Indifference Current day society faces a problem where people have no care for each other; this is known as indifference. As society is more aware of horrors around the world the less we care. These horrors become routine and are overlooked by society. This is shown through Ellie Wiesel’s speech “The Perils of Indifference” as an old man looks back on the Americans that saved him, only to realize that they were merely “bystanders” blinded by their indifference. Indifference is too big of a problem to be ignored in present day society. Humans all around the world are affected by the indifference of others. Globally and locally this can be shown through many large scale tragedies such as floods, wars and genocides. As people ignore these tragedies victims are left to fend for themselves, fighting to stay alive. These disasters may not be the fault of bystanders, but would the bystander want the same for themselves if they were in the same situation? It is not fair to watch someone not get the help they need, but when the same situation occurs for yourself ask why no one is helping. An example of this on a personal level could be letting someone drunk drive home and risk their lives instead of helping them find another way to get home. As said by Ellie Wiesel …show more content…
Many things can be done to help each other and bring us together. Ellie Wiesel says in his speech “This is the time to respond. This is the time to intervene”. Caring about each other is how indifference can be eliminated. If all people care for each other equally then feeling the need to help will come naturally. In the last sentence of Ellie Wiesel’s speech he says “And together we walk towards the new millennium, carried by profound fear and extraordinary hope. We can all be a part of this final comment through remembering the past and trying to make a better future, where indifference is replaced with active
Many people wonder how could horrible things be aloud to happen. When people simply do not care, what can be the result? Indifference is the defining word that describes people who have a lack of interest, concern, or even sympathy. In Elie Wiesel’s “Perils of Indifference” speech, he is conveying that indifference is worse than “hate” or “anger” (Wiesel 311). In 1999, Wiesel presented a very strong emotionally spoken speech to President Clinton, other members of Congress, friends, and other officials from around the world in an attempt to connect to the audience’s emotions and to help people understand more about indifference. He delivered this speech to inspire the American people to take action in times of human suffering and violence
...es the world today, these people always choose ignorance over reason. Most people choose ignorance as a defence mechanism to stop thinking about these problems, they don’t realize that by doing that they are becoming more indifferent and they lose one of the most important traits that makes them human, compassion. Without compassion humans would become animals and the world we live in would become a jungle. As Edmund Burke warned “all that is needed for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing”, he warns the whole world that if they do not stand up for evil, it will win. Elie Weisle also explains “ The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference”, meaning that if the world does not stop their ignorance, and start to show compassion to one another , they might as well say goodbye to their precious world because it’s not going to be around for very long.
Speeches are given for a purpose. Whether it is for persuasion, or education, or even entertainment, they all target certain parts of people’s minds. This speech, The Perils of Indifference, was given by Elie Wiesel with intention to persuade his audience that indifference is the downfall of humanity, and also to educate his audience about his conclusions about the Holocaust and the corresponding events. He was very successful in achieving those goals. Not only was the audience enlightened, but also President Bill Clinton, and the First Lady, Hillary Clinton, themselves were deeply touched by Wiesel’s words.
In the eyes of Elie Wiesel, author of Night, indifference whether it be in relationship abuse or another problem, is mentally damaging and needs to be eliminated. In his memoir, Night, Elie Wiesel illustrates how indifference can harm the mind of the victim when he says, “Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live,” (Night 34). In this, Wiesel is speaking of his first night in Auschwitz. When he mentions silence he is referring to the indifference that the Jews in concentration camps faced from the rest of the world. Wiesel refers to that night as the time he lost his desire to live because he saw so much indifference toward the suffering of the inmates and the horrific things that were happening to them. After this, his desire to stay alive was destroyed because he watched as the world stood by, indifferent to the senseless murder of millions. Throught this, Wiesel illustrates that indifference will impact people for the rest of their lives. Because indifference
On 12 April 1999, Elie Wiesel gave a provocative and thought provoking speech, The Perils of Indifference, at the Millennium Lecture series that were held at the White House in Washington D.C. The goal of Wiesel’s speech was to open the audience’s eyes to the harmful effects of indifference to a suffering population, as well as to contemplate how not to let those types of atrocities happen in the new millennium. Wiesel’s dramatic account as a holocaust survivor aides in the success of his speech about indifference. “He was finally free, but there was no joy in his heart” (Wiesel, 1999). By utilizing Aristotle’s three appeals, Ethos, Logos, and Pathos, Wiesel created a successful argument against the dangers of indifference.
