I have come to the conclusion that Americans are lazy. It’s something the rest of the world already knows, but I have just noticed.
Sure, we have the “American dream,” which is that anyone can become anything with just a little bit of determination and will. But what happened to our American dream that our founding fathers fought for; the ability to stand up to our government when we feel wronged? Other generations have gone toe-to-toe with our leaders, yet we just sit back and let countless atrocities roll by with no resistance.
Ever heard of Irena Sendler? Don’t fret if the name doesn’t ring a bell; it isn’t a name that comes up frequently in the history books. But it is a name that should be known. Her story is one of bravery, sacrifice and inspiration.
During World War II, as one commonly learns, many people were herded off into ghettos, then to concentration camps where most were executed. Sendler, a Christian, knew what the Nazis were doing to the people of her country. She volunteered to be a social worker for the Warsaw Ghettos. She proceeded to sneak children and infants out of the ghettos, where they would either starve or be sent to death camps.
Sendler snuck infants by the guards in a false bottomed toolbox; older kids were carried out in burlap sacks. In a year’s time, she saved 2,500 lives, giving each of them to sympathetic families and orphanages. She hoped to find them some day and attempt to reunite them with their real families.
She was eventually caught and beaten within an inch of her life. She probably would have been killed if the Polish Underground hadn’t bribed the Nazis and put her in hiding.
Fast forward to the present. I have to ask myself if I would do the same thing. The truth is, I do not know. Realistically, I think most of us would sit back and say nothing. The Germans ended six million lives in concentration camps and their people made barely a ruckus. I know there are people like Sendler we never get the privilege to hear about, but their numbers are small, and though they try, their impact is minimal.
The people of the United States have been lied to, and we have yet to stand up. We are fighting two wars and are on the constant verge of another. I hear people complain about the state of matters daily, “Damn the war. Damn the economy. Damn the environment.” Yet, I rarely see my generation taking the time to write their congressperson to explain their discontent with the direction the country is heading.
I don’t see protests, even though we have the right as Americans to conduct them. Instead we stand in line at the grocery store, the bank and the gas pump, whining to each other, but making no progress.
President Bush’s approval ratings hit all time lows weekly, but no one has challenged him. I have yet to see anyone willing to take it upon themselves to be the change they want to see in the world, as Gandhi would say. Americans are not willing to sacrifice, myself included. We are lazy and will continue to be walked on, until we stand up.
So why not get out there and be heard? It is your constitutional right to protest the government and anyone might hinder the “American dream” that so many people wish to reach in their lifetime.