Bingo. When people say what they care about, they’re treating it as a statement of values. When they say what they prioritize, they say what they’re actually doing.
Ideally, people would do things that match their values, or at least be honest about what their values are, but it’s a rare person that will say “I don’t care about that” to some tragedy, even when they plan to do nothing.
From what I’ve seen, the more way to publicly “care less” about X instead of Y without it threatening your ego is to say you’re adjusting priorities (usually to something unimpeachable, like family). And the way to “care less” about X because you only have finite time to do things and stay healthy is to say you’re focusing on self care. It’s not that X is any less worthy of a cause, or that you’re any less good of a person for spending less time on it. It’s a tactical, zero-sum shift.
Bingo. When people say what they care about, they’re treating it as a statement of values. When they say what they prioritize, they say what they’re actually doing.
Ideally, people would do things that match their values, or at least be honest about what their values are, but it’s a rare person that will say “I don’t care about that” to some tragedy, even when they plan to do nothing.
From what I’ve seen, the more way to publicly “care less” about X instead of Y without it threatening your ego is to say you’re adjusting priorities (usually to something unimpeachable, like family). And the way to “care less” about X because you only have finite time to do things and stay healthy is to say you’re focusing on self care. It’s not that X is any less worthy of a cause, or that you’re any less good of a person for spending less time on it. It’s a tactical, zero-sum shift.