Edmund Burke, an 18th-century Irish political theorist, once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
True to this concept, the violent triumph of Bashar al-Assad, the current president of Syria, has resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians (including countless young children, pregnant women and courageous journalists) in a bloodbath unprecedented in modern Middle Eastern history.
And what have the good men done? Other than sharing al-Jazeera videos on Facebook, nothing.
The obvious question arises: What can we do? After all, I have barely any money in my bank account (there goes the chance to donate to aid Syrian refugees) and even less (i.e. zero) political leverage to influence American foreign policy in the Middle East.
The answer is bitter but a time-tested one: Get yourself out on the streets.
Change, from the time when the American revolutionaries “flash-mobbed” King Street in Boston in 1770 until today, has only come when our political and civic leaders realize that our emotions have transformed into a physical presence onto the streets and squares of a community.
It is only when the common man or woman protests alone (as in the case where a Buddhist monk self-immolated himself at a road intersection in Saigon in protest of the religious persecution the Buddhists faced in South Vietnam in the 1960s) or with others (as in the case when Muslims and Christians joined hands in Tahrir Square, Cairo, last year) that the decision-makers are forced to bow down to such immense, almost supernatural popular pressure and change their wretched ways.
This, my fellow Gators, is the way the world works. Don’t expect that your reading of this letter or your sharing of a post will change the world a tiny bit.
Genuine change requires physical work; whether it be going from door-to-door or gathering at a street protesting the brutality sanctioned by a government.
Why? Not because I nor anyone involved in the humanitarian effort need you to come. The Syrian people don’t even need you.
Rather, your coming will simply quench the thirst your moral conscience has felt since you walked by, eyes cast down, ignoring the Salvation Army Santa Claus outside of Walmart last winter.
Umair Asghar
Mechanical engineering sophomore
