"I swore never to be silent whenever human beings endure suffering and humiliation.
We must always take sides.
Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.
Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. "
Elie Weisel
The beheadings are atrocities that scream for attention, but the most that we seem to get from our "representives" is vocalized anger with inadequate action or response.
I have been spending some time in writing to my local representative, to the International Red Cross, to the President, and to the New York Times. The Times has featured more than 20 stories on Abu Ghraib, replete with photos, yet chose to use the word "kills" in its headline, rather than the more accurate, and far more compelling, "beheading" in its reporting of the beheading of Paul Johnson. The world is in an uproar over the prison, yet fell to near silence regarding the charred bodies of Americans suspended from a bridge.
Regardless of your political affiliation, it is likely that you have some sentiment, as well as some opinion, on the treatment of Americans in the Middle East, as well as the rising threat to America herself. Please consider writing letters and making your voices heard. We shrug our shoulders and adopt a somber attitude, and many of us are outraged, yet we take no action. As a result, the voices of those who are delighted to denounce the United States are the loudest that are heard.
Contact your representatives. Take a little time.
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2 comments:
Of course I agree that we ought to be outraged -- but by the same token, I like to think that we Americans hold ourselves to higher standards than do the Islamic fundamentalists.
-Adam
I completely agree - we do hold ourselves to higher standards. But such statements are considered politically correct any more. They imply that we think that we are better than other cultures.
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