Is apathy a challenge to our freedom?

Question

Is America lazy and unconcerned? If so, is this a threat to our freedom?

Answer 1

We have the freedom to be apathetic, and apathy does not threathen anyone else directly.
It could be said, however, that turning a blind eye (apathy) towards those who challenge freedom could be harmful if enough people didn't care what happened to their environment.

No, I don't think America is lazy and unconcerned. Perhaps a bit ignorant in general, but certainly not unconcerned.
However they do occasionally push their beliefs about "freedom" onto other countries and cultures - preventing them from having the freedom to reject American beliefs.
This is a threat not to American freedom, but to other's freedom.

Answer 2

Apathy is the lack of emotion, motivation, or enthusiasm. Apathy is a psychological term for a state of indifference — where an individual is unresponsive or "indifferent" to aspects of emotional, social, or physical life. Clinical apathy is considered to be at an elevated level, while a moderate level might be considered depression, and an extreme level could be diagnosed as a dissociative disorder. The physical aspect of apathy associated with physical deterioration, muscle loss, and lack of energy is called lethargy — which has many pathological causes as well.

Apathy can be object-specific — toward a person, activity or environment. It is a common reaction to stress where it manifests as "learned helplessness" and is commonly associated with depression. It can also reflect a non-pathological lack of interest in things one does not consider important.

Certain drugs are known to cause symptoms associated with or leading to apathy. Apathy is also very similar to laziness, and may be an extreme form of it.

Answer 3

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
after all I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
after all I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
after all I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

This poem attributed to Martin Niemöller explains the dangers of apathy. Many see parallels between the apathy of Germans in the 1930s and that of Americans today as the government further and further erodes their freedoms.