We as a culture have been trained to run from The Cross and we dont expend much energy learning to embrace and carry it. To honor the humanity of others and of ourselves, to let the victim know that she is not forgotten, we could each develop our own plan of action against our ownindifference. Finally, Elie asserts that caring means taking responsibility for other people. Indifference or apathy is a state in which we do not care and/or do not act on what is going on around us. "Gratitude" is a word that I cherish. Hi speech lovers,With costs of hosting website and podcast, this labour of love has become a difficult financial proposition in recent times. Elie Wiesel is a big fan of rhetorical questions, but they always serve a purpose. You're affirming their belief that no one gives a fig about themand as a result, you end up helping the bad guys. Thus, its use raises the intensity of the language used by the author. Elie Wiesel does acknowledge that the 20th century wasn't all bad. We know it's a surprise, but indifference is a prominent subject in a lecture titled "The Perils of Indifference." It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Sixty years ago, its human cargo -- nearly 1,000 Jews -- was turned back to Nazi Germany. You denounce it. He has accompanied the old man I have become throughout these years of quest and struggle. Giving the dead in Baghdad as well as Brussels, Pakistan as well as Paris, our respect will not end the bombings and other attacks. There is social indifference, which means ignoring other people's needs and desires. The ultimate answer to indifference is at the societal, structural level. How would the meaning of the following passage change if Wiesel used the word pain instead of anguish? Indifference can be positive or negative; it can help or hurt those who are indifferent to our feelings. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction. It is being transfixed by last Novembers terrorist attacks in Paris while moving on after reading a headline last week about an even deadlier marketplace attack in Baghdad. Oh, we see them on television, we read about them in the papers, and we do so with a broken heart. Why were they so few? Elie Wiesel thought that it was his duty to testify against the Nazi regime and the inhumane actions that they meted out against others. Elie Wiesel acknowledges the Righteous Gentiles as people who weren't indifferent, who did everything they could to help the Jews and other persecuted populations during the Holocaust. At the start, he sets the scene to reminds his listeners of the very worst humanity had to offerthe Holocaust, Buchenwald, millions of people dead simply because of their race or religion. It is doing something that denies or removes their importance or value. This time, we intervene. It is therefore not an act of courage to refuse to feel. What happened? Never, ever make a promise because it\s momentarily appropriate and then run from the promise. It is so much easier to look away from victims. And now we knew, we learned, we discovered that the Pentagon knew, the State Department knew. I sincerely hope that the Spirit inspires the people around you to become more attentive and caring toward your son. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor -- never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. It's neither pleasant nor enjoyable, but it's all part of being a good human, according to Elie Wiesel. "The Perils of Indifference," Vocabulary from the speech Indifference is a conclusion, not a beginning. The Perils of Indifference Quotes | Shmoop You could be indifferent to someone you love or something that concerns you. I expect that is why other great advocates for human rights have emphasized the danger of indifference. Most Black people have experienced this. It lowers the intensity of the feeling of the person when used in a sentence as compared to use of 'anguish'. In the place that I come from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders. The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugeesnot to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. But they were real, and Elie Wiesel understood better than anyone the consequences of underestimating those images. Etymologically, the word means \no difference.\ 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. Wrapped in their torn blankets, they would sit or lie on the ground, staring vacantly into space, unaware of who or where they were, strangers to their surroundings. Its like a cancer which attacks the soul. Blessings and prayers for you and your entire family. Surely it will be judged, and judged severely, in both moral and metaphysical terms. I don't understand. Man can live far from God -- not outside God. . It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. The Auschwitz Pledge Foundation was established to fight indifference to manifestations of discrimination, especially racism, antisemitism, misogyny as well as discrimination against migrants and refugees and LGBTQIA+ people. She has a degree in English Literature and Writing, and spends her days writing about everything from fashion to feminism. Manage Settings And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. So at an individual level, we cannot do it all, though most of us could do more. The 20th century was filled with all sorts of horror, and Elie Wiesel asks his audience to take a moment and consider how history will look back on it. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction. What is indifference? Has the human being become less indifferent and more human? Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. In his book, Race in the Mind of America: Breaking the Vicious Circle Between Blacks and Whites, psychologist Paul L. Wachtel wrote that what is often called racism can be more precisely described as indifference. (2835). Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. We have no value as human other than as much as we are true to our word. It is so much easier to look away from victims. Our definition derives from being our word. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. Thats why if you talk about racism to some in unguarded moments, youll hear something strange. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. There are people in all of our lives to whom we should be offering more of our attention and compassion. Does Indifference reduce the other to an abstraction? It is far simpler to turn away from victims. But the look of disinterest in Chauvins eyes is a reminder that indifference not just hate is a critical part of how racism works. You can specify conditions of storing and accessing cookies in your browser. What will the legacy of this vanishing century be? It is a type of rationalization that we use to justify our inaction. Indifferent people might be perceived as cold, distant, disinterested, uninspired, and lacking in enthusiasm. All Rights Reserved. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Prosecutor Steve Schleicher speaking during the Chauvin trial. Why have American presidents refused for decades to use the term genocide in describing the atrocities committed against Armenians by the Ottoman E (123-125). My expectationsare different. Elie Wiesel called love the opposite of indifference. Not to say Ive never had my indifferent moments because I have. Images and soundbites from the Derek Chauvin trial will linger in peoples memories for years. Global Health Justice Scholar, Elie Wiesel speaks at a UN General Assembly special session in 2005 commemorating the Holocaust. And I am grateful to you, Hillary, or Mrs. Clinton, for what you said, and for what you are doing for children in the world, for the homeless, for the victims of injustice, the victims of destiny and society. They felt nothing. He understood those who needed help. Indifference harms those who are already in pain because it is a lack of awareness of their humanity and, hence, dignity. It doesn't put a crimp in your style. (13-16). Defining humanity may not be simple, but in terms of basic rights, it's pretty clear that all people deserve certain things just because they're humanand one of those things is a recognition of their worth. As activists press for more changes in the wake of the verdict, Chauvins face could serve as a sober reminder. Over there, behind the black gates of Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the "Muselmanner," as they were called. The Perils of Indifference, Elie Wiesel > Marcus Sweetser Attorney To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. We should also try not to cause others to be indifferent to us. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. No matter how much someone cares about something, if they are indifferent to it, then it is not important to them. "The Perils of Indifference" Speech Summary, Text, & Analysis Discovery Company. When he was six years old, his family moved to Kaunas, Lithuania where he lived until he was 16. Because how could something so horrible have actually happened to millions of innocent people? What happened? C. Some of my friends are funny. The same is true for hatred, since people will rise up and combat it. Those non-Jews, those Christians, we call the "Righteous Gentiles," whose selfless act of heroism saved the honor of their faith. ABSTRACT. We read on the front pages of our newspapers about the worlds indifference to ISIS attacks in Baghdad that slaughter hundreds of people. People become objects when the subject of the connection decides to objectify them on purpose. Learn how your comment data is processed. Why did some of America's largest corporations continue to do business with Hitler's Germany until 1942? The century saw peace treaties, the collapse of totalitarian governments and communist regimes, and major social progress. It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes. However, it does allow the evil to flourish by simply doing nothing. This time, we intervene. Will they make up \justification stories\ to themselves? Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own. If you are indifferent to many things that normally would bother you or affect you emotionally, then you should see a doctor to find out why. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. "Even hatred at times may elicit a response. Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment. Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction. Human indifference is a plague. The list goes on and on. 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? MLK's 'I have been to the mountaintop' the, Elie Wiesel: 'And now we knew, we learned, we discovered that the Pentagon knew', The Perils of Indifference - United Nations, 1999. http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/e John F Kennedy: 'Not because they are easy, but because they are hard', Moon Speech - 1962, Emmeline Pankhurst: 'I am here as a soldier who has temporarily left the field of battle', Freedom or Death - 1913 , Jon Stewart: "They responded in five seconds", 9-11 first responders, Address to Congress - 2019, Jacinda Ardern: 'They were New Zealanders.
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