.info/jp/furai.htm