One thing I’ve noticed this past year, as I’ve tried to understand this whole issue, is that we want to be entertained by the sad stories of slavery, but we don’t want to be changed by them.
We want to pretend that perspective and awareness are as valuable action and service. But they’re not.
We want to be aware … but we don’t really want to be involved.
Oh, how I wish I was pointing fingers at everyone else right now! I can’t even tell you how much I wish I was talking about you, and not me. But that would be totally unfair, because I am so guilty of letting apathy rule my heart. It’s hard to believe I could be apathetic after I’ve seen trafficked girls with my own eyes, and heard their stories with my own ears. It’s hard to imagine that I could let those faces, those voices, those real live people, slip from the forefront of my mind, only to be replaced by grocery lists and orthodontist appointments and the numbers on the bathroom scale.
But life is weird and it doesn’t always make sense, so I find myself waffling back and forth between being a passionate advocate for The Exodus Road’s anti-trafficking efforts, and being a bored, self-absorbed, suburbanite who panics if there’s no greek yogurt when I get home from the gym.
After a whole year of calling attention to the fact that real people are being bought and sold like cattle, it’s my own apathy that I find so confusing.
I should know better! I’ve seen what happens when we stand by and do nothing because we’re too apathetic to be affected, and I’ve experienced the exact opposite—the beautiful, life-giving things that happen when we choose to act on behalf of our fellow man.
I know “evil” is kind of a scary word, but there is real evil in our world. I don’t care what your faith background is, this is a pretty undeniable fact. There are truly evil things happening right now to real people—real, living, breathing, dreaming boys and girls.
But we can’t fight evil with apathy.
We can’t change the world with inaction.
We can’t carry slaves toward freedom unless we, ourselves, can be moved.
I do have sad stories of slavery to share with you, but when I do, I hope you’ll do more than just read. Because I’m planning to invite you to become part of the solution. I’m going to ask you to care with a passion, and offer you a chance to take action. I’m going to invite you to do something small that will empower something big in the fight against modern day slavery.
If evil has a best friend, it’s apathy. The two seem to go hand in hand. And I don’t know, but I think maybe it’s time for us to forcefully push apathy out of the way, so we can kick evil right in the balls.
Are you with me?
This article originally appeared on Jamie Wright’s blog. Used with permission.
