Social Awareness

Alright. Night by Elie Wiesel is officially over in class, and it's time to reflect on the concept of it all.

This week's topic:
How can an individual bring social awareness to atrocities like the Holocaust and other transgressions?

Before reading Night, I heard that some people consider it to be fiction. Last week, just out of curiosity, I looked up as to why people thought that. I couldn't find any reasonable evidence as to why the story isn't true, and even worse, there are so many people out there who don't even believe the Holocaust happened! Come on, seriously? This is why social awareness needs to be made about the Holocaust, and of course, many other issues. It can be really difficult to do this though. Based on what I've read, some people don't believe the Holocaust happened because it sounds unrealistically horrible, which is true. But the fact that something that sounds unrealistic is actually true means that people need to be more aware of this. 

Firstly, we need more firsthand accounts of such experiences, such as Elie Wiesel's Night. Such books really put you into the lives of these people, and you can feel the terror and pain described in quietly screaming words. I always knew what the Holocaust was in terms of the event itself, but a book like this took it to a whole new level. There are lots of books like these, such as The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank. Anne was the same age as Eliezer, along with a whole bunch of kids today, including me! Even if we never experienced such terror, reading words written by an author of the same age as the reader can make the reader feel somewhat closer to the situation, and empathize more effectively. If the kids and teenagers of today know about their stories, they can pass it on in the future and keep the memory alive.

Anne Frank and Elie Wiesel. Innocent people like us. Put yourself in their shoes. That's a feeling you never knew could be felt.

It's not just books, though. We need the actual victims of such experiences to get out there and talk about it to a large audience. Regarding the Holocaust, there isn't much time left. I read a bit on this, and I found out that as of 2014, there were about 500,000 Holocaust survivors that were still alive up to that point. As of July 2016, just a year and a half ago from now, there are only 100,000 left. So many have been lost, including Elie Wiesel himself in that year. These survivors need to do their very best to enlighten people that are ignorant on this topic. A few years ago, when I was in 6th or 7th grade, we actually had a Holocaust survivor come to speak to my school. I knew what the Holocaust was at the time, but I didn't think much of it. He spoke to us and surprised us in many ways.  If I remember correctly, he even showed us the tattoo he got during the Holocaust! That whole assembly opened everyone's eyes to what the Holocaust was like, and we were just in middle school. It's really good to be aware of these kinds of things. The same goes for other kinds of transgressions in our world today, such as discrimination and bullying. If we hear for ourselves what these victims have gone through, we as humans won't (or at least shouldn't) wish to cause harm to another human being. Instead of just hearing it happening in general, hearing it happen from that very person takes it to another level.

Elie Wiesel describing his Holocaust experience

at the 2007 International Achievement Summit

in Washington D.C., shocking all delegates

This is the 21st century. We don't run by the Pony Express or woodblock printing. The world today is all about the internet! So many people use the internet for useless things. Sure, we all love having fun, but we should also use it to spread messages about things like this. If we have the technology, why not make use of it in a positive manner that can only bring benefits, whether minor or major? For example, if a victim of an unpleasant experience gives a speech to a small community, someone could record it and post it online. They could put it on social media. If it gets popular, it might make it to the news. Will it be taken down eventually, and tossed to the side? Maybe for the sake of business, but we as the viewers shouldn't. As Elie Wiesel has said, we need to keep the memory alive! It's extremely difficult for one person alone to change the world, but one person alone can certainly start the change. As the mission passes from one to another, change can happen. But it all starts with at least one person bringing that social awareness in the first place.

Those are some ways I believe are starting points for an individual to bring social awareness to certain abominations. Basically, we need more firsthand accounts of these issues in order for the audience to get a better feel and understanding of the situation. As for the people who find horror like the Holocaust too unrealistic to be real, they need to look into these things more and realize that a person wouldn't lie on such an extremely dark and tragic note, even on behalf of their families, just for propaganda. Such an accusation is ridiculous, which is why social awareness is so important.

A quick little review on Night:

I absolutely loved and hated this book. The story is so tragic, it tore me apart just reading it. To be the same age as the main character and read what he's saying and thinking... it was just awful. At the same time, I love the book itself because it was so well written. I really got a good feel as to what are the emotions that Eliezer is feeling, as well as his father. For example, when Eliezer was being whiplashed 25 times, he said his father must've been feeling more pain than he did. That one line really struck me, because it shows the love between them. There are so many other lines in this book that got to me. It's an amazing narrative, and a nightmarish story, but I'm glad to have read it.

Silence

Hello all. We've started reading Night, by Elie Wiesel. With this book comes many discussions about rights and wrongs, along with how to prevent it. This week's topic raises a very important point that we all could learn from.
How does silence perpetuate the transgressions of those who wish to cause harm?

