How Can We Help People Seeking a Better Life?

Helping people in need is something that we should all strive to do – and the film Schindler’s List shows us just how. The protagonist of the film uses his privilege to save multiple Jewish people from death. Here’s how Schindler’s List teaches us to use our privilege to help people.

Short Overview of the Film
The film is about an ethnic German called Oskar Schindler. He was a wealthy man who was looking to make a fortune in Nazi Germany. He bribed officials to get hold of an enamel factory. There, he hired Jewish workers because they were cheap labor and because this saved them from being killed at concentration camps.

In the film, Schindler is shown spending his money bribing members of the Nazi Party in an attempt to save as many Jewish lives as he could. After witnessing the horrific murders at one of the camps, Schindler makes a greater effort to save Jewish people from being killed. In one scene, he saves two Jewish women’s lives by bribing officials with a bag of diamonds.

Later in the film, Schindler bribes officials to allow his Jewish workers to return to their families instead of being killed. Their lives are spared but Schindler still feels guilty for not having done more. Here’s a trailer for the film.

We Can Use Our Privileges to Help Others
The film Schindler’s List is a good example of how we can use our privilege to help those in need. Most people from minority communities around the world have to deal with injustices every day. For some, each day is a battle that they must fight to survive. About half of African American people believe that their racial identity negatively affects the opportunities they have in life. Thus, you can do some work that helps African American communities. This can be a great way to bring some form of social change and some positivity in people’s lives.

A lot of people of color in the US aren’t financially well off. This is partly because state-sponsored institutions make it difficult for them to get out of the vicious poverty cycle. They can’t afford the education they need to change their lives, which makes social mobility almost impossible. That is why it is important that we give to people at every chance that we get. If you don’t have money to spare, that’s okay. You can take some time out to volunteer for some kind of social work.

Nowadays, everyone has a tight daily schedule so even a little help is a lot of help. Think about the Talmudic quotation from the film: “Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.” Thus, you must remember that you don’t have to do something extraordinary to bring some kind of social change. Just do what you can afford to do and change will come. It’s important to refrain from being apathetic about the injustices a lot of people go through in their daily lives. Apathy only enables the abuser and it allows injustice to continue.