An Explication: Why We Care

Why should we actively try to help Darfur, some ask. After all, Darfur is a world away, culturally, physically, even economically. The United States does not have many ties to Sudan. But to the Save Darfur Coalition, and to me, supporting the people of Darfur is deeper than that. We must ask what we as the world’s superpower, wealthiest nation, and world leader should stand for. The United States has prided itself on human rights, namely the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That is why the United States exists. Fortunately Americans have traditionally upheld the notion that human beings inherently have the right to live.  As humans we have an obligation to protect one another.

This is a matter of standing up for human rights and righting wrongs. If the United States and other world leaders don’t recognize and act, not many others will. This is about helping a people against an oppressor and negative influence in Africa. Hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women, and children have been killed, and thousands more will be brutally murdered and raped unless we take decisive action. We must unite the world community. Economics and politics should not get in the way of stopping genocide. After the holocaust, the world community pledged “never again” to allow a genocide to happen. Will our generation be one which is remembered as champions of human rights, or one that will forever be marked as a generation which allowed a genocide to happen right underneath our noses, doing nothing to stop it? The threat to Darfur and to humanity is clear and present. We must act fast. We can make a difference. We can change the course in Darfur. This is why we care.

Change the paradigm.  Do it for Darfur. Do it for the world.