“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” – Elie Wiesel
Mr. Wiesel spent years coming to terms with the utter contempt shown for humanity he experienced in Hitler’s death camps. Knowing this puts meaning to his quote of indifference being the issue. It was indifference that allowed what happened in Germany and throughout Europe to happen culminating in WWII.
Yesterday they remembered the 11,541 dead on the 20th anniversary of Bosnian siege with red chairs arranged in endless rows representing the dead men, women and children. Those who walked by described it as endless sadness. Those chairs were put in place for us, the international community to not let other countries go down the same sad road, while we sit by and watch. Food packages don’t end the violence, death and destruction.
It is indifference that allows for all of the conflicts that we have going on in the world today. You hear people in “other” countries say it is just an internal conflict – and so we allow thousands of innocents to be killed, while we look away. It is almost like we have a maximum death count that must be reached before the international community steps in and says that’s enough.
While there are no easy answers to the questions raised in how you can determine what is a few people rising up against their government in rebellion, and what is the majority of people trying to depose a dictator – what we as humanity have to do is to not stand by in indifference and watch it happen.
As a people we need to take back our homes, communities, and countries from the drugs, violence, and other societal ills. It is time to shatter the silence and end the indifference. It is time for women around the world to stand up and embrace peace for not just their family, but for the international community.