Sakharov in my own sphere

The other day I went with a couple friends to a museum in Moscow dedicated to Andrei Sakharov. For those of you who don't know who he is (don't worry--I'd never heard of him before I took a Russian culture class at BYU) Sakharov was a Soviet physicist turned human rights activist. He fought against political repression during the Soviet Era. He was sent into internal exile and lived there under Soviet surveillance for several years. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. Basically, he is an incredible man, someone who wore out his days in the service of his fellow beings. Someone who was not afraid to stand up for what he felt was right. Someone who was ready and willing to give everything he had for the good of humanity.

As I walked through the exhibits dedicated not only to this great man, but to the other political dissidents of the time, I was deeply humbled. A somber reverence prevailed in that exhibition room as I stared at the walls and pages with photos and biographies of those who had lost their lives in the guglag. Here was mankind at its lowest. And at its best. Here were men who, in the face of great opposition, stood up for human rights. They were willing to have their own rights cruelly torn from them in order to stand for the rights of others. They were ready to give everything. And many did.

And what happened there ought never to be forgotten.

I left that museum deeply humbled, yearning to do something to change the world for the better. (Which I guess would indicate that the museum fulfilled its purpose.) I would like to think that, had I lived during that time of political repression in the Soviet Union, I, like Sakharov, would have stood up for what is right. That I would have been willing to put humanity above self. That I would not have feared the consequences but done what was right.

But I didn't live then.

I live right now.

Today.

In my situation and my sphere of influence.

And so I will stand for the right where I am. I will defend the rights of man where I stand. I will defend the truth. I will fight for what I know and believe. And while my sphere of influence may be considerably smaller than that of Sakharov and other defenders of human rights throughout the ages--although I may never save thousands of lives or win the Nobel Piece Prize--there are people within my sphere of influence that need me to stand for what is right. There are friends who need defending from gossip or teasing. There are moral standards that need supporting in a world of shifting values. There are truths that need disseminating. And that's why I'm here. To become a Sakharov in my own sphere.

Standing by a piece of the Berlin wall outside of the museum.