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Emmalee Johnson

Jackie Burr, Instructor

English 1010

11 May 2017
The Perils of Indifference

In-dif-fer-ence. Noun: lack of interest, concern or sympathy. Synonyms: unconcern, disinterest, apathy,

nonchalance, insouciance. Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate, gave a speech at the

White House as a part of the Millennium Lecture series on April 12, 1999. In the summer of 1944, Wiesel

and his mom, his dad and his sisters were deported by Nazis from their home in Hungary to an

extermination camp in Poland called Auschwitz. Shortly after arriving, Wiesel and his father were

selected to work at a rubber factory, escaping the extermination camp. Everyday was just like the one

before; starvation rations of soup and bread, brutal discipline, and a constant struggle against

overwhelming despair. Through Wiesel's personal experiences, beliefs and comparisons, and recent and

current issues, he effectively convinces those in the White House and others reading that indifference and

the act of being indifferent is very destructible, has and will continue to ruin lives- and even take lives-

and he shares his concerns for the world being indifferent towards social issues and conflicts and not

fulfilling its role in humanity. Wiesel also plants a seed of change into the minds of his readers.

The term indifference doesnt become real until it affects the life of the victim; or unless it touches the life

of a reader. For Wiesel, indifference changed his whole life, and it changed the way he saw humanity.

While in the labor camp, he often hoped word would slip out and world leaders would find out what was

going on and they would bomb the railroad tracks or storm the camps and rescue all of them. After being

liberated in 1945, Wiesel found out. He found out that the Pentagon knew, the President of the United

States Franklin Delano Roosevelt knew, yet nothing happened for quite some time. Millions of lives were

put on the backburner, soon to have been lost altogether. He looked away from the problem as if it
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werent there. How is it so possible to look away from such horrific things happening? To practically

imagine as though it werent there. Roosevelt was a good man, with a heart. He understood those who

needed help What happened? I dont understand. Why the indifference, on the highest level, to the

suffering of the victims? In this particular situation, the indifference of the president cost millions of

lives. As Wiesel questions and states his bewilderment, he brings on a feeling of guilt, sparking something

inside the human mind to change, to get up and look around and see how a difference can be made to save

lives or to look back on history, realizing the problems that happened and maybe how those can be

reversed. There will be those in denial about what happened as they think about times they were

indifferent towards someone or a situation, realizing the damage that can be done from what may seem

like the smallest acts of ignorance.

Rooted in our tradition, some of us felt that to be abandoned by humanity then was not the ultimate. We

felt that to be abandoned by God was worse than to be punished by Him. Better an unjust God than an

indifferent one. For as to be ignored by God was a harsher punishment than to be victim of His anger.

Man can live far from Gad-- not outside God. God is where we are. Even in suffering? Even in suffering.

Wiesel is a religious man, and yet he still believes that God was there with the victims always, but He

couldn't do much to stop what was going on- which made him seem indifferent, like He didn't care. But

why would Wiesel rather be a victim by anger, even by God, than ignored by Him? Think of it like this.

Someone is being bullied by a well known bully, they are saying mean things and slapping them in the

face everyone once in awhile. Then the victim looks up and sees all of his or her family and loved ones

surrounding the scene, not chanting the bully on, but not trying to stop them either. They just watch and

do nothing. In fact they walk away and do nothing about it- which is in fact helping out the bully.

Indifference is always the friend of the enemy. Wouldn't anyone rather have a God angry at them

instead of ignoring them? In a way, to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being

inhuman. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. Anger at times can be creative.

One writes a great poem, a great symphony, one does something special for the sake of humanity because
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one is angry at the injustice that one witnesses. But indifference is never creative. Even hatred at times

may elicit a response. You fight it. You denounce it. You disarm it. Indifference elicits no response.

Indifference is not a response. That is why millions of lives were lost during the Holocaust, during a time

where humanity needed rescuing most, no one was there. Or in fact they were, they just indeed did not do

anything about it.

The world was indifferent to the lives of those in affected by the Holocaust in the past, but has it

changed? Think of the children in other countries. While their parents or guardians fight wars, the

children are put on the back burner- forgotten about, leaving them to waste away and to fend for

themselves. They die from disease, famine, and violence. We see their sorrow filled eyes all over the

place- social media, the television. Is there something happening to save them? Or is spreading pictures

an effort to do so? At least the word is getting out, families hugging their loved ones a little closer,

adopting those out of countries where children are not safe. Does that mean society has learned from the

past?

In conclusion, Wiesel shares his experiences and warns of The Perils of Indifference and all the damage

and dangers that come with the ignorance of mankind. He uses a tone that brings guilt and urges thoughts

of change in habits and behaviors to no longer be the bystander- to make a change and take a stand and

help the rest of humanity be human.

Works cited

Wiesel, Elie. The Perils of Indifference. The HIstory Place. Page 257-259. Print.
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