8/3/2019 Essay Contest Winner: A Moral Responsibility

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A Moral Responsibility

By Kerry McPhee*

As a society, it is essential to analyze the world around us and to have the courage as

individuals to defend what we believe is right, even in the face of adversity. Upstanders have

shown these qualities throughout history, creating a positive influence in their social structure

and changing society, including actions during the Holocaust, the Womens Rights Movement in

America, and the African-American Civil Rights Movement. After reviewing these specific

cases, we will see the significance of raising future generations as upstanders.

By the end of the widely known genocide called the Holocaust, approximately six million

Jews were murdered, along with five million other people, including gypsies, homosexuals, and

other religious and political opponents of the Nazi regime. During this time, German citizens

were living under an extreme state of paranoia. Therefore, an upstander had to put his or her life

at high risk.

Before the outbreak of World War II, a woman named Jane Haining volunteered as a

matron for over fifty orphan girls who were predominantly Jewish. The orphanage was located

in Budapest, Hungary, where Haining lived until her arrest by the Gestapo (Nazi Police). Later,

Haining died in one of the gas chambers at Auschwitz. She is quoted as saying, If these

children need me in the days of sunshine, how much more do they need me in the days of

darkness?

*2011 Hamburg High School Graduate; Freshman at the University of Buffalo. This is the

winning essay in a high school essay contest sponsored by the Summer Institute for Genocide

Studies, the Robert H. Jackson Center, andImpunity Watch. The winning essay was formally

recognized at the Fifth Annual International Humanitarian Law Dialogs.

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It is important for our society to learn from Hainings courageous acts. Haining

sacrificed her own safety and life to help other human beings because she knew that the Nazis

were wrong. By learning from Hainings example, individuals can become upstanders rather

than bystanders and have an impact on the world around them. Hainings experience shows us

that, even when facing the greatest of adversity, we need confidence in our convictions to end

prejudices in the world. It is people with these powerful qualities that will progress our world.

Another example where the characteristics of an upstander were crucial in positively

changing society is the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to

vote. Women were treated as property and had no representation within their government. A

woman's responsibility was to take care of children and maintain a stable home. Women were

not treated as equals in society. It was not until 1920 when women saw real progress within

America.

Alice Paul and Lucy Burns are two perfect examples of upstanders. Paul started the

National Womans Party in 1916, which would later have great influence on the womens

suffrage movement. Paul and Burns followed a non-violent civil disobedience movement while

picketing the White House with banners demanding the right to vote. Without these National

Womens Party efforts, women may have never been able to get the right to vote. Paul and

Burns are great examples of upstanders, showing the importance of perseverance in striving for

progress within a cause. Upstanders can also give bystanders the drive to speak out against the

injustices of the world.

In much of America, it was not long ago when the bench that you sat on or the place

where you were employed was based largely on your racial identity. Only fifty years ago, blacks

and whites in the South were completely segregated, whether at school or on the public bus

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system. African-Americans were treated as inferior due solely to their skin color. An upstander

during that time period named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, I have a dream that my

four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of

their skin but by the content of their character. This quote is from Dr. Kings speech at the

March on Washington, one of the biggest successes of Dr. Kings activist career to gain equal

rights for African-Americans. Dr. King, an African-American, had felt the injustices in America

because of his skin color and had decided to act upon his feelings towards the issue. He wanted

equality for all and was determined to achieve his goal. Dr. King led many successful, peaceful

protests. Like the March on Washington, he also led the Montgomery Bus Boycott where he was

able to gain more supporters in order to achieve equality. Upstanders like Dr. King were

confident that what they were accomplishing was for the betterment of society.

Upstanders play a huge role in every society because they are the people who prevent the

injustices of the world from happening or continuing. Upstanders not only change the world

they live in, but, more specifically, they change societal factors for future generations to come.

They are recognized for their determination and willingness to act for a better world. Therefore,

upstanders have been significant throughout history. They deserve a spot in our memories and

for their messages to be passed on from generation to generation.