Of course, 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.
Elie Wiesel
Thanks for the Elie Wiesel quote. It is a good reminder to examine how I treat my neighbours. I copied it onto the “Quotes” page of my blog, with a link to here.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy that you appreciate the quote. It was actually meant to be a prelude to a rant about human indifference, and the way people who should be close by to my son fail to acknowledge his existence and humanity. I wrote a blog to confront that indifference with my rage. Rage, I came to understand changes nothing, so I'm looking deep on how to confront this human indifference in a manner which produces real change in people...something which I am not quite convinced yet is possible if the heart is not open?
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you posted that quote, Phil. Because Weisel came up close and personal to the abhorrent consequences of human indifference, his words resonate with great power. I'm not sure whether you're aware of what drives him in his work, but it's the imperative he felt as a young man --- and as the only surviving member of his community --- to be the one who remembers and gives voice to people who were silenced. He's never shrunk from that responsibility, when so many others have. I give him great honor for that.
ReplyDeleteI'm grappling with the same issue as you are -- how to reach people who are indifferent. I'm not sure it's possible until something happens in their own lives to wake them up to their own vulnerability. Until then, they'll hide from it by hiding from us.
This indifference to the suffering of other people is so completely foreign to me. I've always felt other people's suffering deep under my skin. It's hard for me to fathom that others do not.