In chapter 9 of the book Soul of a Citizen, there was a feud between RAN and Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi was cutting down trees for lumber in the natural rainforest. RAN decided to campaign against Mitsubishi that would eventually force them to stop destroying the rainforest. At a conference later on down the road, the RAN president saw an executive officer of Mitsubishi. He tried to avoid the office because of the hostility that had built up over time. They eventually ran into each other at the hot tub. It was strange for a while until the Mitsubishi executive officer told the RAN president thank you for what they had done. The Mitsubishi executive officer and other officers of the company had wanted to say something for so long but did not know how to. And he appreciated RAN because it would allow the rainforests to be around so that their grandchildren could enjoy them.
This was a lesson in not being a bystander. A bystander is someone who sits around and expects someone else to handle the situation. Even though the Mitsubishi executive did not want to be a bystander, he had a career and a family to look after. We have all been bystanders in some sense, but we have to begin to realize what we are doing. We have to take steps to correct what we believe is incorrect. I have had situations were I have had to stand up to authority regardless of my job circumstance because it was very important to me. Even in my undergraduate years at Rhodes College, I stood up to what I believed was a policy that was being enforced incorrectly by campus safety. A few other students and I were applauded for our efforts. Since then, I have tried my best to not be a bystander, but continue to push forward on anything that I believe needs to be changed.
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