Apathy and Belief: part C

In the xbox game KOTOR II the main character, known as “the exile” walks into a force vision. In this vision he sees his mentor who talks to him. Then some of his companions make some accusations against his mentor. When the exile refuses to do something and just watch them attack her, they each in turn say to him, “apathy is death” and then turn on him.
All throughout the game the exile faces his past and relives the choices he had to make as a General in the most devastating war in galactic history. Over and over again he faces the same question, knowing what he knows now; would he have still gone to war against the Mandalorians, or would he have waited and sought wisdom with the Jedi council, while whole worlds were slaughtered.
At the end of the game the exile must make a decision. Will he go and face the greatest of the Sith on his own, or will he do nothing. If he goes, he may turn to the dark side, or he and his companions could die and the last of the Jedi would be gone. He would have to face his past at the very place where he had been stripped of the force. If he does not go and face his past. If he does nothing, then the sith lord with which he has a fatal bond will kill herself ending his life as well. Such an action would bring death to the Force itself, and “kill all who feel the force” a.k.a. all jedi or those who are force sensitive.
In the end, the exile goes and faces the Sith, and finds that the whole battle is about belief. As he faces the one known as Lord Sion, he convinces Sion to believe that even if he were to defeat the exile, Darth Trayus would not let him live. He convinces the Sith lord to let go of the force. Since the Force is the only thing that is holding Lord Sion’s body together and therefore keeping him alive, Lord Sion dies. It was Sion’s belief in the Force that kept him alive, and when his beliefs changed, he died.
Finally the exile faces Darth Trayus, the one to whom he has a fatal bond. After seeing Lord Sion die, the exile finally knows that it is only his belief in the bond that is holding Trayus’ and the exile’s fates together. After that he is able to defeat her in lightsaber combat without losing his own life and bringing death to all who feel the force.
Though these are not real life examples, the game shows these good examples of how our beliefs can hold us back or make us excel. It shows us that just our mere beliefs can bring life or death. If Sion’s belief in the force would not have been shaken, the exile would have been defeated. It also shows good examples of how apathy can bring about destruction. Take for instance, if the exile had done nothing, the results would have been tragic. In the end, apathy can be just as dangerous as wielding a gun and what we believe about ourselves can determine the outcome of a situation before it begins. That is why we must be careful about what we believe and what we say. That is why we must not fail to act.

Apathy and Belief: Part B

There are too many people who walk around defeated day after day. They are cold, silent, and starved of hope and most of them can’t or won’t even acknowledge it. Sometimes this pattern stems from being defeated in their daily lives. These people can’t see a way out of their own troubles and can’t even see to help others. That’s why people who can do something must acknowledge that they must do something, and take action.
Sometimes there are people so beyond hope that there is no doubt that they are already condemned and hopeless. These people need something or someone that is out of this world to come and rescue them from their utter hopelessness. I have seen too many healings, and too many people delivered from addictions and struggles to believe that anything is hopeless. God will help anyone that is in a hopeless situation, as long as they want help from Him and ask for it.
Sometimes it takes other people interceding on behalf of the hopeless for God, in order to bring them to hope. That is why people who know Him must do something for those who are hopeless. That is why they should not be indifferent, but in stead intercede.

Apathy and Belief: Part A

Why is it that people have a tendency to make excuses to do nothing? If people are faced with the question to do something about people in another country who are dying of hunger, they talk about how their support might not get to the people in need. How they will starve anyways. They don’t look into it to see if their premise is true, to see if there is a better way. There are enough people in this world who react to plight in apathy. They react to the needy with indifference. We don’t need people who make excuses to remain cold. Instead, people need to look at a broken system and figure out a way to make it work. Take action and make it better. Those who complain about the lack of a good way to help are those who should make that bridge.

There is a movie about a couple of Irish vigilantes in America who turn on the local mafia and start assassinating the leaders. In the beginning of the movie, a priest puts it right. At a funeral he talks about a person who was gunned down by the mafia, and at the moment of their death cried out to God. He says that often the first question people ask themselves is, “why did God let that happen?” But, he says that the question people should really ask themselves is “why didn’t anyone else do anything?” He says that often the biggest killer is apathy.

So I say it again…there are enough people who do nothing. There are enough apathetic people in this world to kill a multitude, who have killed multitudes. Often people think that they are powerless to do something. They believe that they do not have the means or the knowledge to help people or to create a way to help people. However, all too often the only thing that is holding them back is their belief, or lack thereof. Apathy is not only a passage that leads to death, but also the point at which they become defeated.