By
Dr. Wilson Triviño
April 4, 2008- Atlanta,
Georgia- Speaking before an attentive
audience at Georgia State University Sports
Arena on March 27, famed Holocaust Survivor,
humanitarian, and Nobel Peace Prize
recipient,
Professor Elie Wiesel shared insight
from a remarkable life.
After surviving the Holocaust,
Professor Wiesel took a ten year vow of
silence about the Holocaust.
In this time, he searched for the
right words to formulate a message to the
world.
In the Socratic method,
Professor Wiesel began, “How do we build a
Moral Society?”
This question opens the dialogue into
a very serious subject in a time when the United States
is at war, genocide is rampant around the
world, and our planet faces daunting
challenges.
To lighten up the mood,
Professor Wiesel shared an anecdote about a
doctoral student who wanted to center his
dissertation on Professor Wiesel’s life.
Unfortunately, the academic committee
rejected the student’s proposal.
The reason given was that the
subject,
Professor Wiesel was still alive.
In those days the death of the
subject was a prerequisite before writing
scholarly research.
A moral society is
built everyday by every person.
The process is continuous.
Professor Wiesel suggested that since
he was in an academic environment, each
discipline should take one day a year to
discuss the moral dimension. Regardless of
the subject matter, all disciplines face
moral conflicts.
Be
it medicine, social science, or business.
In our world, we need
love and hope.
The opposite of love is not hate, but
indifference.
That can also be said of beauty,
death, and education. Indifference is the
end of the process. Indifference is not an
option.
We cannot look the other way when
there are wrongs in the world.
Our society needs to take
responsibility and provide hope.
The moral society is
the result of the evolutionary process.
Morality in a society moves from good and
evil, as a collective society we need to
learn from the mistakes of history and not
repeat them.
Professor Wiesel’s life has been
dedicated to spreading this message.
The evening was best
summed up by Jaci Allen, of the office of
Counsel General of
Israel
in
Atlanta, “the world
is a better place because he (Professor
Wiesel) is here to speak the truth and to
teach and guide us.”
Wise words about a man,
Professor Wiesel, who faced the ultimate
darkness of humanity and today still smiles
with love and hope.
Political Scientist Dr. Wilson
Triviño resides in Marietta,
Georgia and is a
speaker and writer for ABC Vision. A consulting
firm that focuses on leadership, change, and innovation. He may be
reached at abcvision@gmail.com
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