If A Tree Falls In The Forest...

...and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Forgive me for this short rant I need to unleash.

It has happened. Reality. Today I got my first wave of the harsh majority of the population of this place we call the world. Today I got shot down from my high of being surrounded by activists in DC and got bombarded from the pessimists. The "it's too dangerous to do anything about it, they need to handle this on their own" mid sets. Don't get me wrong, every now and then, more often than I would like, I have my moments of pessimism. But they fuel me. They keep me going. And in a strange way, they give me hope.

Allow me to explain.

This spring break I will be going down to rebuild the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans with Emergency Communities. My dad thinks it's dangerous. Doesn't understand why I can't just come home for break. It's not that I don't like being home, I do. This is what I want to do. Then, from talking about this, we somehow got on the topic of how I want to apply to the Peace Corps after graduation and go to Africa. Needless to say he is forbidding me to go. Thinks I'll die or something. Doesn't understand why I want to put myself in dangerous situations. Says they need to handle their situation on their own. Accused me of not knowing what is going on over there. How things work. What I'll be getting myself into. Not reading up on it enough.

I am a peace studies and philosophy major. What do you think I am learning about, rainbows and weed? Please.

Not to mention, I am very active in the ONE Campaign and STAND.

Some one has to do it. I want to do it.

Sometimes I wonder if I were religious and I told him, "God came to me and told me this was my destiny" if he would go easier on me.

Maybe I should have him email the Senator.
(See Jan 7th post)

Anyway, this got me thinking. Maybe someone else needs to do some reading. A lot of someone elses.

Through my experience I have gathered that many people think this way.

It's dangerous.
No shit! These countries are in danger of extinction! Genocides are occurring. People are getting displaced. Governments are killing their own people. Civil wars. People there live a different life. They live to wake up tomorrow and sometimes they will do whatever it takes for that to happen. They live in a constant state of fear.
So why risk it?
BECAUSE THAT IS NOT HOW HUMAN BEINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO LIVE.
The human race needs to step up and change this. And a lot less aid worker's lives are lost by putting themselves in these situations than people just living every day.

They need to work this out themselves.
Agreed. But they do not have the resources or the power to do so. That is what aid workers and peace talks are for. To guide the people. To teach them. To show them how to change the world they live in. This third world we have separated them into.

America cannot play world police.
I have been re-watching Boston Legal. I just finished season 1. My favorite episode is the one about the genocide in the Sudan. A refugee, who lost majority of his family to the genocide, sues the American Government for not doing anything. He does not expect to win. Just wants to make noise. Raise awareness. My favorite part of the episode is what the judge says at the end of the trial.
But first, you know it, some background.
Lori wants to use an exaggeration of Tort Law - if you see a guy in danger on the side of the street, you have no duty to help. Unless you pull over. If you do pull over you have a duty to complete that rescue. The theory being other would-be-rescuers would pass by on the street thinking the situation is being handled.
The United States has declared a war on terrorism. We've talked the talk when it comes to Sudan, we've even given help with financial aid. Our theory of law would be analogous. Other countries have sat back, thinking that we're doing something, when really we're not.
They present this analogy to the judge. Offer that the United States government should just say, "Hey, not our problem." That way other countries would know our stance and could step up and play hero.
The defense then steps up and says we are not going to declare "not our problem" when an ethnic genocide is happening.
See, this is how other countries get confused.
The judge comes back after taking the plea under consideration and wonders if we should be worrying about a bunch of Africans killing each other when we have problems of our own, with countries who want to kill us.
And this is my favorite part.
"Why? Because we're Americans? The answer is...yes. Because we're Americans. Because we're a nation, perhaps the nation that's supposed to give a damn. What's going on is an extermination of an entire race of people. We're the country that's supposed to give a damn."
The defendant's motion to dismiss is then denied. Funny, though, they never return to the case and we never find out what happens in trial.

If a tree falls in the forest if no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
The answer is yes. Because whether we're there to hear it or not, it falls. It crashes against the earth. And makes noise. Just because no one is there to hear it does not mean it does not happen.

People are dying. We can turn a blind eye, but it is happening. We cannot pretend it does not involve us. That we don't have a duty to help.

We need to hear the noise. To amplify the voice of those who are not heard. To get people to care. To advocate. Giving people a voice is one of the most helpful resources we can give them.

After all, the noise of a tree is greater when someone is there to yell "Timber!"