Keeping the Sacred Flame

A simple phrase.  An unexpectedly complex issue.

With power comes responsibility.  If we have the ability to intervene, we have responsibility towards the situation to an extent.  When something begs to us to get involved, we cannot simply say “it isn’t our business” and step back.  At the same time, discretion is important.  Just because we have the ability doesn’t mean we must get

involved in everything that crosses our path.

We have the responsibility to those around us to not close our eyes to suffering and pain.  Even when something is “not our business”, it is the connection to those around us that makes us human.  It is easy to close our eyes to the suffering around us.  Far harder to get involved, and far harder again to get involved constructively instead of just reacting to soothe our own discomfort.

“Mind your own business” is a dismissal.  It’s a statement to back off and leave things to those that are concerned.  But I ask: what matters are best left alone, and what concerns us all?  This is not to say we should just get involved without thought.  Some things aren’t our business.

But some things are.

Questions:
What matters are worth getting involved in even when involvement isn’t wanted?  Why?
When is it worth it to take “mind your own business at face value” and leave?
What are the costs to minding your own business?  What are the benefits?