Summary Of The Perils Of Indifference

“The Perils of Indifference” is a speech written and given by Elie Wiesel in April 1999. It’s a relatively brief speech that illustrates the after effects of being a prisoner of the Holocaust. Wiesel was there. He lived through it. The feelings that he shares in this speech are not only valid, but rather eye opening as well. He focuses on that group of people who say nothing, the indifferent ones. This group of people are often forgotten about because they are lowkey and hidden most of the time. Being indifferent means being safe and unassuming. However, that indifference can be scary. Indifference is more detrimental than people realize. Wiesel expresses his strong opinions about indifference by making the audience feel his words.

Reading about it causes sadness and empathy. Listening to someone with firsthand knowledge of the Holocaust is emotion on steroids. Wiesel knows this. He also knows who his audience is. This speech was given at the White House in a country where Christianity is the primary religion. This is the reason that he references God in his speech. “Better an unjust God than an indifferent one” (Wiesel). In his explanation about what being indifferent means, he yanks at the heart. He uses his audience’s belief in God to drive home a point. He wants, no, he needs the audience to understand that he’d rather deal with the wrath of God than have God not care. That’s how passionate he is about people taking a stand. Taking a stand against injustice and abuse is mandatory in his eyes. It’s hard to believe that those indifferent audience members could walk away from these powerful words and not feel bad, ashamed, or embarrassed for not doing more. Not just with the Holocaust, but with all forms of slavery and

The speech focuses on the bystanders and it makes sense. Bystanders are the ones that are unpredictable. That quality puts them in a prime position to speak out and enforce change. Indifferent people can tip the scales. Wiesel’s viewpoint is not only logical, but realistic. It’s not too much to ask people to do something and say something about the abuse that has and is happening. Indifferent people need to choose a side. Then it will, at least, be known what their morals and beliefs are. The unknown is often more chilling than the known