Eric Clapton once asked the heart wrenching question that echoes out what every human being craves- acceptance. He asked "Would you hold my hand if I saw you in heaven." Its the question that asks whether you value me, would you stick with me during the hard times, will you be my friend.
It is a tragedy that in our time we have the greatest need than ever before to be reassured of our acceptance. Even more alarming is the fact that in the year 2008 we are still battling against discrimination and all the other evils that the world presents. Over 120 million children are employed in hazardous conditions and face physical and psycological harm- child labour and the illegal sex trade is now the world's third largest industry. However, most disturbing is that all these evils can be prevented and yet we still choose to turn a blind eye.
It was Gandhi who said that an eye for an eye will turn the whole world blind, never did any one mention apathy. Apathy, a six letter word that has become the cause for the world's pain and destruction. We in the western world take all our things for granted. We believe that new clothes are a right and food has become an obsession, shame on us if we don't have a car. Never do we consider that there are those that suffer. We dont want to acknowldege that the slave industry still exists, for the sake of our nice Nike shoes, or that children are being crippled from the labour they endure to have a pittance of a meal for the day, so that we in turn may drink coffee. We choose to ignore the cry of the 2.8 million people who will die from aids this year. Never mnd the 3.8 million newly infected people.
It is our own selfishness that causes us to hold this apathy towards people and thus deny them acceptance of any kind. Aids is not the disease that our society needs to fight, but rather it is the apathy within our hearts. We are a new generation that have the opportunity to stand up for a change! When our grandchildren see what our generation did, will they be disgusted by the war in Iraq like we are toward Vietnam? or the Holocaust? Will aids still be the disaster that imposes the developing world. Will there still be a developing world, crippled by the debt that the powerful westerners put on the needy.
Or will our apathy cause our grandchildren to scorn?
We have a choice now to start caring. We have the opportunity to use our lives for the bettering of others'. What will you choose?