I sort of already spoke about this in the post below, but I'll discuss it more thoroughly in this one. Here we go!

When someone commits a misdeed unto someone else, and that person remains silent about it, the misdeeds will obviously continue. People usually do bad things when they feel they won't get into trouble. If this is the case, they can keep going as long as they want. Their targets' silence basically feeds their desire to hurt others. It's encouraging them to keep going, since nothing is stopping them. There aren't any consequences.

Not being silent means that you don't keep the misdeeds done to you locked away in your mind. Someone has to know what happened. People need to know the truth. If you spread the word about what's going on, everyone can band together as an effort to end the transgressions. Perhaps it could be difficult, depending on whether it's a widespread situation in the world or something simple such as in school. But if those who wish to cause harm see that action is being done against them, the harm will lessen, maybe even stop.

Take Night, for example. The narrator, as well as I, think that the concept of the Holocaust is absolutely ridiculous. To annihilate an entire religion of people, during the 20th century... simply because they were disliked? What kind of reason is that?! Ordinary families were forced out of their homes, separated from their loved ones, lived in foul conditions, and were given fatal punishments. I just don't understand why something like this should happen, or even could happen. Just imagine the horror. You can't! Unfortunately, there seemed to be no end to it at the time - because everyone was silent. Such despicable things were happening right under the Germans' noses, and they didn't care. No one was stopping them. I don't blame the Jewish people for being silent. They had no choice. If they were to rebel, they'd obviously lose because of their seemingly impossible-to-beat enemy. But still, the fact that something like this went on for so long is just horrible. It is a lesson for us here in the future. Don't remain silent. Never forget what you've seen, and what has been done to you. Keep the memory alive, so we can work to resolve the issue and make sure the issue doesn't rise again.

Before I end this post, I'd just like to say how I feel about this book so far.

It's absolutely terrifying! The narrator is the same age as I am, and I can't believe the things he's going through. It's so... I mean, I have no words. The way he describes his first experience at Auschwitz got my heart beating. He was separated from his sisters and mother. Think about it - his mother! During such a time, you'd want as much comfort as possible, which is only possible with your parents. He just lost half of that. He walked left, she walked right. That was it. It was terrible reading such words. Oh, and the chimney... I just don't understand. Why? How? These things happened less than a lifetime ago! This isn't centuries ago when people thought cruel and unusual punishment was normal! This is so inhumane. Those Germans... they're worse than monsters. I'm pretty sure the more I progress through this book, the more frightening it's going to be, but it's all proof that we shouldn't remain silent.

Well, that's all for now. Night is a really well-written book, and though it may be scary, it's enough to keep me reading. Just as I thought, it's a big eye-opener too. We could all learn many things from it. I'm hoping to get through the class discussions on this book with ease and put it all aside afterwards, but it won't be forgotten! The memory shall be alive.

A Snowy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!!!!!

I hope 2018 is awesome for you so far. It sure is awesome for me! To start things off, yesterday we had a full-blown blizzard!!!!! It was a whole foot, but with the winds, my lawn piled up to half my height! I know most people don't like it, but I really love snow. I love the hassle of everyone talking about it and preparing, the harsh winds, the beautiful mounds of snow everywhere, school closings, and most of all, playing in the snow! Since I love it, the cold doesn't bother me, even if it's almost below zero degrees. I'm okay with plopping my face on it and laying down.

With all that aside, let's talk about how the new year has been going at school. It's fairly well. The two days I spent in English class this week was a bit interesting. It wasn't on a fun note or anything, but I think it may be an intro to Night, by Elie Wiesel. We read his Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, and it had a great message. When something happens that could challenge human dignity, we can't simply witness it and forget it. You shouldn't brush it off to the side. You need to keep the memory alive, and take the initiative to change it. Be the change you want to see in the world. It may seem unlikely that a major change could come about by one person, but as Wiesel says, "one person of integrity can make a difference." You should never remain silent, and get your word out there somehow. That's the only way to find a resolution to the problem, to ensure it doesn't happen again. Elie Wiesel may have come up with this great lesson because of his experience at a concentration camp, but this applies to everyone. This goes with many things, like kids making fun of each other, or people violently fighting. If you see something, say something.

If I'm right about having to read his story soon, I hope it will be a great read. It might be a bit dark, but it could be a good eye-opener. The message seems like a nice, inspiring way to start the year. Let's keep it in our minds and not forget it.

Once again, I wish you all a happy new year! Make it awesome, and perhaps try to actually fulfill some resolutions. Make every second count, because nothing is worse than regret. Keep your memories alive, too. May the year 2018 be epic!

By the way, if you see a weird box below, I have no idea what that is. It's not supposed to be an image.

I can't get rid of it. My apologies!