I am pretty active member on the website blogcatalog.com. Every few months they do an event called “bloggers unite“, where a bunch of bloggers write about an important topic. This time around the topic is about human rights and I was kind of goaded into taking a break from the typical shenanigans, tomfoolery, and chicanery that goes on around here. Originally I was going to get on my soapbox and write about Darfur, child poverty, or something along those lines.
I would have felt all warm inside for spreading the word about an important cause. At the end of the day I would have checked my stats and seen that a few thousand people read the post, patted myself on the back for doing a good deed, and then returned to writing about important things like my blog getting banned in Qatar.
However it would be total bullshit to do something like that because:
A) I don’t know very much about any of these causes
B) You would have seen right through it
C) What would it have accomplished besides feeding my own ego and possibly getting a few people to act?
The more I thought about this the more ashamed I was. I remember watching documentaries and movies like “Schindler’s List”, “Hotel Rwanda”, and the episode of “Band of Brothers” that showed the concentration camp and saying to myself, “I can’t believe humans could do that to other humans. Thank god it will never happen again.”
In one of the last history classes I took to finish my degree we discussed the African Diaspora, the Jewish Diaspora, and the tragedies that happened in India years ago. There were days when everyone in the class left in tears. That will happen because hearing accounts about systemic rape, mutilation, and genocide can be slightly powerful. After each class I again comforted myself by saying that this would never happen again.
The thing is these atrocities are happening again and most of us are turning a blind eye to it. I can tell you more about this season of American Idol (even though I hardly ever watch the show) than I can tell you about Darfur, it’s really sad.
Ultimately what can I do?
To throw a few bucks to an aid organization and walk away would be kind of insulting. So I have decided to educate myself about Darfur, violence against women, and children’s rights. From there I can make intelligent choices about what I can do to impact these situations.
I invite you to do the same.
The biggest crime against humanity is apathy and I know I am guilty of it.
Please pass this blog along today to at least one person you know. Or better yet write a blog about a topic of your choice and send me the link so I can share it.
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I write about the stuff we all think but don't like to talk about.
