I remember the same words from two of my favorite actors: Bette Davis and Paul Newman both said, “Growing old is not for sissies.” They were right, of course. And now I can lend my voice to theirs. Both were younger than me when they died, so I am allowed to do that.

Is this going to be another one of those growing old laments? Not if I can help it. The pain and the agony of growing old have little to do with aches and pains of the body. It is more concerned with the aches and pains of the soul. They reach deeper, last longer, and they are relentless.

Holocaust survivor and 1986 Nobel Prize Laureate, Elie Wiesel, gave the world an impassioned speech in the East Room of the White House on April 12, 1999, as part of the Millennium Lecture series, hosted by President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. His subject had this title: The Perils of Indifference. His presentation ranks with the most stirring presentations ever delivered. But don’t take my word that for. You can listen and decide.

Elie Wiesel wrote 57 books. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his lifetime of dedication to his cause. His memoir, Nights, has been translated into more than 30 languages and has become a staple in high schools and colleges across the US. I think he would have preferred to be remembered, however, for being a real Holocaust survivor and a spokesperson in the cause of human justice. He lost his father, mother, and younger sister in Buchenwald. He was a mere 74 years of age when he gave us his insights and his wisdom in the Perils of Indifference.

I’ve never liked the word indifference ever since he reminded me of its emptiness. I could summarize his thoughts on indifference for you here, and leave you with just my written impression of one of the most powerful presentations of all time. Instead I will summarize why I believe it belongs among such renderings as Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I Have a Dream. In order for a speech to be memorable it must contain certain elements, delivered with passion and filled with eloquence. The categories are situation, content, style, structure, and delivery. Eloquence is achieved when that setting is filled with authenticty, humanity, and with a calmness reminiscent of the worthiness of the moment. Indifference is such a topic. When we look away from the pain of suffering—and do nothing—we are complicit in that suffering. It is not good enough to turn away from evil, and pain, and suffering. We must confront them.

Click on this link and watch, listen, and be moved by a humble man of distinction in a setting made worthy by the man who lived the subject of his words:

(If this link doesn't work cut and paste it into your browser).

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ewieselperilsofindifference.html