An incident he saw at the parking lot caused him to freeze.

The man pumping gas at the petrol station turned. The other pump stood a guy and a girl. Early twenties were engaging in a heated argument. But as he watched closer, he realized that it wasnt so much an argument, as it was a screaming girl trying desperately to get someones attention as she defended herself against a violent boyfriend. And he came at her with his fists raised and she warned him not to touch her. Shut up, was the boyfriends response. Meanwhile, the man at the pump averted his eyes, focusing intently at the fuel nozzle instead. Cries of terror fell upon ears that desperately tried to remain deaf. Until, a sickening flesh on flesh thump silenced the screams. The man pumping his gas quickly looked again and this time the girl in the passenger seat was in tears. Her bruise had already begun to appear on her face as her boyfriend slid in the drivers seat with another glare and another command to be quiet. He managed to catch the girls eye for only a moment, but unable to hold her gaze. His eyes fell. He holstered the fuel nozzle, got up his motorcycle and he never looked back as he rode away. Edmund Burke, a write once said, All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." And the story we just heard illustrates this insightful truth. So today, well consider two simple questions. What happens when good men do nothing? And what happens when good men do something? Well evaluate our points from historical perspectives and it is my hope that by the time we conclude, you and I will both understand the importance of Edmund Burkes words and also our duty to act in the event of evil. But in considering what happened when good men do nothing, it seems most appropriate to consider that inaction had a global impact. You see, 54 years ago, a man by the name of Elie Wiesel published an autobiography entitled Night. Wiesel was a Jewish survivor in Auschwitz, the infamous Nazi death-camp of World War II. And the book Night, was a documentation of his experiences there as a prisoner. It was a question that Wiesel always returned to at night. Almost as if it is a phrase to a sad song, How can the world keep silent? He confessed that this was the very reason he didnt want to published Night. He said those that those who kept silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow. And he sensed an apathy, and indifference to the incidence of the holocaust. How is it possible that daily, thousands of people are being burned alive? But the world did nothing. Maybe the other countries were having a depression or were flat-out broke. Maybe, they didnt possess the motivation or morale to intervene. Ultimately, the grim death fatality came to 50 million lives. And we were left to wonder, how many of those lives could have been spared? If the world had acted sooner, maybe his family or maybe his friend who was put to work in the crematorium, and dealt the task of incinerating his own father could be saved. But this brings us to our second point of consideration, what happens when good men do something? What happens when witness and justice see evil and we act? Consider this, by the late 18th century, over 11 million African men, women and children; have been taken from their homes in Africa to be used as slaves in the West Indies and the American Colonies. According to Cambridge lawyer and historian, Michael Apted, the British Empire was built entirely on the back of these things. And the slave

trades were considered acceptable by all but a few. And you know these few? Even fewer were brave enough to speak against it. But British politician, William Wilberforce said that the slave trades were so dreadful that his mind was completely made up for abolition, and he determined that he wouldnt rest until he perfected its abolition. Wilberforce was shocked to learn that people were being chained together during cargo holds, forced to huddle in their own waste with dirt and disease, and endured more horrendous torture at the hands of the ship crew, suffering this for nearly a month, as they were transported to distant shores where if they werent of the 20 to 30 percent who often died or just thrown overboard. They would spend the rest of their lives as the property of another man, laboring them without compensation. Wilberforce didnt believe this, how could his people not see that this is wrong? And yet his political counterparts dubbed him a fanatic of a loathsome doctrine. But Wilberforce saw this evil and he knew he had to do something. But Wilberforce never ceased to be a voice for the slaves until he died in July 18th of 1883. And a month later, parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act which gave all the slaves throughout the entire British Empire, their freedom. Michael Apted explained that although Wilberforce didnt live to witness it, he helped bring an end to slavery throughout Great Britain. He acted in the event of evil; he did something and made a lasting impact on our world. Because all that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing. And looking at what happened when good men do nothing, we see that people are hurt and lives can be lost. But incredible things happen when good men act. Edmund Burke did say, All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." There is an interesting paradox here, because good men who do nothing arent really good men at all. Weve seen today that it is those who act, those who do something in the event of evil are regarded as good men. And thats why I like to suggest to you that in the occurrence of evil, is an opportunity for us to be good men. You wouldnt think highly of Wilberforce if hed been content to stand aside and remained silent while others were being stripped from their homes and made into slaves. These were all breaking points; they were moments of decision where men and women had their opportunity to be good or be silent. Maybe even you, because Elie Wiesel said The opposite of love is not hate. Its indifference. Indifference, to me, is the epitomy of evil. And if we think our story from the beginning, where the man at the gas station who witnessed a girl being abused and rode away, did something I didnt tell you. That man at the gas station was me and I imagined you might be wondering, why turn a blind eye? Why didnt I intervene? Why did I rode away? I ask myself the same questions. I wish I could tell you that I had choose to act at the gas station, but I didnt. And so today, Id like to acknowledge before you that the immense guilt that Ive had to shoulder for the past six months, and when I witness such a thing and I choose to do nothing. Elie Wiesel said those that kept silent yesterday, will remain silent tomorrow, but I want to prove him wrong.

I think that we can prevent the wrong, we dont need to wait until tomorrow, and we can start today because when evil occurs, we can do something or do nothing. The question is: What would we do? Thank you.