Watching someone get treated wrong or unfairly is one situation, but standing by and not doing anything to help them or stand up for them, that’s a whole different story. In my Sophomore English class, we have recently read the book The Book Thief. The Book Thief is about a young girl, Liesel Meminger, and how she is coping with life as a young German girl in Nazi Germany during World War II. She just moved in with her new foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, and she just lost her six year old brother while on the train to meet Hans and Rosa. Hans Hubermann is the kind of man who will stick up for himself and what he believes in, and he’ll fight for what’s right and make the right decision no matter what the consequences may be. It is important to stand up for what is right because in some situations someone could actually die if you don’t stand up for them. Then you would basically have their life on your hands because you knew they needed help, you could’ve helped, but you didn’t do anything and got them killed. If it the situation isn’t as serious as a life or death situation, then you need to find out what the right decision would be and make that decision. No matter what situation you’re in, you should always make the right choice regardless of the consequences.
One could argue that in some situations, the risk may just be too high to make the right choice. It might be too harmful to you or your family if you try to help someone you know is in need of help. As Elie Wiesel said in his speech Perils of Indifference, he explains that it is just easier to turn your head and not do anything to help the Jews because it would be too harmful to you. It’s less stressful if you don’t do anything. Also, it’s not always that you don’t think it’s the right decision to do it’s just you know that you can’t put yourself or your loved ones in a situation that they could get hurt.
In the past, it was much riskier to help humans in need than it is today. Before if you tried to help the Jews during World War II, you would be basically risking your life. The Nazi’s would punish you in many unimaginable ways for just simply giving them some stale bread, like Hans Hubermann did in The Book Thief. During the first ever “Jew Parade” in Molching, Hans Hubermann couldn’t bare to see those poor, helpless Jews shuffled their feet, one after another. He had to do something. So, as he watched as an older Jewish man walked by, he gave him a piece of stale bread. It was small, but the old Jewish man was so grateful, he dropped down on his hands and feet and began hugging and kissing Hans’ ankles and feet. Hans didn’t have to do that. He didn’t have to help that man, but he did because it was the right choice to make. And the consequences Hans faced was four lashes from the SS guard’s whip. Another situation in The Book Thief was when Hans hid Max in the basement of their home. Hans put his whole family and himself at risk for hiding Max, but he did it anyway because it was the right decision. If they had caught him with Max, he would have either been instantly killed or put in a concentration camp, along with Rosa and Liesel. Hans wasn’t obligated to do anything for the Jews, but he did because he believed it was the right choice, and he didn’t care about what the consequences might be because he was standing up for what he believed in and he was standing up for what was right. As is going on on pages 104 and 105, Hans Hubermann is arguing with his son Hans Junior about Hitler and the Nazi Party, and Hans Junior is saying that Hitler is a great man and that Hans should join the Nazi Party, but Hans doesn’t agree with Hitler and the Nazi Party and their ways, so Hans refuses. Hans Junior became very angry with Hans and stormed out of the house, never to return into the Hubermann’s lives again.
Helping others nowadays isn’t nearly as risky as what it used to be. Nowadays, helping people is actually very good and is greatly appreciated. For instance, bullying is a very prevalent issues now, especially in schools. Whenever I see someone bullying someone else, no matter what the circumstances, I always try to step in and intervene and put a stop to it. I don’t care who the bully is, I don’t care how big they might be, I know it’s wrong and I will put a stop to it. I don’t just stand and watch like the majority of bystanders. How could I? I don’t understand how anyone could just stand and watch while someone gets hurt for absolutely no reason. There was one time in middle school when a group of boys were picking on another boy for no reason. At first I didn’t do anything because I thought they were all joking around, but then when I saw that the boy being bullied was being affected by what they would saying, I told them to stop. I told them they it was stupid and immature to be picking on him for no reason whatsoever. He hadn’t done anything to them, he was just doing his work when they started verbally abusing him. After I told them to, they left him alone. On a different note, recently southern Illinois has been hit by severe tornadoes. Many houses were leveled, about seven people died, and many were injured. According to ABC 7 Chicago News, “A telethon aired on Peoria television stations to raise money to help the people of Washington, Illinois. That three-and-a-half-hour telethon was broadcasted by WTVP, the PBS station in Peoria. And between 7 and 8PM, all Peoria TV stations simulcast the program. It was also streamed online to react as many potential donors as possible. Organizers say that before the telethon ended, it had already raised around $750,000, and 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the Red Cross.” No one was obligated to send in money. No one was obligated to help them out at all, but they did because it was a good thing to do. A lot of people nowadays are struggling just to make ends meet with the economy being so bad, but they still have the decency and the courtesy to send their money to the people in need. They were great people for doing that and their help was and still is greatly appreciated by the victims they’re helping and by everyone. Victims Andy and Felix say, “We have had so much support, just more that I can imagine, and so we are really blessed,”. Andy and Terry were some of the many who were helped by the money donated to the Red Cross, along with all the clothes and food that was donated as well to help the survivors.
I think everyone should think more and care about others instead of themselves, and more they should help others as much as they can. If people cared more about others there would be more loyalty towards others, more respect towards others, less fights in public and in schools, and all around society would be better if people just helped each other out instead of making everyone fend for themselves. I think if we all just stopped judging each other so much and if we all try to realize that everyone is different and everyone has issues in their lives but those issues make them who they are, and we should accept everyone for who they are and what they do. We should learn to feed off others, really. Basically, treat others the way you would want to be treated. If you’re nice to someone else, then they’ll be nice to you, and it will kind of just go in a circle. One simple selfless act of kindness can go a VERY long way.