The Perils of Indifference: Sure It Sounds Nice… (Sentences 13-35) Summary

Indifference Might Sound Harmless, but It Isn't

  • The year 2000 is just around the corner, so what will the legacy of the 20th century be?
  • History is going to pass judgment—and rightfully so—because lots of terrible things went down.
  • (Check out the "Timeline" section for more information on the events Elie Wiesel talks about.)
  • TL;DR: lots of violence + lots of indifference = lots of suffering and misery.
  • At a basic level, "indifference" means "no difference." But the lines are blurry, and indifference also opens the door for lots of terrible things to happen, as we saw in the 20th century.
  • It can be tempting to practice indifference, to ignore what's going on around you, because involving yourself in other people's drama can be exhausting.
  • But being indifferent to other people means that those "others" stop mattering, and we've seen what happens when entire groups of people become meaningless.