Elie Wiesel
A man knew that he could help humanity, he had the answers. So he went to the most corrupt city he could find and stood on the street corner and began to shout to the passers by the answers that he had. He shouted, he yelled, he pleaded, every day to no avail. Yet every day he showed up on the street corner. Many years later a child walked up to the man who was now old and said "I've heard that you've been here for 30 years yelling to people and still no one hears you, why do you do this?" The old man looked at the child and said "I know that my words are not changing the people, it's not changing them one bit, yet, I still yell and scream my answers, so that they won't change me."
This story was related by Elie Wiesel to a full house at the Jack Singer Concert Hall and also video-casted to a group at the University of Calgary. Tickets to hear Mr Wiesel speak were sold out with a waiting list and for good reason. Mr Wiesel has been yelling, screaming, shouting and writing about social injustice and inhumanity for the past 50yrs. He continues even when he acknowledges that the world is no better now that when he was liberated from a Nazi concentration camp where his mother, father and sister died.
It took Mr Wiesel 10yrs before he could write about his experiences in his first book "Night". He said backt then, they couldn't find a publisher, no one wanted to hear about the Holocaust. Since that time he has written 40 books. Today it is different. Today, genocide is alive and well in the world and people are still asking the questions of why? Why does this happen, why do we as a society let it happen and why haven't we learned from the past? Mr Wiesel was very clear that this was the legacy being giving to the youth of today. He stood there and apologized for his generation who hoped to make a difference but didn't.
He's spent most of his lifetime as an educator, teaching youth about genocide and the oppression of all peoples, his concerns have been for humanity of the world, not just for Jews. Even with the dire news that none of us can ignore, he had a message of hope. To me his life is a message of hope as he continues to keep reminding us that we cannot turn a blind eye. To ignore the sufferring of others is to deny our own humanity. He implored everyone to do what they can, sign petitions, support agencies who are helping, put pressure on our government, and most importantly to continue to cultivate compassion in our own lives and hearts. And I have hope too, I have hope that the kids of today won't accept this reality. They have to deal with dwindling resources on the planet, the garbage we've left behind, the anger, fear, ignorance and tyranny. Everyday I see the web being used as an agent of change as youth connect with each other globally and give a damn for each other in ways that previous generations never had an opportunity. It's hard to not care about your msn buddy who lives in Ecuador or to not be impacted by words and images that are posted on peoples' blogs and websites.
This story was related by Elie Wiesel to a full house at the Jack Singer Concert Hall and also video-casted to a group at the University of Calgary. Tickets to hear Mr Wiesel speak were sold out with a waiting list and for good reason. Mr Wiesel has been yelling, screaming, shouting and writing about social injustice and inhumanity for the past 50yrs. He continues even when he acknowledges that the world is no better now that when he was liberated from a Nazi concentration camp where his mother, father and sister died.
It took Mr Wiesel 10yrs before he could write about his experiences in his first book "Night". He said backt then, they couldn't find a publisher, no one wanted to hear about the Holocaust. Since that time he has written 40 books. Today it is different. Today, genocide is alive and well in the world and people are still asking the questions of why? Why does this happen, why do we as a society let it happen and why haven't we learned from the past? Mr Wiesel was very clear that this was the legacy being giving to the youth of today. He stood there and apologized for his generation who hoped to make a difference but didn't.
He's spent most of his lifetime as an educator, teaching youth about genocide and the oppression of all peoples, his concerns have been for humanity of the world, not just for Jews. Even with the dire news that none of us can ignore, he had a message of hope. To me his life is a message of hope as he continues to keep reminding us that we cannot turn a blind eye. To ignore the sufferring of others is to deny our own humanity. He implored everyone to do what they can, sign petitions, support agencies who are helping, put pressure on our government, and most importantly to continue to cultivate compassion in our own lives and hearts. And I have hope too, I have hope that the kids of today won't accept this reality. They have to deal with dwindling resources on the planet, the garbage we've left behind, the anger, fear, ignorance and tyranny. Everyday I see the web being used as an agent of change as youth connect with each other globally and give a damn for each other in ways that previous generations never had an opportunity. It's hard to not care about your msn buddy who lives in Ecuador or to not be impacted by words and images that are posted on peoples' blogs and websites.
How do we help? This Christmas I've decided to take all the money that I would have spent on Christmas gifts and I'm going to fund a girl through Foster Parents Plan for her high school education. An educated woman in Africa has the ability to impact her village and more importantly her children and therefore the future. My employer will match my donation dollar for dollar so the effect will be doubled. This is only one way to make a difference, there are so many other opportunities, it's just a matter of finding what resonates with you.
Here's a link to Ellie Wiesel's website, it's time for each of us to start shouting....
http://www.eliewieselfoundation.org/
posted by Lise B at Wednesday, November 22, 2006
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