A Rhetorical Argument against YOLO

Yolo is defined by the Urban Dictionary as an abbreviation for "you only live once." This also means the “dumbass's excuse for something stupid that they did.” It has been misinterpreted as live life to the fullest. It is also identified as “one of the most annoying abbreviations ever”....Yet people, students, and celebrities alike continue to use it. Why? Philosophically yolo means that because you only live once, any mistake or unintended negative outcome is blown off as inconsequential. Disguised behind the idea that we are living a conscious life complete with mistakes, we are not critically thinking about our actions, behaviors, or thoughts. While this has not only been embraced by many people, it poses one of the major philosophical dilemmas of our generation. We don’t feel the need to take responsibility for our actions and we are flippant towards the consequences.  

It is very common for politicians or celebrities to deny and deflect blame. It is very rare for individuals in the public eye to genuinely apologize; instead it just comes off as a PR task. Consider the likes of Justin Bieber, Michael Richards, or Kanye West (CNN). You mess up, you publically apologize and contain the damage. If your ego doesn’t get in the way or it is possible. Sure we all make mistakes and it is a great thing to know that you can develop as a human being over the course of your life. However, yolo poses a whole new philosophical apathy that is troubling to the intellectual engagement of the human race. In other words, Ive messed up and I don’t care. 



It therefore may be the most self-destructive attitude that we can take during the present day. 




There are people who look at the state of the world and decide that there are so many problems and the world is so messed up then why bother? With so many examples of yolo and celebrity apathy that why do I care? Parallel to the apathy and self-disengagement of yolo is the attitude that the world is going to hell so what does it matter if I screw up or screw off? This does nothing to solve the problem, but is defeatist and counterproductive. And according to some psychologists may actually be a sign of mental illness and non-resilience. 




Because of that reality, we must embrace an attitude opposite of yolo.  The Urban Dictionary identifies yodo, or "you only die once," as a way to pick on people who foolishly follow the values of yolo. However, this does nothing, but further perpetrate the problem of disengagement. Undermining someone else’s empowerment or even struggle doesn’t solve the problem. This is also a fundamental element of bullying, the belittling of someone else especially if that person is in a perceived or actual inferior position. 




We need an attitude of engagement, of personal responsibility, of corporate responsibility, of community-wide empathy in such a way that helps to not only give us a sense of belonging, but heals the personal and social wounds we have suffered, to not only connect people who are isolated or marginalized, but to enhance our individual and social lives. Personal responsibility can not be interpreted as a self-centered survivalist reaction. While we must look out for ourselves, there is much social criticism of various individual experiences, celebrity or peer, as ego-driven, contrived, overblown, mundane, or meaningless. Why aren’t we more empathetic towards our fellow citizen’s experiences and challenges? Why are we so judgmental and critical? Why is bullying such a social pastime in our schools? While engaging in personal responsibility will ensure our self-advocacy and self-development, it isn't the only thing that counters yolo. As a society we need to learn and practice empathy; we need to practice positive relationship building; we need to remember that our actions can have consequences; we need to remember that examples of helping our fellow human can have a lasting influence not only on the person we help, but our own sense of self-worth.  




Barack Obama has proclaimed Sept 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance in honor of the first responders of 9/11. He has also encouraged people to volunteer on January 19 a National Service Day celebrating MLK. While days like this do much for our communities, we need to embrace this much more as a community ethic. To help each other is to help oneself. When we connect with a fellow human being and give them a helping hand in a moment of need, then we engage in a fulfilling experience and an improvement of our own character. There are many studies that show the effects of service work; however, why isn’t it more of an American value, practice, or pastime? Is it possible to embrace values parallel to the American dream that champion helping our fellow human or neighbor, any of them in any way that we can? This should be the norm, not the exception. 




Furthermore, if we actively are reflective towards our actions, whatever they may be, then we are more likely to advocate for our own improvement and involvement in many areas of the social process. The Brookings Institute has identified personal responsibility as a key factor in the health and vibrancy of our lives. 




Another challenge to the idea of yolo is the philosophical grounds that we truly don’t know if we only live once and therefore it is self-damning to not care about our performance or improvement over time. What if we do live multiple lives? What if reincarnation is a real concept? While religion has championed an afterlife for centuries, science still has not proved or disproved the existence of an afterlife or reincarnation. There are psychologists that are calling for more study into client revelations of significant and real evidence of past life experiences. See Brian Weiss’s Many Lives, Many Masters or Michael Newton’s The Journey of Souls or Ian Stevenson’s 20 Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation. While trying to avoid a faith based argument, there does still need to be more evidence and more study. However, if this is the case, then would we only prolong our development by embracing apathy or yolo? What is our role in reincarnation? Why would it be being so flippant that we shouldn't be aware of the consequences of our actions. It would also harkens to the tragedy of the commons. An individual's self-centered behavior essentially will undermine the benefit of public use of specific resources. If we had a continuous eternal role to steward the earth, each other and ourselves, then we also must recognize the responsibility to learn how to be not just better, but our best. An old carpenter’s motto that resonates here is that we all do better when we all do better. In order to best organize our own lives and development it requires engagement and personal responsibility, not apathy and selfishness. 

Here’s to rejecting yolo and seeking to do better for our collective vibrance and improvement.