6/15/17

DearYou,

IamwritingyouthisletterbecauseIamexcitedaboutwhatIlearnedinLegaciesthis

year.Tostart,IreallyfeltthatthisyearwasadeparturefromtheschoolingthatIreceivedinpast

humanitiesclasses.Ithasbeenatransitionfromlearningaboutwhathappenedinthepast,to

nowlearningwhythingshappenedinthepast,scrupulouslyexaminingtheeventsofthepastto

getthemostoutofthem.

Welearnedhowpeopleledmassivesocieties,anddifferentkindsofleadershipthattook

place.Welearnedaboutthepurposeofreligionandspiritualityinunitingpastsocieties,aswell

asoursocietytoday.Wedistinctlylookedatexamplesofhowreligionisusedtomaintainpower

andorder.Butmorerecently,wevebeendivingintoexamplesofhumanatrocities.While

watchingH
otelRwanda,afilmdocumentingtheRwandangenocidethroughthelensofa

Rwandanhotelowner,Irememberthinkingtomyself,howwassocietysoeasilyabletofoldin

onitself?howcouldpreviousneighborsbrutallykilloneanotherinamatterofdays?,and

personally,IthoughtinsomewaysthattheRwandangenocidewasmoreprofoundthanthe

Holocaust.Notduetoscale,butspeed.ThespeedinwhichtheHutuwentfromparanoiaabout

theTutsiracetoextremeviolenceagainsttheTutsiracewasastounding.DuringtheHolocaust,

significantlyhigherextremesofviolenceandatrocityoccurred,butitnaturallywasabuildup,

theRwandangenocidewasnot.Itwasfullyfleshedouthumanatrocity,puremurder.Itservesas

areminderofwhathumansarecapableof.
 AsidefromtheeventsoftheRwandangenocide,welookedintohowsocietyfelldown

thatslipperyslope.ItforcedmetothinkaboutwhatIwoulddowhenconfrontedwithsucha

strongseachangeinthedirectionofviolence.WhatIvecometorealizeisthatthosewhohave

succumbedtocommittingviolentactsofatrocitytrulybelievethattheyaredoingtherightthing.

SoIlearnedthatitisnotalackofdecisionorfeelingthatplacessomeonebetweenviolenceand

compassion,butasurechoicethatisnotregretted,atleastimmediately.Iknownow,thatwe

needtolookatourselvesasasocietyathowsensitivewearetoothershumanity.Weneedtobe

moresensitivetowhatothersare,orarent.Orbemoresensitivetotheircause,evenifthereisa

riskofbeingbetrayed,itisnecessarytopreventatrocitiesliketheRwandangenocide.

Thatgoesperfectlywellwithmycorevalues,compassionandequity.Livingonescore

valuesisatrickything.Oftentimesiftheyaretoogrand,itwillbehardtoapplythemto

everydayevents,orevenlifetimeevents.Somethingassimpleascompassioncangoalongway

itisassimpleastryingtoputyourselfinsomeoneelse'sshoes,despiteyourinitialreactingto

anythingoranyone.Compassiongivesyoumoreaccesstoothersfeelings,andlikewise.Feeling

thepainofothers,thesuccessandjoyofothers,thisisallpartofcompassionanditunitesa

societyandbreaksdownbarriers.

Asfarasequitygoes,it'sthesimplerofthetwo.Itssimplycarryingthebeliefthat

everyoneandyourselfshouldhavethesameopportunities.Peopleareborninherentlyunequal,

somearetaller/shorter,quieter/louder,differentraces,etc.Butthentheyareraiseddifferentlyas

well,ornotraisedatall,incorporatingspiritualityandpersonality.Theseinequalitiesarereally

whatIconsideruniqueness,buthavebeenandaredefinitionsfortreatmentbysocietytoday.

Livingthecorevalueofequitylookslikealwaystreatingotherswiththesamelevelof
compassionandcare,yourenemies,thoseyoudislike,likewhateveritstillcounts,treatingthem

allaspeople.

Now,Ihaveanopportunitytotakeoncommunityservicehoursthisupcomingyearin

civics,andIhavethoughtsaboutwhatIwouldwanttodobasedonmycorevalues.Iwould

wanttogetdirectlyinvolvedinourcommunitybyworkingwithcommunitymembers.I

definitelyhaveaninterestinconnectingwiththosethatareatoddswiththecommunity,

homelessorshelteredpeople,orperhapsrefugeesorworkingwithrefugeeorganizationsand

sharingmypassionforreachingahandout.Ibelieveinhumanequityforthosewhoareatodds

withintheirownsocieties,Iwouldwanttoshowthemthatcompassionistheonlythingthatwill

driveusforward.

Sincerely,

EverettSimkins