First off I would like to say that this letter was very moving. This is the first time that I had read it and I am better for reading it. I felt as if I was standing at some massive rally with thousands of people as I read it. He wrote it with such passion and vision. It is quite an amazing work if you ask me. When Dr. King talks about the "good people" passively watching as atrocities are being committed it reminded me of Benjamin from "Animal Farm". He was a classic example of someone who was "indifferent" to what was happening. Although he could read and was among the smartest of the working class animals, he neglected to assist his peers in their struggles with an oppressive government. This would be the same for what Dr. King calls "white moderates". They sat in silence or said that the timing is wrong, just wait a little longer. They made remarks about how African Americans would get civil rights soon enough, it's inevitable. These are forms of indifference. They had a chance to make a difference but chose to follow the status-quo. In my eyes these people are as bad as those committing the crimes. Would you tell your child to watch as the bully beat up on of his/her classmates? I don't think so. You would tell them to help that person. You would say that by standing there and watching, you may as well be throwing the punches. History does not look kindly upon those who were faced with a challenge to overcome and chose inaction or silence. Dr. King recognized this and played to the hearts and minds of the "white moderate".
As in Elie Weisel's speech, he too discusses indifference at great lengths. Again this was a very moving speech. He basically elaborated on indifference. I found it interesting that he used the United States as an example. He discussed the St. Louis and how its Jewish passengers were turned back to Europe and had their fates sealed. He discussed how American businessmen continued to do business with Germany until 1942. He discusses how the Nazi war machine could not have survived was it not for American oil. These are amazing displays of indifference. Only until the United States interests were in jeopardy did we decide that it was time to take action. What does this say about us? That we were so isolationist during this time that we did not enter a major conflict where millions were dying because it had not affected us yet; this is a prime case of indifference. This history of indifference will continue into the civil rights movement. This is where Dr. King discusses those who see the murder, the haltered, and the racism every day but chose to stand idly by. The American history of indifference continues even today with "illegal immigrants" and the healthcare debate. Hopefully we can look past our own self interest and finally become human.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I completely agree with you when you say that history does not look kindly upon those who choose to be quite. I again quote a famous saying that all that is necessary for evil to survive is for good men to do nothing. If there is injustice in the world people must unite and fight it. To think that if we just stand silent and hope that it goes away is a terrible assumption. As Dr. King states in his letter from jail in Birmingham, human progress does not come in on the wheels of inevitability but is achieved by the tireless work of men. The America we see today is due to this tireless work that Dr. King and all of the other people in the civil rights movement did. There work is why America today is a better country then it was forty years ago. You also raise a great question asking if we can look past our own self-interest and finally become human. I would say that there are a lot of people who do this but sadly there are not enough. The sad thing is that money is power and it controls the world. There is nothing wrong with making money and capitalism is the best but when human lives are at stake we need to put money aside and look out for each other. This I feel is the only way we can look past our own self-interest and finally truly understand the value of life.
ReplyDelete