Fighting Fires

There's a great fire in a high-rise building. Hundreds of people are trapped and will die as a result. The fire department shows up but begin to argue about what course of action to take. The firemen are split. They can choose to only evacuate residents on the floors that have not caught fire yet, lowering the chance of firemen injury/casualty; or they can attempt to rescue residents in slightly more precarious locations but raise the probability that firemen will get injured or die in the line of duty. Regardless of the option chosen, hundreds will die and those in the hardest to reach apartments will not be rescued.

During this time a handful of unauthorized people start making their way into the building. They are clearing debris and attempting to rescue any person they come into contact with.

On the sidelines are thousands of onlookers. Some are jeering the firemen for their inaction. Some are insulting the firemen for their proposals. Many of them are upset with the people who took it upon themselves to attempt a rescue without following proper procedure. The onlookers create a cacophony of complaints but none of them lift a finger to help.

The building on fire is our country and this country is in crises. The people we have leading this country have various plans, some ineffective, others downright harmful that exacerbate our crises. The people without authority (and sometimes proper instructions) who are making a rescue attempt are folks like OWS-those tired of complaining from the sidelines, who have taken it upon themselves to be harbingers of change.

Who I would like to focus on for a moment are the millions of onlookers. Those in our country that find the wrong in everything and everyone, yet take no action themselves. They complain about the democrats and republicans when it is election time and they destructively criticize OWS during occupations. I have a bone to pick with you. You are cowards. You hide behind your apathy and cynicism like bullet proof glass. You see the spark of change and you criticize it until it is snuffed out. And you know why? Because you are comfortable... and safe. You live in a country that will not persecute dissenting opinion, yet you don't cherish that. You revel in your apparent rebellion, that is not a revolution, just you and your band of haters walking in circles. Do the world a favor and grow a spine, take action, go out into the world and make mistakes worth talking about… Those mistakes are the growing pains of any movement. Stop sniveling behind a computer screen tearing down anyone who attempts to alter the status quo. You are part of the problem because you bring no solutions. Let your criticism be your action... or at the very least stop distracting those who are busy fighting the fire.

Sincerely,

Enmanuel Candelario