“War doesn’t negate decency. It demands it, even more than in times of peace,” deems Khaled Hosseini, author of “The Kite Runner.” Decency is something that has begun to fade from the vibrancy of life. We no longer expect compassion from each other. Instead, we fear criticism and strive to assuage our peers.
However, there is a force that is exuberantly reviving the gilt of decency into the minds of millions of people worldwide—young people. Through social media, we are bolstering yet simultaneously reproaching ideas, movements, social issues and public figures, which surreptitiously forces certain issues to be imbued with attention. This is an amazing thing! Through the power of young people, we have been able to illustriously deliver gun control advocacy, sedulously censure invectives of politic politicians, highlight the deranged torture and epithets of religious minorities and advocate for profound attention to our deteriorating climate, among many other things.
All of this potential does have a side-effect, which pins human beings against the very issues they are striving to advocate for. I have continued to ponder over the decency that Hosseini, who, ironically shares his surname with me, has mentioned. Personally, I feel overwhelmed with so much to care about. I attend climate change demonstrations, march for women's rights, volunteer with refugees, advocate for interfaith peace, but I cannot find enough time to dedicate myself fully. It is impossible to care for every issue simultaneously, and truthfully, I tend to feel depleted. Mr. Hosseini, is decency really attainable? Even in times of peace? It seems that at all times, we are at war. A war between what issue to fight for. Surely, some of these vexations can be congealed and later addressed, right?
I brought this discussion to my high school lunch table, which consists of mostly enlightened juniors and seniors, and a few sophomores who crave the antiquity of profound conversation. In other words, I knew I would get an answer from my lunch table. It was an intensely gracious exchange of dialogue, as if we had been mic’d and our words were being recorded by stenographers. Our interpretations were manifold, but we all had magnificently concluded on an identical measure. It is impossible to create real change by being an ‘issue generalist,’ who possesses little knowledge on an array of topics. Rather, real change can ensue from being an ‘issue specialist,’ one who emphasizes their efforts in advocating for a few topics. It is similar to the U.S Congress, where House members are policy specialists, while Senate members are policy generalists. Most of all, however, it revealed to me exactly what Khaled Hosseini means by decency. Not only is decency the ability to act with compassion towards every event, it is also the ability to use compassion to focus on small events that epitomize activity within the public and political sphere.
Through this self-search for the meaning of ‘decency,’ the word “compassion fatigue” stumbled into every reading, conversation and internet search I made. I felt like it was following me. In a recent episode of Hasan Minhaj’s “Patriot Act,” compassion fatigue was a main topic, which absolutely stunned me. It really was following me, and still is.
But now I know what to do. Focusing on a specific set of issues, and dedicating my time to propel them to the forefront of national attention is the best way to embody alertness to societal injustices—it is the best way to stay ‘woke’.
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