A Short Guide to Saving the World | Teen Ink

A Short Guide to Saving the World

November 14, 2010
By BraydenHirsch BRONZE, Abbotsford, Other
BraydenHirsch BRONZE, Abbotsford, Other
1 article 0 photos 8 comments

On January 24th, 1989, at 7:06 A.M. in Florida, a man was executed. His name was Ted Bundy. Except he wasn’t really a man, was he? More of a monster, an animal, who confessed to the brutal rape and murder of twenty-eight women, but who, after his execution, was suspected of as many as one hundred kills. He was, in fact, possessed. Obsessed. A killing machine who would’ve gone on to kill even more. He had to be stopped—and of course, he was. It makes one wonder, though—does a man like that deserve to live? Everything inside us, our minds and our hearts—it all screams no. Of course he didn’t deserve to live.

But mercy tells a different story.

It’s no secret that we, as humans, are no perfect beings. We are, in fact, devoured by sin. We obsess over all the wrong things, we delight in evil, big and small. But at the same time, we know right from wrong—it’s hardwired into us, it seems, and when something wrong happens, everything inside us begs for punishment. Bestselling author Anne Perry once said, in a workshop of hers, that we are far more emotionally driven than rationally driven—and think about it. Our emotions demand revenge. We are, in fact, merciless. Currently, fifty-eight countries across the world practice capital punishment. Everyone seems to be at war with everyone else. Greed is eating up the worldwide economy. 9/11, Bin Laden, the Waco Massacre, the Holocaust. All these people, all these monstrosities—someone deserves to die. Right?

Well, you could say that.


Death is a funny thing, though—a paradox, really. It’s the opposite of life, and yet everyone spends their entire life obsessing over death. It isn’t as simple as some would argue.

The recent HBO miniseries, The Pacific, is the story of a group of Marines, at war amid the jungles of remote Japanese islands. A well-done show, sure, yet it’s one of the most crudely realistic displays of violence and war in today’s media. So realistic, in fact, that I’d call it disgusting.

War is disgusting.

There was one scene, however, that illustrated this brutality more than any other—the Marines are huddled at the edge of a creek, with the Japanese hiding in the underbrush on the other side. A few minutes of silence pass, and then the gunfire erupts. In one flurry of machine gun fire, the Marines wipe out nearly all of the Japanese, until one lone soldier bursts out. He loses his gun, stares across at the line of laughing Marines, and is melted by fear. He’s alone against an army of arrogant killers. You can see it in his eyes—he goes insane.

They shoot at him, purposely missing, laughing and jeering at him, and he runs around, screaming, crying—completely loses it. And then, the main character, Eugene Sledge lifts his pistol, takes a breath, and with one shot ends the poor man’s misery.

Disgusting? Yes. Depressing? Of course. And death can be like that.

It’s one thing to stand on the front lines and fight for what is right, but it’s another to go out and look for death. Because death, more than anything else in the entire world, desperately wants to be found. And in truth, only one thing can conquer it. One thing with many names.

Love.

Compassion.

Mercy.

Mercy can conquer anything.

I don’t really care where you are in life, right now. Maybe you’re Ted Bundy, maybe you’re the monster who everyone resents. Maybe you’re the lone Japanese man, abandoned and abused. You might be the arrogant soldiers, hardened by war and looking for trouble, you might even be Eugene Sledge, who has to stop the dying man’s misery. But ask yourself what’s worse—being the monster, consumed by sin and fear, alone on the cold streets, or being the person who sits there and does nothing to help him? We all deserve death, sooner or later. We’re all a bunch of pitiful wretches, sinners through and through. And even as killers run rampant, even as bombs explode in the air and screams ring out from the streets, there’s only one thing that can save the world. It’s called mercy.

Question is, when will anyone realize it?


The author's comments:
To me, it seems that there are a hundreds of thousands of problems in the world, but a problem isn't really about the issue at hand. It's about how we deal with it. And mercy, I think, is the only sensible way to deal with anything.

-Brayden Hirsch

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This article has 13 comments.


AshleyJ BRONZE said...
on Oct. 5 2012 at 9:38 am
AshleyJ BRONZE, Tifton, Georgia
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
2.<br /> Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don&#039;t matter and those who matter don&#039;t mind.-Dr. Seuss

True, but it may be some place to start.

on Feb. 28 2012 at 11:05 am
Ryan.J.Campos BRONZE, Nope Central, Illinois
2 articles 0 photos 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
&#039;If i shall die, let me walk beside you, so you don&#039;t have to face the worlds problems on your own, and i&#039;ll be there for you , no matter what, i love you.&#039;

whats with all the anonymous comments, you have something to say to this young author bring it up with him without your real name being blotted out, and brayden, excellent story.

Madeline said...
on Nov. 26 2010 at 10:48 pm
Well said.  I'll be keeping my eye on this young author.

AdamP said...
on Nov. 25 2010 at 6:19 pm
Cool article.  I like your thoughts...people really have to open their eyes to mercy, don't they?

on Nov. 22 2010 at 5:45 pm
BraydenHirsch BRONZE, Abbotsford, Other
1 article 0 photos 8 comments
Totally agree.  Justice isn't supposed to be about punishment, although punishment is a huge part of it - but justice is really about doing what's right. 

Shakirah said...
on Nov. 21 2010 at 6:20 pm

Horrible story, Brayden, and I think we do the easy thing and ignore it too often.

Mercy and justice are completely different, yet codependent. I noted that justice was left out of this discussion. If we could stop confusing justice with vengeance and tit-for-tat, we'd be a little clearer about how to save the world.


on Nov. 21 2010 at 3:15 pm
BraydenHirsch BRONZE, Abbotsford, Other
1 article 0 photos 8 comments

Jack and Melissa,

I'm sorry, but I disagree.  It's not as if mercy all by itself is going to solve every problem, but that's beside the point.  Mercy is more of an attitude, an act of kindness or care.  Being merciful means the difference between people liking you or not, between war and peace, between love and hate.  Mercy has the power to save the world.  Isn't that the truth?

Sincerely,

Brayden


Melissa said...
on Nov. 21 2010 at 3:10 pm
Well, I agreewith Jack.  Mercy's whatever, it's good and all that, but it's not everything.

Jack said...
on Nov. 21 2010 at 3:05 pm
Interesting.  I think this is very creative, very well-said.  But come on.  You act as if mercy's the answer to everything.  There's got to be some problems mercy just can't solve.  Right?

on Nov. 20 2010 at 10:50 am
BraydenHirsch BRONZE, Abbotsford, Other
1 article 0 photos 8 comments
Thanks for the word.  I don't know what else to say, since I said it all in the article. lol

JohnBetcher said...
on Nov. 20 2010 at 10:17 am
Well said (and well-written), Brayden. More mercy would make the world a better place. And if we could all go so far as to offer not only mercy, but also grace -- wow!

on Nov. 20 2010 at 9:45 am
BraydenHirsch BRONZE, Abbotsford, Other
1 article 0 photos 8 comments
That's not really up to me, is it?

Varon BRONZE said...
on Nov. 19 2010 at 11:39 pm
Varon BRONZE, Ostrander, Ohio
1 article 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
If there&#039;s a book you really want to read, but it hasn&#039;t been written yet, then you must write it. ~Toni Morrison

A very true article, but will people listen?