A few nights ago, I attended "Salon Night" where I watched AP European History students present and defend the ideas of Enlightenment Philosophers.
The one student who who captured my attention best was born 17 years ago, April 6th. As chance would have it, he was born on the day the Rwandan Genocide began.
He then incorporated the Rwandan Genocide into his presentation on suffering last night. It was artfully done actually. He beautifully explained how life is suffering, an unavoidable fact, even so we can bring meaning to our lives by recognizing and enduring suffering. But how much can one person suffer, for example the Tutsis?
He continued to argue that though there are times where one person suffers more than humanly possible, instances where people's death is a direct result of being overcome with suffering, these people do not die in vane. These people's endurance, even when martyred, are inspiration to their children, their neighbors, all of humanity. Right?
This boy was born the exact same day this genocide began. This event, the event of human suffering on a mass scale, greatly impacted this boy's identity. He recognizes their suffering, recognizes their suffering in contrast to his own relatively comfortable childhood and life at Woodstock, and allows this horrific event to influence his thoughts and actions. This is evident in the way he went out of his way, to recognize and honor the human suffering of those involved in the Rwandan Genocide, for his AP European History presentation.
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I'd give him an A.
As an afterthought: I heard Paul Rusesabagina speak about his experience in Rwanda 17 years ago. A hotel owner whose story inspired the movie Hotel Rwanda, I believe Paul would have been proud of this student. The student recognized great human suffering and, despite this inevitable part of life, continues to perceive humanity with a realistic hope. This hopefulness mirrors the message I heard from of Mr. Rusesabagina's speech.
