The Danger of Indifference

The Danger of Indifference

By D.S. Mitchell

Writer, Teacher

Elie Wiesel, teacher, writer, philosopher and Auschwitz death camp survivor, told the US Congress in a speech in 1999, “indifference can be tempting-more than that, seductive.  It is much easier to look away from victims.  It is after all, awkward and troublesome to be involved in another person’s pain and despair.”

Forgotten

Furthermore, “to be indifferent to that suffering makes the human being, inhuman.  Indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor-never the victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten.  The political prisoner, the starving children, the homeless refugees-not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their despair by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory.  And in denying their humanity, we betray our own.  Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment.  Where I came from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders.”

Then and Now

Today’s bystanders are no different than the “bystanders,” of the past; wanting more than anything to look away from the victims, to look anywhere but in the direction of the suffering.

I frequently hear my friends and even those in power claim to be “a good person.”  “A person with a heart,” I am repeatedly told.

Why is it then, we continue to ignore the plight of the war ravaged Ukrainians and the mass murder of the Palestinians in Gaza, or the starving children of Sudan?  The photos  of the pain  and destruction  is horrific.  We have all seen television clips of bloodied, crying, starving, and even dead children.  I have seen their pain.  I have heard their cries.

A Plea to America

My simple plea to America; shed the hate and grow the love. Get involved, call out the offenders and the perpetrators, do not turn away, do not be silenced. Remember, it could be you, instead of them, ducking bombs and searching for a dead rat to eat. There is no comfort in being  5,000 miles from their wars, not if you are truly a “person with a heart.”

America are you listening, are you seeing, or are you destined to become just another group of bystanders?

USAid

We are the wealthiest country on earth and the home of the most generous people on earth and our basic instinct is to help, not turn away.  The American people want to help. Sadly, the richest and the most powerful of the 1% want big tax breaks, and they plan on gutting services, not only USAid, but also health care, disability assistance, and food from the poorest in this country.

The New Resistance

We were once the light of the world; now we ignore the homeless and the starving here and abroad. Come on America, don’t continue to look away, show your heart, show that “goodness” we always hear about. Don’t be a bystander, be an activist, be a demonstrator, be a protestor.

The New Resistance to Trump’s cruel and disastrous agenda is active and growing. Join the fight to save our democracy from the oligarchs and the dictators. Join the fight to save lives; not destroy them. Join the fight for universal health care. Join the fight against homelessness. Join the fight for voting justice. Join the fight to save public education. Join the fight to save Due Process.

Find your cause and hit the streets. Enlist support of your friends and neighbors. Everyone, but a few die hard MAGA’s dislike what’s happening. We need to prove our numbers; hit the streets, be visible. Carry a sign. Hit Facebook. Call your congressman, Call your Senators. If you have a FaceBook page create a support section for the warriors in the field, post pictures of local protests.. You can’t hear silence. Make noise. As Arthur Ashe said, “disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed.”

Campaign Lies

Trump lied when he said he’d end the wars in the Ukraine and Gaza; “on day one.” Yet, the wars go on, he has not contributed in one way to a  just end in either of those conflicts. Trump lied when he told voters that he would not touch Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security. After a meeting with hold outs Trump personally twisted arms at a  meeting on the Hill, leading to the House passing a bill that would destroy health care for millions of Americans.  The estimate runs from 8-13.5 million Americans, bringing with it the closure of nursing homes across the country and a new round of rural hospital closures.

The destruction and gutting of our government and destruction of our social safety nets was not what anyone in their right mind voted for.

I understand the forces opposing the soldiers of good are powerful but if the many leave the ranks of the bystanders and join the war against Trump cruelty and lawlessness we can win the battle for due process, human decency, and justice.

Let’s Be Real

The list of needs for a country of 350,000,000 million human beings eliminates any further discussion of return to small government. The list of proposed cuts to basic services will effect everyone, but those most hard hit will be the already suffering. Stop turning away. Stop being a  bystander.