My Obligation as a Human

I believe that every human has an obligation in this world to act on behalf of the powerless. Once, when I was in ninth grade, at the same time when I hoped to break through the surface at graduation at least halfway cool, as well as get past the awkwardness of junior high, I was eating lunch in the school’s high-ceilinged cafeteria laughing at jokes and making jokes to impress my friends.

As I sat, my state of mind bored and numbed by the routine and bleakness of the occasion, I twisted my neck uncomfortably to the left. There I saw, at a table opposite me, a solitary, lanky boy eating a squishy peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Acne and glasses covered his lonely face, and his baggy sweatpants clashed with the wrinkled, solid, cerulean-blue t-shirt that was obviously too big on him. I felt bad for the lonely boy. I wondered if he had any friends. I thought about standing up. I thought about walking over and sitting with the stranger. I thought about filling the empty and vacant seats surrounding him. I thought about talking to him and telling jokes. I thought about being his friend. I thought about making him less lonely.

But they remained thoughts. I didn’t move from my seat. I didn’t make him feel less lonely. I believe I was a coward.

A bigger boy approached the table with his girlfriend. They were probably tenth graders. A profanity escaped the boy’s mouth with no qualms, in the direction of the solitary boy. The girl did not flinch at her boyfriend’s abruptness, and the lonely ninth grader did not think twice. He grabbed his brown lunch bag, stood in a hurry, and scurried off like a mouse eluding an elephant’s formidable foot. The bully and his girlfriend sat down and ate their lunch quietly.

I was shocked. I felt sad. I felt glad it wasn’t me. I turned my head back to my friends and I continued to eat. I don’t remember who the boy was. I don’t remember where he went. I believe I was a coward.

I believe there is nothing worse in this world than seeing an injustice happen; war, famine, slavery, a bully getting his way; and turning the other direction. I believe that because I am a human, it is not only my job to act, but also my obligation as a moral citizen. I believe that if I do not act, than I am just as bad as the dictators, the drug-lords, and the human traffickers, even the bullies, and do not deserve the space I take up on this earth. I believe I must do something, maybe not everything, but something. I believe that I am supposed to do something. And maybe, just maybe, with that small or possibly even minuscule contribution, the world will be a little bit better. Maybe there will be one less lonely boy. Even if its just one, the world would be better. This I believe.