Alexander Hurtig, a sophomore from Ada High School, was first place winner in the Third Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Contest.
Sophomore Noah Pinkney finished in second place and sophomore Terry Sheridan was third place.The purpose of the essay contest is to challenge students to think about how Dr. King's philosophy can be used to resolve social justice issues in today's society.
Students are encouraged to find renewed relevancy in the spirit of Dr. King, and use this renewal to "ignite the flame" of being called to action. The MLK Celebration Committee, in collaboration with Ada High School, sponsors the annual essay contest.
Alexander's winning essay follows:
"Cracks in Society"
By Alexander Hurtig
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” When Martin Luther King first said this, he was attempting to bring northerners to understand the pertinence of the Civil Rights Movement to a part of the nation which was relatively racially progressive.
However, this statement can be applied to a broad range of issues. Humans have tendencies when facing injustice. When confronted with issues of injustice that are directed at themselves, people respond vigorously. People are less enthusiastic to respond to the perils of others. It is easier to alienate injustice that occurs thousands of miles away in foreign lands.
More surprisingly, and frighteningly, humans can ignore the unjust hardships of those that live a few blocks away from them. Empathy is a gift that all possess to feel the joys and sorrows of others. This gift is often overwhelming, so it seems necessary to find ways to prevent empathising with everything. Humans draw lines in society to lift the burden of the sorrows of others.
Unfortunately these lines become cracks, which breed more injustice and sorrow, which in turn grow these cracks to fissures. Many peoples whose differences were originally tiny find themselves on opposite sides of these great rifts. One can benefit themselves and their fellow humans by breaking this cycle and choosing to shoulder the burden of empathy through forgiveness. Gandhi knew how heavy this burden was. “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
Being on a separate continent, the struggles of the people living under The Islamic State seem distant. Injustice is a reality here. Basic human rights such as freedom of religion and freedom of speech are denied.
The Yazidi people, a religious minority, have experienced a particularly large amount of injustice. In addition to applying their standard convert or die policy, ISIS carried out a genocide of Yazidi people. Several thousand men were brutally executed. The women were assimilated into an intricate web of sexual slavery after being forced to convert to Islam. Many women attempted to resist conversion and enslavement. They were beaten and tortured until they let go of their traditions or their lives.
Many still live under these conditions today. This can easily be identified as injustice by anyone, and this situation and situations like it are heavily covered by the media. Still, most will give these situations nothing but a few moments contemplation before they move on with their lives. If injustice anywhere is truly a threat to justice everywhere, then justice is in grave peril.
Geographic barriers are only one way people separate themselves from others. People segregate themselves from others by grouping people by race, sexuality, age, religion and many other factors.
An excellent example of prejudice in today's world is the discrimination against Muslim Americans and people of Arabic ethnicity. 9/11 was certainly a great tragedy. As with all great tragedies, in the wake of 9/11 many people became blinded by hatred. The scars of society that were created by 9/11 are still visible today.
Whether it be in the youtube comment section or in a campaign for the presidency, injustice is there. This movement against Islamic Americans shows how easy it is to shove humans into stereotypes and persecute them. Many might not support these unjust ideas, but most are not outspoken critics of them. Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaks out against this silent opposition. “ If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” Silent opposition to injustice is never an option.
More often than not, direct confrontation of injustice results in a removal of that injustice. The apartheid of South Africa had existed for many years, but when it was directly and tirelessly confronted by thousands of people, it caved. Institutionalized racism was the norm of South Africa since Europeans first settled it.
There was worse to come. During the mid 20th century, the extreme laws of the apartheid were signed into effect. Blacks living in white neighborhoods would be forcibly relocated to special camps. Voting rights for blacks were completely revoked. Protests were made entirely illegal and speaking out against the apartheid would result in a lengthy stay in prison. It seemed as if apartheid was permanent, yet in 1994 apartheid officially ended with the inauguration of President Mandela.
The South African people were directly confronted by injustice, and they directly responded. When injustice happens far away or to different demographics, people are less inclined to confront it than when they are directly confronted with injustice. What should be taken away from the struggle of the Native South Africans is not that humans are selfish, but that all injustice can be beaten.
After looking at these examples of injustice a pattern emerges. Humans are more willing to solve their own problems than they are to stand up for others. The problem here lies with the word “others”. Humans have repeatedly shown throughout history their remarkable ability to differentiate between “us” and “them”.
The language they speak, the food they eat, the way they worship all serve to carve boundaries into society. Most do not consciously discriminate based on these boundaries. Some even have the ability to sympathize with these other people, but are unwilling to stand with them against the injustice they face. Humans are ready to fight for their causes, but not the causes of others.
When Martin Luther King said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”, he was trying to bring awareness to the North of the atrocities that were taking place. He was trying to eliminate the cracks in society that had plagued this nation for centuries.
For injustice to be eliminated, there can be no “them”, only us.
