A respected friend and mentor recently exchanged some thoughts with me on the state of the world, globally and locally, in which we now find ourselves. He used the analogy of Sophie’s Choice, a novel in which a woman in a concentration camp is presented with an impossible choice: which of her two children will she hand over to the guards for immediate death?
She has to choose if her son or her daughter will live; who will live and who will be sent to the gas chambers. If she fails to choose, both will be killed immediately. Imagine being faced with such a horrifying and impossible choice. I preferred William Styron’s novel, but Meryl Streep’s performance in the movie version won her an Academy Award. Movie critic Roger Ebert commented that the film version captured the angst of all of us who flounder “in the bewilderment of being human in an age of madness.”
Our current global drama certainly qualifies as an Age of Madness. From the Sudan to the Middle East to North and South America we see war, genocide, and the rise of totalitarianism. Our communications are confused by manipulated and misleading information, by technologically advanced AI generated reality, and by the economic disparity that sees the 0.1% of the filthy rich leaving the rest of us wondering WTF!?
On the other side of the sword’s edge is being human. Those random acts of kindness, establishing meaningful relationships with at least one other person, exuding a genuine sense that you care for other people of good will. Unabashed curiosity, questioning the bullshizzle, and engaging in intelligent reflection on root causes, These are the things that make us human. But the icing on the cake is integrity.
Integrity makes us act on our beliefs. If a person abuses his partner, we protect. If a corporation abuses the health of the planet, we protect. If a politician lies and steals,
we protest and vote them out of office. If voting doesn’t change the rulers, we revolt.
And when we revolt, heads of office fall. If we are silent, we have failed.
We, who care, do not intend to be silent. The way I see it.