Despair or Duty?

by David Stone

Chances are you have never heard of Kevin Carter, but you've probably seen the picture he became famous for. In 1994 he won the Pulitzer Prize for a picture he took of a young emaciated Sudanese girl with a vulture nearby, just waiting The photograph was sold to The New York Times where it appeared for the first time on March 26, 1993. Overnight hundreds of people contacted the newspaper to enquire as to whether or not the child survived. That led to an editor's note saying the girl had enough strength to walk away, but her ultimate fate was unknown.

Under heavy criticism for not helping the girl, Kevin Carter committed suicide on July 27, 1994 at the age of 33. His suicide note said, in part: "I am depressed—without phone—money for rent—money for child support—money for debts—money!!! I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings and corpses and anger and pain---of starving or wounded children---."

I believe there is a lesson here for us. As we look upon a world of unsaved, lonely, needy, hurting people we ought to live so as to not be haunted by a guilty conscience because we did nothing. The plight of the world should move us to action, rather than drag us down in despair. We need the spirit of Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909) who wrote:

"I am only one, but still I am one.

I cannot do everything; but still I can do something.

And because I cannot do everything

I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."