In today’s society, it seems like the less you care about things, the cooler you seem. Apathy is the new black, with plenty of young people feigning indifference whenever possible.

The truth is, there’s simply nothing cooler than caring about something. Whether you care about your art, the people in your life, or something as simple as a sunrise, giving a darn about something is important. Nothing has meaning unless we give it, and remaining open about your passions will never be the wrong thing to do.

If you don’t believe us, you can trust the word of a talented actor and resident cool guy, Alan Alda.

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“I care about everything,” said Alda during an interview with The Columbus Ledger. “There’s very little I do that I don’t care about - marriage, my work, peace.”

Alda didn’t believe that wearing his heart on his sleeve made him weak; he knew it made him a better man. “I like to think of myself as a person working to grow,” said the actor, “who’s concerned with changing for the better, in learning to do things better. I’d like to be able to say next year that what I’m doing is better than the way I did it last year.”

This was a sentiment that Alda shared with his co-stars on M*A*S*H, a series that worked hard to portray the realities of war. Alda explained that the cast “really cares in a human way about what we’re showing.”

“We care more that it be real than funny,” said the actor.” We’re all capable of being funny. Just being zany is not as important as being humorous and genuine at the same time. And we are searching for parts in the script and in life that will show this.”