On Indifference:

Indifferent:

Why are we plagued with the inability to choose a side and stand up for what we believe in? What fear do we have in challenging the status quo, especially in the face of adversity? Why is it that we remain indifferent? In a speech given by noble peace prize winner Elie Weisel it was put best, “indifference can be tempting -- more than that, seductive. It is so much easier to look away from victims. It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction.” Weisel describes this indifference perfectly. We remain indifferent for fear of prosecution, fear of butting heads with adversity and fear of butting heads with others. We are tempted to remain indifferent to stick with the status quo, and to not stand out. But our fears that cause us to remain indifferent are only out of complete selfishness, for the protection of ourselves, and to take the easy road. It will be fate of man that takes the easy road and makes the decision to remain indifferent. To this very day, we must take action to make a change. If we disagree on a political situation, our voices can be heard through polls and protesting. We cannot let our voices be silenced because we think we are the minority, for if we speak up, we can be the majority. Similarly to Weisel, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. is a key example to us of the strides we can make if we choose not to be beleaguered by indifference. After being thrown into jail for peacefully protesting for human rights, King wrote letters to those criticizing his decision not to be indifferent. He responded in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, where he stated “We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people”, and King is absolutely correct. The silence of the good people can only contribute more to the bad people, for if your voice is not heard hen how will your opinion ever be advanced? If we remain silent and indifferent in our beliefs, we might as well not hold that belief at all. We must not give into the temptation and seduction of indifference that Weisel so accurately described, rather we must always surpass it. We can not just look away at the victims, we must stand up for them, for if we do not, who else will? To selflessly involve ourselves will bring us more good than selfishly avoiding the problem. If we as a people do not take charge and stand up for whatever we believe is right, even in the face of adversity, then we will never move forward. It is vital that we are not indifferent and choose a side, and for those of us who even still choose to remain indifferent, we will have to repent for your appalling silence.