the problem of being connected

There is a problem with being connected to the rest of the world, to seeing global news on the TV and internet, and to knowing what is happening to others around the world.

I see innocent men, women, and children suffering, in the depths of deprivation because of war or natural disasters; but there is so little I can do.  I can donate a little to a fund to help.  I can write my elected representatives.  Really, I can do very little.  I feel my humanity being torn away from me as I watch these scenes reported in my living room.

If it were closer, I could offer my assistance, but it's on the other side of the globe.

Part of me would just turn off the news and cut the cables that connect me to the rest of the world... I would hide in the woods, living off the grid...  Would that restore my peace of mind or my humanity?

They say to think globally, but act locally.  That is doable, but it hasn't seemed to reach far enough.  I can see much farther than I can ever reach.  And that is the problem of being connected to the world.