On Care

What is care?

Care, as defined by Webster, is “the provision of what is needed for the health, well-being, and protection of someone or something.”

We can think of all sorts of forms of care.

Healthcare. Childcare. Intensive care. The care of a parent.

What we don’t often think about is the responsibility of care that the state has for prisoners. Of course, no one would ever want to receive that kind of care, because the state operates with a very different definition than what a human being expects.

Care, then, can be so easily abused by those in power, especially those with access to violent levers to pull. That isn’t the real kind of care we know, intuitively, to be true. It’s care as rhetoric, not care as relationship.

Through this lens, care becomes a qualifier in our culture today—something used to sort, separate, and justify.

This is the exact opposite of what care feels like from one human to another.

Because…

Care is the fabric of human connection. It’s the attention we offer freely, the presence we give without needing to control or dominate.

Care isn’t quantifiable, and it is more than simply providing for Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. After all, the state can provide material things—even if many cringe at the thought of getting something for free—and still fail to offer real care.

The most important aspect of care, then, is play: the freedom to play with our bodies, our thoughts, our ideas, our beliefs. The ultimate caregiver is the one who enables these freedoms, creating the conditions for humans to truly thrive.