There is a problem that is becoming more and more prominent in this day and age, the “nmp” problem. “Nmp” is a text-lingo reply, often sent after a friend or coworker asks for help, that translates into English as “not my problem,” as in, “Because it does not directly affect me right now, I will not help you,” and, “Even though you may have helped me out before, and I greatly appreciated that, I am a selfish person and not a good friend, and because it is not my problem, I am going to let you flounder.”

There is an inherent problem with this sort of thinking, beyond the destruction of relationships and the selfish ideology. The fact is that we cannot survive without the help and kindness of others, but we act like we can. The true problem lies in the apathy. Although it might be easier to not care about other people’s problems, someday we will have issues that we will need help with. Everything is fine and dandy until we are the ones in need and no one will help us because it’s not their problem.

Next time you go to text “nmp” as an excuse to not help someone because it’s not your problem, remember the last time you called in sick, the last time you have been overwhelmed, and how others have helped you. By saying “nmp,” you alienate yourself from your coworkers, friends, and loved ones, and they won’t want to help you anymore because you never give back to them. It is much easier to help people out, especially when you are fully capable of doing so.

We have all been in those situations when we desperately needed help, and people have helped us. If we all take some time to care and to give back to society by helping people out and speaking out when there are injustices, maybe we can start to make the world a better place, or at least stop it from deteriorating into a cesspool of apathy. Apathy regarding the pain of others directly leads to the pain of oneself, and it continues to escalate until you desperately need someone to care for you, and there is no one left.

As Martin Niemöller so eloquently wrote,

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

He did not speak out against the Nazis because it was not his problem, and he spent more than seven years incarcerated because of it, and he was lucky to have made it out alive. It is remarkable how much a little bit of apathy can affect the world so drastically. We all need to take it upon ourselves to swallow our selfishness and help someone who needs it, to speak out for someone being harassed, and maybe we can avoid another Holocaust.