Random People I Remember

Economics

I remember there was a very specific time when I lost respect for my Economics teacher in high school. It was very subtle, and I didn't know at the time exactly why it happened, I just knew that it did happen.

This teacher had a very deadpan sense of humor and tended to give off a feeling that he had seen a lot in the world and so nothing could phase him very much. We were going over the concept of GDP that day, and he was using some countries as an example. As he was going over the countries he passed by China, the United States, Syria—

"SYRIA!" A girl in the back of the class raised her hands in the air, and she was pure joy in that brief moment. "I'M FROM SYRIA!" She had the biggest smile on her face, and her eyes were glowing.

"Great!" said the teacher without skipping a beat, "I don't care!"

It was exactly then. Watching the girl's hands sink back down to her lap, and her smile fade into a sad and perplexed look in her eyes, I realized that in that moment I had lost all respect for my teacher.

It is many, many years later. I am sitting at my computer, reading the news. The Syrian civil war has displaced millions fleeing from war. Refugees have been flooding into Europe and the rest of the world for over a decade. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are left to die in famine and slaughter. This is all old news. But my eyes glance over today's news, that Syrian refugees are being attacked in Turkey because the Turks are "tired," and my mind flickers back to my economics teacher in high school.

If I could go back in time, I would get up. I would walk across the classroom and sit next to her. I would take her falling hand and I would tell her that I am very happy she is here, and that she and her family made it out and are safe. We cannot let apathy get the better of us. We should be better than that. I have to believe that we are better than that.