On April 12th, 1999, a Holocaust survivor by the name of Elie Wiesel spoke at the White House in Washington, D.C., showing gratitude to the Clintons for taking action against tragedies which plagued the world at that time (American Rhetoric). Without detailing his own gruesome experience within concentration camps, Wiesel uses his familiarity with suffering to relate to lesser-known injustice within the world. Additionally, he thanks Hillary Clinton for her actions of making the issues of smaller countries visible (Wiesel) and contrasts her against President Roosevelt, who turned a blind eye to the ethnic cleansing of Jews in Germany during World War II. Because Roosevelt was a well-liked president, his controversial activity further exemplifies Mrs. Clinton’s actions of speaking on behalf of “the victims of injustice” (Wiesel). Wiesel’s speech is named for his analyzation of administrations’ indifference to suffering of …show more content…
Wiesel uses unsettling images with the intent to control the audience’s moral compass. Images of children dying “every minute” of “disease, violence, [and] famine” strike the audience with discomfort and a desire to end the agony which the kids feel (Wiesel). Similarly, Wiesel himself details the “most tragic of all prisoners” within his concentration camp, who “were dead and did not know it” (Wiesel). The pictures of unimaginable horror are powerful enough to force reality upon the audience and leave them with the need to support actions of change. Guilt also arises from Wiesel’s statement that “it is so much easier to look away from victims” (Wiesel). “Perils of Indifference” is meant to inspire listeners to be the kind of person who is strong enough to face reality and take action against