Monday, October 7, 2002

Elie Wiesel

I have been reading a fine book of conversations with the 1986 Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel. Here he tells this story....

"This might be the best story I have, the story of the just man who came to a wicked city. Let's call it Sodom. He was determined to save its inhabitants from sin and punishment. Night and day he walked the streets and marts, protesting against greed and theft, falsehood and indifference. In the beginning, people listened and smiled ironicaly. Then they stopped listening. He no longer even amused them. The killers went on killing, the wise kept silent as if there were no just man in their midst. One day a child, moved by compassion for the unfortunate teacher, approached him with these words: "Poor stranger, you shout, you scream-don't you see that it is hopeless?"
"Yes, I see," answered the just man.
"Then why do you go on?"
"I'll tell you why. In the beginning, my child, I thought I would change man. Today I know I cannot. But if I still shout today, if I still scream, louder and louder, it is to prevent them from ultimately changing me."

-Elie Wiesel, Conversations with Elie Weisel

-Josef, quietly shouting via his Blog......

6:00:15 PM