The bystander effect is a the phenomenon in which the more people are are around the less likely someone will step-in or help in a given situation. THe most prominent example of this is the tragic death of Kitty Genovese. In march of 1964 Kitty genovese was murdered in the alley outside of her apartment. That night numerous people reported hearing the desperate cries for help made by Kitty Genovese who was stabbed to death. Her screams ripped through the night and yet people walked idly by her murder. No one intervened and not even a measly phone call to the police was made.
Indifference is seductive, inhumane, and the line between good and evil. Indifference is helping the enemy, it is death. Writer and Holocaust Survivor, Wiesel Elie in his speech, “The Perils of Indifference”, argues that being indifferent to those who are suffering assists the enemy. He supports his claim by first defining and describing indifference as “seductive”, “tempting”, and “easier.” Wiesel goes on to illustrate the dangers of indifference by using personal experience and historical events as examples. Finally, the author creates awareness of indifference from the past, present, and future. Wiesel’s purpose is to describe why indifference is inhumane in order to persuade people not to be indifferent. He establishes a serious tone, critical, and somber tone for Politicians, Ambassadors, Mr. President, and members of congress.
Action is the only remedy to indifference, the most insidious danger of all.” Elie Wiesel asserts that the world community is responsible to interfere when acts such as mass murder or genocide occur. He says that “silence encourages the tormentor” and “indifference is the most insidious danger of all”. One must speak out against oppression so there can be a difference. When one remains silent and doesn’t act, they are encouraging the person responsible for the genocide, not the victim.
To the people in the concentration camps, apathy is a “harsher punishment” (Wiesel) than anger or rage, because anger has feelings in it, while indifference just makes a suffering person feel even smaller and more insignificant. Indifference in humans potentially goes against religion, because it blurs the lines between “light and darkness” (Wiesel). Throughout his speech at the Millennium Lectures, Elie Wiesel both enlightens on the consequences of apathy towards those who need help, and inspires hope for a better future.
“I am obsessed with silence because of the silence of the world. I do not understand why the world was silent when we needed its outcry. I always come back to that problem. Where were the humanists, the leaders, the liberals, the spokesmen for mankind? The victims needed them. If they had spoken up, the slaughtered would not have succeeded in his task.” - Elie Wiesel
From being a bystander of bullying to committing murder are many ways of being indifferent. It is everywhere in everyday life in prospering countries and in poor and destroyed countries. Elie Wiesel knows how indifference feels and how it affects people. He was also indifferent and regrets what he did to this day. He was a victim of the Holocaust and lived through indifference. During his imprison ship he saw indifference everywhere in the camps. How he treated his father is what he regrets. He just cared about himself because another prisoner told him to. He believes his father died because he did not help him all he could. His whole book could be based on indifference if you interpreted it that way. From how the guards treated the prisoners to how kids including Elie treated their own parents. Indifference is a very big topic and a part of Night. Indifference is what pushed him to write his descriptive, emotional, strong, and outstanding novel.
“The Perils of Indifference” is a speech that Elie Wiesel delivered in Washington D.C. on April 12, 1999, exactly 54 years after his release from the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald by American troops. Both Congress along with President Clinton and Mrs. Clinton were present to hear the speech. Wiesel spoke briefly about what it was like in the concentration camps, but he focused mostly on the topic of Indifference. His speech was effective in its use of rhetoric to convince the audience that as individuals and as a world culture we cannot afford to become indifferent to the suffering around us.
Wiesel’s speech, persuasive in nature, was designed to educate his audience as to the violence and killing of innocent people across the globe. Wiesel spoke of acts that had taken place throughout his lifetime, from his youth, up through present day atrocities. His focu...
Wiesel tells us that even though indifference is tempting and it is easy to look away and ignore the event at hand, doing so is no different from participating in the event. The things Elie Wiesel experienced during his time at Auschwitz is horrific, yet it seemed as nobody cared about the fact that millions of Jews were being killed due to indifference. The same goes for other events of history such as civil wars, assassinations, and the two World Wars: little recognize the wrongdoing and carry on with their lives. Indifference is the Black Plague of the twenty and twenty-first century: nobody knows what is causing the indifference, and we attempt to end it, but nothing
The bystander effect plays a key role in society today. More and more people ignore a person in distress.