Somewhere in all of this is a theme, and the theme encompasses an idea, and the idea might save the world if only people would —
“Oh Lordy, it’s another one with a savior complex,” said a voice with no name. “You can’t save them all, it doesn’t matter. Wait, wait, wait, I know this one. This is when you pick up another starfish and say, ‘It matters to this one.’”
Now you’re talking, actually, he thought, pushing back at the voice. If we’re to save people, it will be one at a time. If we are to meet people where they are, it must be one at a time. One at a time, because people are not masses. Heck, every dog, every cat is different when you get to know them, and so are people.
How dare you make assumptions about “the masses” as if hordes are comprised of people who all think alike? Every person in every crowd had a different journey to get there, How dare we make assumptions about who they “all” are and what they believe?
It matters to this one.
And it matter to this one.
And maybe this one is ready to give up — and it doesn’t matter to this one — but if you help this one anyway, you both may find that it did matter after all.
There’s something to be said about slogging along even when you don’t know where you’re going, or you think you’re making no progress, or you think it doesn’t matter. You never know what might matter to someone along the way — so keep slogging.