"[T]he silence of an unknown prisoner, abandoned to humiliations at the other end of the world, is enough to draw the writer out of his exile, at least whenever, in the midst of the privileges of freedom, he manages not to forget that silence, and to transmit it in order to make it resound by means of his art." - Albert Camus, from his Nobel Prize banquet speech

Too many accept the horrors of the world as unavoidable, unfortunate, and thus - best not to be thought of. This is the playing field of the artist - delving into pain that is found anywhere across the world and connecting it to ourselves.

I am struck by reading Camus how closely we share an understanding of existence based on confronting absurdity with a sense of rebellion and resistence, but I am struck more about how his conclusions about what to focus on is so strikingly similar to mine. I knew nothing of Camus as the WWII underground journalist fighting against the NAZIs with his Combat publication. I knew nothing of his obsession for human rights and his hardline stances that alienated him from his philosopher friends.

Independently, I came to many of the conclusions Camus did about existence. Independently, I hold the same strong beliefs about justice and caring for those in the worst situations. The connections between the philosophical backbone and the humanistic inclinations we each have must be strong. Perhaps a rebellion to the absurd with holding a head high is tantamount to holding your head high and staring into the depressing beast of the brutality happening around the world. Knowing in your heart that you cannot end absurdity is not a far step from staring injustice in the eye knowing you cannot end injustice on your own either, but by God, don't flinch from it. Stare the injustice in the eye, and respect those who are unable to step away from their injustices by being in solidarity with them in your thoughts and deeds.

I am not afraid of failing in these consuming matters of justice, because I accept from the starting point that the standard for failure is so high. Feeling connected to the rest of humanity in suffering is not a failure, even if you cannot change that which you feel so painfully close to your heart. Feeling that pain alone is the beginning of success. Solidarity in the human condition is such a fundamental philosophical stance, and everything can flow through it even in the face of otherwise experiencing the most painful and confusing states of alienation.