Hotel Rwanda In the movie Hotel Rwanda, Paul thanks Jack (cameraman for BBC) for risking his life and filming the killing. Paul hopes Jack’s bravery will bring help. Jack replies: “If people see this footage, they’ll say ‘Oh, my God, that’s horrible,’ and then they’ll go on eating their dinners.” 1. Was Jack right? 2. Why do you think people are so indifferent to the suffering we are able to view on the evening news? 3. If Jack was right, would you try to get people to help? How?
When Jack said that people would "go on eating their dinners," he was absolutely right. Although thousands of people viewed the horrific results of the Rwandan genocide on the news, no one intervened. People are indifferent to second hand suffering. We might hear something horrible on the news, but since it doesn't really affect us, we simply go on with our day. Perhaps we are just wired that way. After all, for thousands of years humans only needed to be concerned about themselves and their own survival. However, in the past few centuries, the world has become one large global community where everyone is interconnected. Unfortunately, however much we might want to do the right thing, I think that most of us still have that primitive mindset where we are only concerned about what immediately affects us. In order to get people to help each other, we have to realize that what happens to one person or one country truly affects everyone on the planet. Although the suffering in Rwanda or Syria or China may seem so far away, we have to realize that those people are just like us. They are mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, employees, neighbors, and friends. It may be easy to push suffering and hardships out of our minds, but we have to stand up and protect our brothers and sisters no matter where they live.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Social Justice Issues
We are faced with many social justice issues in this day and age. Across the world, human beings are denied their rights to education, life, and freedom. However, I consider our two most pressing social justice issues to be the need for women's equality and the extreme nationalism of many countries and people today.
In the 21st century, half of the world's population is still oppressed. Even though America is one the best countries in the world for women to live in, we are still paid less than men, sexualized in the media, and kept out of the most powerful positions in business, politics, and medicine. In other countries, women are treated almost like animals. In the Middle East, women are not allowed to drive, wear what they want, love whom they want, or receive an education. In India, women are raped, degraded, and treated as objects. The lack of respect for women leads to other horrifying crimes such as human trafficking, the sex slave trade, and forced prostitution. If the human race cannot respect half of its members, we will never advance far from our primitive origins.
Secondly, I consider nationalism and sectionalism between countries, regions, and even people as a social justice issue. Looking at recent conflicts such as the wars between eastern European countries like Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo, the Rwandan genocide, or the current conflicts between the Alawites and the Sunnis in Syria, all of these conflicts are the result of strong pride in one's nation or ethnic group. If we cannot learn to resolve conflicts diplomatically and rid ourselves of our prejudices and hate, I am afraid that atrocities like the Rwandan genocide and Syrian civil war will continue to occur.
In the 21st century, half of the world's population is still oppressed. Even though America is one the best countries in the world for women to live in, we are still paid less than men, sexualized in the media, and kept out of the most powerful positions in business, politics, and medicine. In other countries, women are treated almost like animals. In the Middle East, women are not allowed to drive, wear what they want, love whom they want, or receive an education. In India, women are raped, degraded, and treated as objects. The lack of respect for women leads to other horrifying crimes such as human trafficking, the sex slave trade, and forced prostitution. If the human race cannot respect half of its members, we will never advance far from our primitive origins.
Secondly, I consider nationalism and sectionalism between countries, regions, and even people as a social justice issue. Looking at recent conflicts such as the wars between eastern European countries like Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo, the Rwandan genocide, or the current conflicts between the Alawites and the Sunnis in Syria, all of these conflicts are the result of strong pride in one's nation or ethnic group. If we cannot learn to resolve conflicts diplomatically and rid ourselves of our prejudices and hate, I am afraid that atrocities like the Rwandan genocide and Syrian civil war will continue to occur.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)