Who cares?

“Is it too soon for a city devastated by a hurricane six months ago to hold a party?” So asks CNN in its description of a story about Mardi Gras in New Orleans. There’s even a poll.

How about this: You don’t have to have an opinion about everything.

Yes, yes, in this day of polls for everything and every Web site with a poll, it feels like it’s out patriotic duty to have an opinion on everything. There’s always a new report on a new survey, whether it’s the President’s approval ratings or “Should kids be allowed to wear mismatched socks to school?”

Sometimes the appropriate answer is: I honestly don’t give a damn.

(Is “damn” an inappropriate word to use on a Web site that children may visit? Vote now!)

Sure, it makes sense to have opinions on some issues — abortion, Iraq, what kind of car to drive, whether you prefer vanilla or chocolate. But — let me say it again — people don’t have to have an opinion on everything. Even big issues. And no, that doesn’t make you a bad person if you just don’t care.

Should the Confederate flag be banned from state flags? I don’t care. Should the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge be opened for oil drilling? I don’t care. Should Georgia red clay be the official dirt of Georgia? I don’t care. Should New Orelans have its Mardi Gras this soon after Katrina? I don’t care.

Does it make me a bad person for not taking up someone else’s cause as my own, no matter how reasonable their argument is? No, it doesn’t. “You don’t care that all these horrible things will happen if X is allowed to pass?” Honestly, no.

I’ve got plenty to worry about — saving for retirement and Sam’s college. Getting my next story out on deadline. Wondering what’s that funny noise my car is making. So sometimes I just don’t feel like making room in my head for things simply because other people — even lots of other people — have strong and righteous opinions about them.