(93-95). One does something special for the sake of humanity because one is angry at the injustice that one witnesses. He then went to live with an uncle in Romania where he learned that his father and older brother had died in the Holocaust. Is today's justified intervention in Kosovo, led by you, Mr. President, a lasting warning that never again will the deportation, the terrorization of children and their parents, be allowed anywhere in the world? So much violence; so much indifference. That way, if and when horrible things happen, larger populations step up and fight for the victims who can't fight for themselves. The Perils of Indifference - LinkedIn O Moorish having a low probab My friends are funny. So many of our severelychallenged children and adults are pure and richhuman beings whose lives are often re-defined by the stares, the avoidance, the pity, the indifference of their fellow human beings. Those non-Jews, those Christians, that we call the "Righteous Gentiles," whose selfless acts of heroism saved the honor of their faith. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction. Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction. Even under a human rights approach, our solutions will be imperfect, and difficult questions such as these will persist. Why were they so few? Indifference in the book Night by Elie Weisel - StudyMode We will not be hiding from suffering, but confronting it. The snarling faces of White students who surrounded a young Black woman who tried to integrate an Arkansas high school. Multiple factors contributed to the Holocaustincluding mass indifference to the suffering and the killing simply because it was easier to feign ignorance than to fight against atrocity. Wiesel was born on July 2, 1928 in Sighetu Marmaiei, Romania. The Perils of Indifference | Havurah Shir Hadash Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. (28-35). Collectively, if we each took such actions, even if we did not ourselves address every wrong, and every person wronged, every case of indifference for this we cannot do none of those wrongs will go without attention. In the present manuscript, the reasons why an indifferent position towards minorities may imply . Within this call to action, Wiesel argues that indifference is an action worse than any other. Did you encounter any technical issues? A society that grounds its actions in human rights will be a society of love. Over there, behind the black gates of Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the "Muselmanner," as they were called. But they were real, and Elie Wiesel understood better than anyone the consequences of underestimating those images. Learn to changea diaper, connect a g-tube, suction a trach. We expect our actions to produce certain reactions. And our only miserable consolation was that we believed that Auschwitz and Treblinka were closely guarded secrets; that the leaders of the free world did not know what was going on behind those black gates and barbed wire; that they had no knowledge of the war against the Jews that Hitler's armies and their accomplices waged as part of the war against the Allies. It is walking past a homeless person asking for help without even acknowledging her presence. Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction." At the beginning of this fall semester, I went to Alliance Bible Fellowship's College Connection. Phil is a former high school principal with a 30 year tenure, a hockey dad to a superstar son who is his hero, a husband to a profoundly committed wife, and a father to a beautiful accomplished daughter. If nobody cared, there would be no need for activism because there are people who want to fix things but cannot if nobody reports problems or tries new solutions. Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction." Question 2 options: A) "Pain" is a stronger word. elicit Even hatred at times may elicit a response. Let them know you care about them even if you can't show it in front of everyone. It is so much easier to look away from victims. And the illustrious occupant of the White House then, who was a great leader -- and I say it with some anguish and pain, because, today is exactly 54 years marking his death -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt died on April the 12th, 1945. History is going to judge us for our actions, so we better be sure the legacy we leave is the right one. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Indifference impairs one's perspective of others as well as one's own dignity. 2. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. And, nevertheless, his image in Jewish history -- I must say it -- his image in Jewish history is flawed. Millions more were killed in World War I, World War II, and Vietnam, and still countries were using violence to solve their problems. Indifference is not a response." humans are treated as humans. Though he did not understand their language, their eyes told him what he needed to knowthat they, too, would remember, and bear witness. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. A strange and unnatural state in which the lines blur between light and darkness, dusk and dawn, crime and punishment, cruelty and compassion, good and evil. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. One writes a great poem, a great symphony. It's White indifference that allows so many Black and brown students to go to. This time, the world was not silent. The next time you feel indifferent to someone, try to change this by making an effort to not feel this way. Is indifference, that state of being, Wiesel asks, necessary in order to cope with our rough world? But some live their entire lives that way and I cant for the life of me understand the appeal. You might notice that the end of "The Perils of Indifference" looks pretty similar to the beginning, and Elie Wiesel does that on purpose. The History Place - Great Speeches Collection: Elie Wiesel Speech The We as a culture have been trained to run from The Cross and we dont expend much energy learning to embrace and carry it. It doesn't involve actions, so it is much more difficult to fight. Yet while acknowledging the humanity of people who are homeless is important, that will not in itself secure them roofs over their head. He once said: "Indifference is the enemy of human dignity. You could be indifferent to someone you love or something that concerns you. The normalization of terror, the seductiveness of indifference, and the ever-present need to struggle against it demands that we constantly, actively rouse our consciousness. We could take a little time out of each day to do something about unconscionable national and global health inequities, writing, emailing, calling our presidents and prime ministers, national and local legislators, about the need to create health systems that serve everyone equally, to address homelessness, to establish and fund policies that enable people with disabilities to reach their full potential, and so forth. appreciated. Is it a philosophy? It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. You've undoubtedly seen the images from various concentration camps throughout Europe. One writes a great poem, a great symphony. Much of the progress on police reform, though, will boil down to this: Will enough lawmakers and judges see Black and brown people who are being brutalized by the justice system as fellow human beings? Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. Better an unjust God than an indifferent one. Funny people are everywhere. Violent acts of White racism grab the headlines. Indifference and Apathy - Ethical Conflict Consulting What will the legacy of this vanishing century be? Georgetown University Law Center And that ship, which was already in the shores of the United States, was sent back. The depth of the harm of indifference comes from how easy, and thus how pervasive, it is. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own. Better an unjust God than an indifferent one. ', Illustrator of the Year, British Book Awards - 2018, Tina Fey: 'Only in comedy is an obedient white girl from the suburbs a diversity candidate', Kennedy Center Mark Twain Award - 2010, Sacha Baron Cohen: 'Just think what Goebbels might have done with Facebook', Anti Defamation League Leadership Award - 2019, Greta Thunberg: 'How dare you', UN Climate Action Summit - 2019, Charlie Munger: 'The Psychology of Human Misjudgment', Harvard University - 1995, Lawrence O'Donnell: 'The original sin of this country is that we invaders shot and murdered our way across the land killing every Native American that we could', The Last Word, 'Dakota' - 2016.