If you have not heard about the plight of the Yazidi people in Iraq by now you need to. If you do not know the general state of the refugee world, that should be a crime. Many American's have this uncanny knack to just avoid all bad in general, including the news. I say, why? When John F. Kennedy was elected to the presidency in 1960, many can recall one simple sentance from his innagural address, "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." But to really know what he is trying to convey, you have to read his whole address. He was essentially asking for a new world, with law and order, with cooperation and prosperity. Most of all, he wanted his fellow Americans to not only participate in this new world, he wanted them to have a hand in creating it. What a better way to create that dream than by helping our fellow man in need, no matter how near or far. Our difference do not make us immune to the most common of human emotions, fear, suffering, sadness, joy, and happiness. Kennedy was predicting, in the dawn of the this globalized era, that Americans would have to play their part in order for the world to prosper. Do we have problems in our country? Most decidedly yes, can we overcome them and help others, definitely. But will we be able to sustain our success in a globalized world with increasing isolation of knowledge and understanding of the worlds problems? No.
We have so many rights and privileges it is hard for us to even comprehend just fighting for the simple right to survive. Beyond the right to survive, it is to survive in the way we fought for over 200 years ago. To be the makers of our own destiny, whether that be continue practiced religions, remain the master of our households without fear of what is outside, or simply, to go to school and get an education to help our family or country. The right to survive is not something that is granted around the world. It is so easy for us to say it is not our problem, to dismiss their plight because they are so far away. If we (and I include the EU, Australia, and our other Eastern Hemisphere allies, Japan, South Korea, etc) refuse to stand up to tyranny now, if we leave it unchecked, then what will we do when it comes knocking on our door, as it did on September 11, 2001, or with the recent downing of flight MH17.
When you look at something or someone in need and no longer see it as humanities' duty, but a "political problem" you have lost the heart and soul of a human being. When we can reduce a group of peoples suffering down to "not our problem" you have lost the right to reach out when your time of need comes. I have always been flabbergasted and disgusted with our nations history to be so angry, bitter, and content with allowing others around the world to remain at the mercy and struggle of their unstable regions. It is like saying, "#Blessed" because you were born in the U.S. You were not "#Blessed." It is high time we realize we are freaking LUCKY. We are not so special that when we were some little seedling we got to chose, so lets stop pretending we are better simply for being American. The worlds problems are our problems, and in modern times have always been our problem. What sets humanity apart from the animal kingdom is our empathy, sympathy, and higher thought. Lets restore what makes us the superior being and have some compassion when looking at the plight of others, especially refugees. Americans should WANT to deal with this, we should WANT to help. No one is forcing us to, but how can we turn a blind eye to this suffering. Many believe we are "Christian Nation" if that is true than we need to make our sacrifice to help these people in need. If we don't, if we cannot muster the courage to reach out, then we need to stop pretending to be something we are not.
Kennedy's dream for this long forgotten address, "So let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate." Let us prove ourselves worthy of the title of the Greatest Nation. Let us become a beacon of hope, instead of hording it for ourselves. Only when we become brave enough to stand up to evil will we begin to feel the true meaning of freedom and liberty. Kennedy's vision inspires me, it is what being an American means to me. To see the fear in the eyes of the Palestinian child or the tears of relief and profound sadness in the eyes of the Yazidi who escaped, the distended bellies to the Somalian's feeling starvation and Al-Shaabab, the continued slaughter in South Sudan, and the children risking life and limb from Central America hoping for a life away from drugs, gangs, violence and enduring poverty makes it difficult to really sit in my comfy house every night safe and snug.
But that is what unites us human beings. When we are united in suffering and triumph, only then are we free. It is Kennedy's true call to arms that I will leave you with, because it is more important now than ever, "Now the trumpet summons us again-not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need--not as a call to battle, though embattled we are--but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?" If we can't do it now, then when can we? We owe more to each other as fellow human being than we will ever realize.
(On a side note, I can't even search for pictures of children from the Gaza strip because it is to graphic and horrifying to look at)
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