We Can Do Better - and We Will

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

- Attributed to Edmund Burke

"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.  The opposite of beauty is not ugliness, it's indifference.  The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.  And the opposite of life is not death, but indifference between life and death."

- Elie Wiesel

"I pretended not to have seen, I pretended not to have heard because I didn't want to be responsible."

- Adalbert Lallier

Look at this picture.  Don't shy away from it.  Look at those three young faces that will never become old faces, nor ever have the chance to look back.

It's pretty horrifying, isn't it? 

What do those vacant eyes that should be full of promise make you want to do?  Scream, run, cry, hurt someone?

Embrace that feeling.  Let it wash over you.  Now - harness it.  That raw emotion will give you resolve - your challenge is not to lose the thread, nor to let that feeling churn helplessly in rage.

Too often we see problems as insurmountable.  Saying the world is just evil is a cop out - it removes power and responsibility from your hands. 

Too often we justify inaction based on an unwillingness to face our own limitations.  Allowing problems to fester only makes them worse; denying responsibility doesn't remove guilt.

Too often we lash out, becoming part of the problem instead of seeking solutions.  Lobbing our missiles their way, we only produce more corpses that look exactly the same.

There's only one way forward, and that's to own up to our responsibility to society, both here and abroad.  If that means sacrificing a little comfort, so be it.  If that means challenging your own views, then do it.  If it means engaging your enemy over debate rather than the sword, do that too.

Get informed.

Get engaged.

Patience, persistence.

Maintain resolve; maintain morale.

Make the difference.

If we don't, we are simply condemning our children to repeat our mistakes.

"What man is a man who does not make the world better?"

 - Balian, The Kingdom of Heaven

UPDATE September 4, 2015

We will do better... but clearly, not yet.