"Compassion is an unstable emotion. It needs to be translated into action, or it withers. The question is what to do with the feelings that have been aroused, the knowledge that has been communicated. If one feels that there is nothing "we" can do - but who is that "we"? - and nothing "they" can do either - and who are "they"? - then one starts to get bored, cynical, apathetic."
In this passage, Sontag is arguing that if there seems to be no way to practically contribute to ending a war, then war photography will become counterproductive. When a viewer's sensibilities are aroused, he feels compassion for those who have been abused, and perhaps a sense of militant fury. This compassion needs some kind of outlet, however, or else it will simply wither away and die within oneself without obtaining release, which will dilute one's sensibilities and increase his proclivities to cynicism and apathy, which is exactly the opposite effect as the war photographer has intended.
“Wherever people feel safe... they will be indifferent.”
This succinct yet profound quote reveals the complacency of man's nature. In this section, Sontag has just related the story of a Yugoslavic woman who saw the footage of the war's atrocities and merely switched the channel because it had no real, imminent effect on her life. Her safety caused her to be indifferent to the effects of the war, illustrating the natural selfishness of the human psyche. Comfort seems to be the ultimate deterrent from action, and the safety of watching television from one's couch makes any sort of action quite difficult.
“There is nothing wrong with standing back and thinking. To paraphrase several sages: 'Nobody can think and hit someone at the same time.'”
Sontag has just been discussing the apparent problem with war photography: it removes the immediate terror and danger from the scene, thus stripping it of most of its emotional content. Is it still right to be able to contemplate this horrific image from the safety, comfort, and emotional remoteness of one's home? She posits that this isn't a bad thing; as she says in this quote, standing back and thinking is often illuminating in a way that pure action can't be.
