L-R: Rudi Wobbe, Helmuth Hubener, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe 
Rosa Parks 
Malala Yousafzia
In 1942 three teenagers in Nazi Germany decided that it wasn’t enough just to know the truth, they had to spread it. Unhappy with the Nazi government, 15-year-old Rudi Wobbe, 16-year-old Helmuth Hübener, and 17-year-old Karl-Heinz Schnibbe began secretly listening to illegal radio broadcasts from London. They typed up what they heard into anti-Nazi leaflets and distributed them throughout Hamburg. The titles of their leaflets included things like “Hitler the Murderer”, and “The problem with the Hitler Youth”. All three boys were eventually arrested, facing brutal interrogations and the infamous “Blood Tribunal”, but even then, they continued to stand their ground.
On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama and refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. She said she did it, not because she was tired, but because she was tired of giving in to the inequality and segregation laws of the time. She was arrested and sent to jail, tried in a court and found guilty and even lost her job at a department store because of her actions that day, when she finally refused to give in.
in 2011, Malala Yousafzai was awarded Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize, and she was nominated by Archbishop Desmond Tutu for the International Children’s Peace Prize, for her work in championing education for girls, and for openly denouncing the Taliban. In 2012, the Taliban, burst into her school and shot her in the head in retaliation. Miraculously, she survived the shooting and continues to fight for freedom and education to this day.
What was it that made these people willing to sacrifice so much? Why weren’t they content to keep their heads down and wait for the atrocities to pass, like so many others? If three teenagers were willing to pit themselves against Hitler, and one department store worker was willing to take on the entire system of segregation, and one school girl had the courage to fight the Taliban, then why–oh why do I hesitate to stand up for my convictions when all I risk is being ignored or laughed at?
So often in life, we want to do something to make a difference, but we let our fears stop us. We think, “It’s just me; what good could I do anyway? I’m not smart enough, strong enough, brave enough; I don’t have the health, or the money, or the talents. What could I possibly do that others couldn’t do better?” We talk with one another about how bad things are in the world around us, and about how we wish things were better, but it’s not enough to sit around, wishing things were different- we must DO something!
We have an obligation to take care of the world and all who live on it. We are not on this earth alone or in our own separate bubbles. We are here together. No matter who we are, what our circumstances may be, or what we believe–we need to work together! We need to step up and fight for one another and for all that is good, beautiful, honest and true. Because, if we do not step up, who will?
Remember the courage and conviction of those who have gone before you. HAVE THE COURAGE TO DO MORE THAN JUST EXIST!
You have the power to change the world in a way that is completely unique to you. So do something small or something big, but do SOMETHING today!
